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Welcome to Exploring Duo — chronicling the travels of Dixie, Victor, and friends. Start with our featured stories, then dive into practical travel guides and the experiences that made each trip memorable.

Featured

  • W Trek – Torres del Paine, Patagonia
    To see Torres del Paine is to see what beauty our earth has to offer at the edge of civilization. Aside from the views is the experience itself, a 50 mile hike over 5 days/4 nights. I left it not only with some nice pictures but also a gratifying sense of accomplishment.
  • New York City / Six Flags
    We did NYC our way, following the familiar rhythm of our usual trips, the way you would definitely not see on any “Perfect 4 days in New York” suggested itinerary. But there was a good amount of neighborhood-hopping, catching up with friends, and endless pizza.
  • Nashville, TN
    I like the pace of Nashville. Everyone drives under the speed limit and I feel as if we’ve been let in on some secret (psst, let the rest of the world rush along as much as it pleases, but you and us my dear, we are in no such hurry!)

Travel Guides

  • North Cascades National Park
    Aside from a beautiful turquoise blue lake, this park is all about the mountains, nothing but mountains. And all the many mile long, tough hikes on those mountains… but what a work out you’ll get! And oh the majestic views you’ll see along the way.
  • Mt. Rainier National Park
    The proximity of this park to Seattle makes Mt. Rainier a popular and easily accessible destination. I enjoyed the wildflowers late summer and marmot sightings here. It’s a relatively condensed park as there are only two main areas, Sunrise and Paradise, which makes it easy to see everything without too much driving.
  • Olympic National Park
    Olympic National Park is massive and has several distinct regions, from rainforests, to beaches, to mountains. It’s quite the variety all within the same national park! Visitors typically start at the Olympic National Park Visitor Center and drive counter-clockwise along Highway 101. Given how large and spread out this park is, there’s a lot of driving each day.
  • Philadelphia, PA
    Philly is a city rich in history. It is home to the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall (where the Declaration of Independence and Constitution were signed), and the famous steps that Rocky ran up in the “Rocky” movie.
  • How we spent one day in Sapporo, Japan
    “Sapporo is the fifth largest city in Japan, and the largest city on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido.” (Thanks Wikipedia!) We visited because we had just finished snowboarding in Hokkaido, so we thought it’d be worth exploring the city for a day before flying out.
  • A Guide to Skiing at Rusutsu Ski Resort in Hokkaido, Japan
    If you’re looking for that famous Hokkaido powder, look no further than Rusutsu Ski Resort. It has lots of tree areas to explore and though it’s roped off, people go anyway. The resort itself can be summarized as homey, not too modern, but for the purists that just want good powder for good value above all else, this is the place to be.

Our Experiences

  • Portugal
    Sorta our babymoon! We spent two weeks traveling the country visiting the major tourist areas: Lisbon, Porto to the north, and the scenic coastal region of Algarve to the south. Also spent about a day each in SIntra with its castle and Évora with its cork and olive trees. For once, we finally planned a vacation that took it slow and relaxed, given being pregnant and all. A nice last big trip just the two of us before we welcome a new member of the family 🙂
  • Australia (Tasmania, NYE in Sydney, Great Barrier Reef, & Blue Mountains)
    The theme in Australia was hiking and nature, so that’s how Tasmania and Blue Mountains got on the itinerary. We went Snorkeling/diving in the Great Barrier Reef too because who knows how long it’ll be around? We watched NYE fireworks in Sydney because how often are we in Australia, and for that matter during NYE? It was a packed agenda with lots of flying, and boat rides!
  • Milford Track, New Zealand
    Milford Track is a 5 day 4 night 33.5 mile hiking excursion, although the only real hiking was done in the middle 3 days. First and last days were transportation to/from the hike, including boat rides! We did this trek via a guided tour with Ultimate Hikes, which provided transportation, guides, and very luxurious food and lodging for being in the middle of nowhere.
  • Maui, Hawaii
    In Maui, we did lots of snorkeling, hiking, eating, boogie boarding, took a full day boat ride to Lanai, drove the Road to Hana, experienced a luau, went cliff jumping, saw blowholes, and watched pretty sunsets on tons of beaches. It was honestly always quite productive during the day! But to be fair we always got to chill at night.
  • Malaysia (Penang, Langkawi, & Kuala Lumpur)
    We spent about 8 days in Malaysia: spread across Penang, Langkawi, and Kuala Lumpur, a sampling of very different vibes. How does one visit their origin country with an unbiased perspective? You don’t; of course I’m biased. But they’re so multicultural and multilingual that I feel right at home here. I came not only as a tourist, but also to learn more about where I’m from.
  • Cambodia (& Angkor Wat)
    Visiting Cambodia was an enriching experience with so much to learn both culturally and historically. Angkor Wat, of course, was a primary reason we visited. As for the more serious side of the trip, it was moving learning about the Cambodian genocide. But we also happened to be there during the Cambodian New Year celebrations. For all these reasons, I think it was one of our more unique trips.
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