Heather's Harmony

Saturday Snapshot: What's so Great about Hostels?

Sure, not all hostels are up to par, like this one time I was eaten alive and someone may have been injured; but at the very least they make a good story. I’ve also stayed at some in Palestine where I learned to prune olive trees & helped fix a cistern or my favorite London hostel, Globetrotter Inn. If you have an open mind and adventurous spirit I’d recommend trying out hostels, but do your research.

Why I love staying at Hostels

Not the typically lower cost but the typically increased value. Hostels tend to attract a crowd I relate to: indie, open-minded, relaxed, friendly, cool  and accepting . It’s a hub for meeting like minded people from all walks of life.

I’ve never stayed at a hostel & regretted it. That’s not to say I haven’t had experiences that weren’t testing or uncomfortable but I enjoy the challenge & respect the perspective they’ve given me.

One of my favorite hostel memories is when my best friend Brittany and I met a group of girls on a tour to the Hollywood sign put on by our hostel & we spent the evening playing monopoly & painting our nails and watching a movie with them. The next morning we shared stories on the patio until one by one it was time for us to leave. We remain facebook friends and one day in the future I hope our paths will cross again!

From Left to Right: Latoya, Jo, Sian, Siobhan, Myself and Brittany in the lobby of USA Hostel in Hollywood

For reviews of where I've stayed visit here. I've you've stayed at a hostel and would like to write a guest review or travel related post contact me or learn more here Download Writing a guest post.

What do you love or hate about hostels?

Saturday Snapshot: What's so Great about Hostels?

Sure, not all hostels are up to par, like this one time I was eaten alive and someone may have been injured; but at the very least they make a good story. I’ve also stayed at some in Palestine where I learned to prune olive trees & helped fix a cistern or my favorite London hostel, Globetrotter Inn. If you have an open mind and adventurous spirit I’d recommend trying out hostels, but do your research.

Why I love staying at Hostels

Not the typically lower cost but the typically increased value. Hostels tend to attract a crowd I relate to: indie, open-minded, relaxed, friendly, cool  and accepting . It’s a hub for meeting like minded people from all walks of life.

I’ve never stayed at a hostel & regretted it. That’s not to say I haven’t had experiences that weren’t testing or uncomfortable but I enjoy the challenge & respect the perspective they’ve given me.

One of my favorite hostel memories is when my best friend Brittany and I met a group of girls on a tour to the Hollywood sign put on by our hostel & we spent the evening playing monopoly & painting our nails and watching a movie with them. The next morning we shared stories on the patio until one by one it was time for us to leave. We remain facebook friends and one day in the future I hope our paths will cross again!

From Left to Right: Latoya, Jo, Sian, Siobhan, Myself and Brittany in the lobby of USA Hostel in Hollywood

For reviews of where I've stayed visit here. I've you've stayed at a hostel and would like to write a guest review or travel related post contact me or learn more here Download Writing a guest post.

What do you love or hate about hostels?

saturday snapshot: Adding adventure to road trips that can easily be over looked!

Other than just visiting the four states at the monument I thought it would be fun to take a photo with each state sign. Once again, the self timer on my camera was extremely useful and we got lots of fun and silly shots!

 Above: myself, Brittany, Emily and Nate

I think this was all of our first time in New Mexico and this sign is actually right at the entrance to the Four Corners Monument.

This photo below might be my very favorite one of them all! I had the self timer set to take 7 consecutive photos and that way we were guaranteed at least one good photo and here I was caught completely in mid-air. AWESOME!

You would think we have some really great tunes in the backgroud that we are dancing and getting inspiration from, but no, we're dance to our own beat :)

Between all the border crossings we could never find an Arizona state sign. Either our eyesight failed us or Arizona failed us but either way that wasn't going to stop us. We stopped on teh Utah-Arizona border and made our very own sign! Clever, no?

I was hesitant to ask my friends if they were willing to make all the stops, but they were all for it and it ended up being pretty fun and a good break to get out of the car and we got pretty creative with it. I would highly recommend it for any road trip!

saturday snapshot: Adding adventure to road trips that can easily be over looked!

Other than just visiting the four states at the monument I thought it would be fun to take a photo with each state sign. Once again, the self timer on my camera was extremely useful and we got lots of fun and silly shots!

 Above: myself, Brittany, Emily and Nate

I think this was all of our first time in New Mexico and this sign is actually right at the entrance to the Four Corners Monument.

This photo below might be my very favorite one of them all! I had the self timer set to take 7 consecutive photos and that way we were guaranteed at least one good photo and here I was caught completely in mid-air. AWESOME!

You would think we have some really great tunes in the backgroud that we are dancing and getting inspiration from, but no, we're dance to our own beat :)

Between all the border crossings we could never find an Arizona state sign. Either our eyesight failed us or Arizona failed us but either way that wasn't going to stop us. We stopped on teh Utah-Arizona border and made our very own sign! Clever, no?

I was hesitant to ask my friends if they were willing to make all the stops, but they were all for it and it ended up being pretty fun and a good break to get out of the car and we got pretty creative with it. I would highly recommend it for any road trip!

saturday snapshot: weekend road trip

There are several aspects to being a dedicated traveler that I have discovered, one of which is the need to travel. There are times when I crave travel, the thrill of planning where to go, what to see and who I will share the experience with. What I didn’t expect is the insatiable desire to always have a trip on the horizon.

In the recent past I haven’t been planning anything with the expectation of heading out to travel on a more permanent basis but as it turns out life has its own way of working out and I won’t be leaving ‘home’ until July or after. As such I’ve also been given the opportunity to take a few small weekend vacations as well as two other longer trips.

