Cusco, Peru in iOS (June/July, 2018)

August 19, 2018January 28, 2019 / Cate Tracey / Leave a comment

Although my mom and I enjoyed our time in Lima, Cusco was our favorite!

Spending all of this quality time meant the world to me! The only downside about Cusco? The altitude adjustment (or lack thereof on my end)! I instantly felt hungover, even when I was only drinking hot water. Being with my mom and petting/holding baby animals made me feel better though!

Our first night in Cusco consisted of me puking and the two of us watching old Denzel Washington movies 😂 At least the next day I seemed to make a full recovery…

We ate at the chocolate museum (twice!), saw amazing parade floats, visited more animals, climbed the cathedral for the best views, ate more incredible meals, and met some of the kindest people. Cusco, we’ll be back for sure!

Sharing this experience with my mom is indescribable. We brought back lots of memories (and llamas)!

Lima, Peru in iOS (June,2018)

August 18, 2018January 28, 2019 / Cate Tracey / Leave a comment

Toward the middle of June, my mom and I FINALLY decided to visit Peru! We were on the fence for a while, given the fact that I’m starting a new job in September and getting married in November…but our better judgment prevailed!

I mean c’mon! Look at that itinerary (courtesy of my mom)!

We mainly stayed in Lima to become acclimated to the altitude change; however, we really enjoyed it! Aside from my mom feeling the initial culture shock while departing from the airport, all went smoothly!

We had so much fun in the city! The Starbucks barista’s spelling of “Dawn” was my favorite part! At the hotel, we even made friends with the pet guinea pig!

From strolling through Parque del Amor to eating and shopping at Larcomar, Lima didn’t disappoint 🙂

Ecola State Park, Oregon

August 14, 2018August 14, 2018 / Cate Tracey / Leave a comment

Friday, July 27 (continued)

After our time relaxing at the beach, Al and I knew we had some hiking to do!

Our walk to the state park wasn’t all flowers and sunshine though! We had to walk up to the entrance of the park, which consisted of walking uphill for ~30 mins-1 hour and made us short of breath even before the “real” hiking began!

Once we arrived at the entrance, the guide helped us pick which trail we wanted to hike. Since we craved high, ocean views, we chose to head west and felt the ocean air.

Prior to heading back uphill to continue on our path, a huge bug landed in Al’s mouth as he was talking! I was laughing so hard that I couldn’t even walk back up on the trail!

Even though I couldn’t get his bug incident on camera, I’m happy we took the above pictures 🙂

The views were incredible, the stories were endless, and the laughs were much-needed after a long day of hiking!

Some Favorites from 2017

December 24, 2017 / Cate Tracey / Leave a comment

2017 was a great year, but cheers to 2018 and more adventures to come!

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year! 🙂

July in the Big Apple

October 31, 2017 / Cate Tracey / 1 Comment

Hello again, and Happy Halloween!

I frequent my introductions with “I haven’t posted in awhile…” or something along those lines.

I need to stop doing this.

Anyway…I have been living at home in a small town for a little over a year now, and it makes me crave the city. Thankfully, I was able to visit my cousin, Katy who lives just outside of NYC. Our times together are always well-spent!

We first visited a food festival in Brooklyn, where I tended to look nine months pregnant in every photo (it was the wind – I swear)!! I ended up getting freshly-squeezed peach lemonade and truffle fries with aioli for ‘brunch.’

Next, we visited the High Line in west Manhattan. The last time I visited NYC, the High Line was still under construction; it was definitely worth the wait and the strong winds! We once again took several photos, and I had more to eat (I think dark chocolate gelato this time?).

We decided that the wind was a tad overwhelming and headed to Queens. Katy mentioned something about the “Museum of the Moving Image.” I was sold!

Katy and I then agreed that margaritas were suddenly necessities and ventured over to the Chipotle test kitchen. They even had queso, so this was basically my heaven-on-earth…

The infamous Fearless Girl was on our way to the Staten Island Ferry, which led to us posing with her immediately!

Although the ferry might have been windier than the High Line, it was SO worth it! We attempted to take several Titantic-posed photos, but nothing turned out as we hoped.

Unfortunately, we never met any of the Impractical Jokers either. Bummer…

On my last day, Katy, my aunt Jenn, and I visited Brooklyn again; there was a market going on and we decided to check it out. It was a beautiful day, thus making it even MORE difficult to say goodbye to the city and my family.

NYC? 10/10 would recommend. I have visited the Big Apple three times now, and each time has been incredible (my rating would have been a 17/10 if I could’ve met Murr, Joe, Sal, or Q)!!

Askøy & Bergen, Norway (Part II)

July 24, 2017January 24, 2019 / Cate Tracey / 1 Comment

At the beginning of 2018, I hope to go on a trip to Europe with my brother. He will graduate college in December of this year and has never gone to Europe, so I figure this would be the perfect gift for him (expensive, yes, but perfect…) 🙂

And if that doesn’t work out, then my mom is willing to take his place!

Until my next adventure in Europe, I can look back on the past and cherish the memories I have already made as I excitedly plan on making some new ones in the near future 🙂