This august we had a special visitor. This is my dad's second cousin on our Johns side of the family. He's British, living in Sweden, and put in a lot of work of creating a family tree of the Johns family that dates back to the 1600s. This was his first time in [...]
Summer has finally arrived here in Anacortes, Washington, bringing about weekend trips to the San Juan Islands and still trying to perfect the pumptrack at the skatepark. Raspberries grow this time of the year in this part of Washington. You can pluck them right off and eat them on your hike. And wow [...]
Last month was filled with adventure as I finally got to experience the city of Seattle, surf some narly waves in Waikiki and Turtle Bay in Hawaii, and camp in North Cascades National Park. Now that I'm back in chilly and rainy Anacortes, sun burnt and needing a vacation from the vacation, [...]
Anacortes, Washington You Are What Your Surroundings Are After moving to Anacortes, Washington last month, I've seen a total of 10+ bald eagles, a seal, a hummingbird, weird alien-like arm length dolphin-type worms, mushrooms that can be worn as a hat, and trees that seem to be on steroids. The nature is out of this [...]
The Big Move to Washington I did it! At the end of February I finally moved out of the parent's house in New Jersey and ventured out to Washington STATE (Not DC). My old roommate from college invited me out to live with him in the very cute town of Anacortes. And wow is it [...]
Four years ago I experienced culture shocks when I first arrived to Spain, from the crazy fiestas, to the relaxed life style, to how much Spaniards talked. Now that I moved back home to the US I've experienced reverse culture shocks that I wanted to share. Here are my top reverse culture shocks from [...]
As my final week in Spain lingers ever so near, I begin to ponder everything I'll miss about this beautiful country. Here's a small list of all the things that will forever have a place in my heart as I move back home to the United States after living four years in Spain. 1. Cafes [...]
Traveling this year in Spain has been close to non-existent for me due to lack of money and scarred from making travel plans. But my surfer, German friend Emily made me go outside my comfort zone by urging me on a road trip with her this holiday during Letras Gallegas, the long weekend off when [...]
When you think of Spain, I’m sure sipping wine in the Andalusian sun, taking a rejuvenating siesta, and late night fiestas come to mind. But did you know Spain has some of the best surfing in Europe? Here are five great surf spots in Spain. Cadiz Cadiz is the most southern region in Spain, located [...]
9/17/2018 I have officially moved into my new home for the next eight months in San Roque, Spain; I am no longer homeless! Wow is it beautiful. There’s a little café across the street called La Ermita. I live right next to the pool and gym, and attached to it there's a soccer field [...]
Date: 9/16/2018 I told my new roommate I’d move in with him on Monday. I wanted to take one day to relax and do absolutely nothing. I also wanted to enjoy one more night with air conditioning. Spain is fricken HOT! And it is unusual to have air conditioning here so I wanted to [...]
In my previous post, I started talking about my goals. Goals are important because they are what get you up in the morning, ready to start the day and improve your life. When you were a kid, your goals were set for you: graduate and get a job. Well, now that those goals have [...]
After arriving to Spain and recovering on the beach, it was time to figure out my life. The first thing on my list was to get out of the stone age and get a phone plan. I was afraid to leave my Airbnb without data. So I searched for my destination on Google Maps [...]
After my nice sleep that didn’t end up being too sweaty, I woke up and said my goodbyes to my Airbnb hosts. I stepped outside into the bright sun and enjoyed my first day-views of Marbella, Spain. I had the giant La Concha mountain before me, shooting straight up into the air, almost touching [...]
I made it to Spain! After a long, exhausting trip, I finally made it to the Malaga airport around 8:00 pm at night. But my journey wasn’t over yet. My destination was La Línea de la Concepción: the very southern tip of Spain. There wasn’t a direct bus to La Línea de la Concepción [...]
Last I left off, I said my goodbyes to Mamma Johns at the airport, ready to start my adventure. My new flight from Newark, New Jersey was delayed by an hour and a half, but so far, I would make my connecting flight in Paris. I arrived to the airport at 11:00 pm, two [...]
Wow. What just happened? I don’t even know what day it is…My trip to Spain was a disaster. Let me think back… I planned to leave for Spain on Monday, September 10th at 11:00 pm. I booked my trip through Kiwi.com, and I was flying from Newark, NJ to Paris, France with Iberia Air. [...]