One of which is on my birthday list of things I’d like to accomplish before my next birthday in September, to visit the Four Corners. The only place in the United States where four states intersect at one place, although many are quick to point out that the actual location of the intersection is about a mile from the monument.

Three of my good friends and I have decided to take a road trip to the Four Corners Monument to attempt the feat of standing in four places at one time. The sleeping arrangements have been made, a route has been chosen and our bags are packed. Traveling in a group can become stressful however, I have some pretty amazing friends and I am confident that no matter what we encounter there will be laughter and clever retort!

After a 2 ½ hour drive from Salt Lake City to a rural town in Utah’s desert country we arrived at my parent’s house for the night, complete with games, food and humor.

Compromising sleep for fun and an early start for a delicious breakfast we were soon to be on our way even further into the middle of nowhere.

saturday snapshot: weekend road trip

There are several aspects to being a dedicated traveler that I have discovered, one of which is the need to travel. There are times when I crave travel, the thrill of planning where to go, what to see and who I will share the experience with. What I didn’t expect is the insatiable desire to always have a trip on the horizon.

In the recent past I haven’t been planning anything with the expectation of heading out to travel on a more permanent basis but as it turns out life has its own way of working out and I won’t be leaving ‘home’ until July or after. As such I’ve also been given the opportunity to take a few small weekend vacations as well as two other longer trips.

One of which is on my birthday list of things I’d like to accomplish before my next birthday in September, to visit the Four Corners. The only place in the United States where four states intersect at one place, although many are quick to point out that the actual location of the intersection is about a mile from the monument.

Three of my good friends and I have decided to take a road trip to the Four Corners Monument to attempt the feat of standing in four places at one time. The sleeping arrangements have been made, a route has been chosen and our bags are packed. Traveling in a group can become stressful however, I have some pretty amazing friends and I am confident that no matter what we encounter there will be laughter and clever retort!

After a 2 ½ hour drive from Salt Lake City to a rural town in Utah’s desert country we arrived at my parent’s house for the night, complete with games, food and humor.

Compromising sleep for fun and an early start for a delicious breakfast we were soon to be on our way even further into the middle of nowhere.

saturday snapshot: California Coast

It's no secret that California is one of my favorite places, and in fact I am in the middle of planning another trip there this spring, so excited! It isn't California that necessarily rocks my socks but its the beach, and specifically the Pacific is my favorite, which is why I am planning a West Coast Revival Road Trip in April/May and it may be my last time there for a long time.

Flashback to 2004: I'd just graduated from high school and my mom took my brother and I along with 2 very close family friends on a road trip from Utah stopping in Vegas (another trip I'm planning in just 3 weeks!) and then headed to the beach. One of my best friends Janne came with us and it was her first trip to the coast and we were total beach bums!

You can tell we were prepared and ready to go, it was all my mom could manage to get us all in one shot before we couldn't stand not to be in the waves of the Pacific!

Posst on planning for a road trip, booking a hotel in Vegas and how to coordinate vacations with friends coming soon!

saturday snapshot: California Coast

It's no secret that California is one of my favorite places, and in fact I am in the middle of planning another trip there this spring, so excited! It isn't California that necessarily rocks my socks but its the beach, and specifically the Pacific is my favorite, which is why I am planning a West Coast Revival Road Trip in April/May and it may be my last time there for a long time.

Flashback to 2004: I'd just graduated from high school and my mom took my brother and I along with 2 very close family friends on a road trip from Utah stopping in Vegas (another trip I'm planning in just 3 weeks!) and then headed to the beach. One of my best friends Janne came with us and it was her first trip to the coast and we were total beach bums!

You can tell we were prepared and ready to go, it was all my mom could manage to get us all in one shot before we couldn't stand not to be in the waves of the Pacific!

Posst on planning for a road trip, booking a hotel in Vegas and how to coordinate vacations with friends coming soon!

snapshot saturday: George Washington Memorial Parkway

I traveled to Virginia for a work convention in June 2006 and on our last day we decided to drive into DC since I had never been before.  We only had a couple hours before I flight home and the weather was overcast and rainy but my wonderful friend/manager insisted that I not miss the nations capital and a beautiful scenic drive on the George Washington Memorial Parkway.

I love scenic drives (who doesn't right?), in Utah we have some beautiful canyon, mountain and dessert drives however they most often lack in greenery or ocean views. Driving down Pacific Coast Highway is my #1 favorite scenic drive, you get winding wooded roads, industrial ports and breathtaking coastal views. However, George Washington Memorial Parkway has a coastal humidity to it that is rare in Utah and the West Coast that provides vast views of green.

I wasn't nearly as prepared as I would have liked to take pictures that would begin to capture the beauty of GWMP, these pictures hardly do any justice!

Have you ever been on GWMP? Do you have a favorite scenic drive?

snapshot saturday: George Washington Memorial Parkway

I traveled to Virginia for a work convention in June 2006 and on our last day we decided to drive into DC since I had never been before.  We only had a couple hours before I flight home and the weather was overcast and rainy but my wonderful friend/manager insisted that I not miss the nations capital and a beautiful scenic drive on the George Washington Memorial Parkway.

I love scenic drives (who doesn't right?), in Utah we have some beautiful canyon, mountain and dessert drives however they most often lack in greenery or ocean views. Driving down Pacific Coast Highway is my #1 favorite scenic drive, you get winding wooded roads, industrial ports and breathtaking coastal views. However, George Washington Memorial Parkway has a coastal humidity to it that is rare in Utah and the West Coast that provides vast views of green.

I wasn't nearly as prepared as I would have liked to take pictures that would begin to capture the beauty of GWMP, these pictures hardly do any justice!

Have you ever been on GWMP? Do you have a favorite scenic drive?