Scuba Diving with Seals - Glouchester, Massachusetts

Diving in New England gets a bad rap.  It's murky, it's dark, there is nothing to see, the water is cold.... Oh, the list goes on.  For all the warm water divers out there, who only don their gear when the temperatures are warm and the water is clear, you are missing out on some amazing local diving.  Amazing sea life, famous ship wrecks, and artifact finding right here in our sometimes murky waters.  

If you are lucky, you may even get the chance to swim with something a little bigger than lobsters and flounder.  Over labor day weekend, I had this awesome opportunity to spend some time in the water with some of New England's favorite residents, harbor seals and gray seals. 

Summit New England Challenge - 6 states and 6 summits

So you want to the best views in New England?

Well dear reader, you are going to have to work for it.  As someone who loves the mountains I may be biased but in my opinion, some of the best views of New England are seen from her highest summits.  A year ago today, I was standing on top of Mount Katahdin, Maine's highest summit and my last New England peak to conquer.  Conquering all six New England summits took a lot of planning (like a lot, a lot).  But let me tell you, that feeling on the top of that last mountain, surrounded by awesome friends and the most amazing views of Maine knowing I had just planted my hiking boots on each New England state's highest summit felt g-o-o-d.  It's worth the planning, every hour in the car, and every uphill climb, even over those boulder fields. 

Overlook Mountain Hike - Ruins, Fire Tower, and a View - Catskills, NY

By the beginning of the summer of 2018, I had finished my New England High Peaks and I vowed to venture out of the six states we refer to as New England.  Until this summer, I paid little attention to the Empire State outside of trips to New York City, days spent watching the horses race at the Belmont, or to spend some time at the beach in the Hamptons.  When July rolled around, I wanted to spend some time in the woods of New York - I wanted to soak in the streams, float in the lakes, hike wooded trails, and drive through those quiet back roads.  Dreamy, right?

 It all started with the Adirondacks as I convinced my parents that this part of New York was worth four days during fourth of July.  They enjoy anywhere with a 50 amp service for their RV, so off to Ausable Chasm in New York we went.  We spent the holiday hiking, eating, camping, rafting, biking, drinking, and swimming through northern New York.  After this trip outside the city and Long Island limits, I was hooked. 
Gimme all those mountain views and lazy streams.

Turning 30 (A Recap) and 13 Pieces of Advice for 20 somethings.

This blog is full of trail guides, trips to breweries, scuba diving spots, and travel itineraries.  But once in a while I find myself sitting behind my Mac, typing out events going on in my life behind the veil of summit photos and casual candids.  I've written about lessons in losing, yearly recap posts (2014, 2015, 2016 & 2017), and even my thoughts on 28.  Given my occasional dabble into things that are serious and often hard, I knew I had to commit to something good for 30.  I will let you be the decision maker if this is that "something good".  

I had been planning on writing a post on turning 30 for a long time, but 30 came and went and I still wasn't finished with this post (can't hit publish, can't hit publish).  I am glad I had writers block because as it turns out,  I learned a whole lot after the day I turned 30 (I learned a whole lot more these past two months.....).  I suppose leaving your 20's isn't as transformative as you think.  Lesson 1a?