[day 2] lottery and onwards to page, az

Today was a big day! Lottery day for the Coyote Buttes permit. According to their website, the lottery would take place daily at the Kanab Center at 8 am. Luckily, the Perry Lodge was walking distance (across the street!) from the Center so it was an easy walk. There is a parking lot at the Center if you are bringing your vehicle. At 8 am, they open the doors for people to fill out their application.

Things you need to know about the application

• Bring your own pen/pencil
• license plate number
• emergency contact (someone who is not traveling with you)
• cash or check of $7 per person in case you win the lottery

I arrived around 8:15 am and there was already several applicants. After filling out my application, I decided to wait in the room and ask some questions about the lottery. The rangers told me that only 20 people can enter per day and 10 are pre-selected from the online lottery and 10 are selected during the in-person lottery. For the in-person lottery, they keep picking groups until they hit 10 people, not 10 groups. Meaning, if the first lottery picked has 2 people, the rangers keep picking the lottery until 10 hits. And if they are at 9 people, and the next group picked has a group of 4, the group can decided to pass their chance or kick people off their group.

While waiting in the room, I noticed a lot of repeat applicants from the day before. The ranger mentioned that they keep the application since people do come for second and third rounds. The ranger also told me that the day before they had 82 applications and it was their busiest day so far.

At 9 am, the room was packed with applicants and the ranger did a roll-call and gave every applicant their lottery number. Today there were 75 applicants and I was number 50. The ranger asked if everyone remembered their number and there were several people who could not remember and the rangers provided the numbers again. The lottery proceeded quickly from here and unfortunately, I didn’t win. Sad but I guess more reason to come back 🙂 The ranger recommended several different local spots we could visit so we decided to pick one and go with it.

After not winning the lottery, I headed back to the lodge’s lobby and pick up our breakfast bag. Usually they would provide continental breakfast but since COVID, they were giving out small lunch bag. The Lodge’s bag wasn’t bad. It had yogurt, pastry, fruit bowl, juice, apple, string cheese, granola bar, and a water bottle. Not bad. We thought it was perfect to take it for our hikes. We packed our things and checked out and headed towards the Coral Pink Sand Dunes.

On our way, we made a pitstop to see the Sand Dune Arch. This wasn’t on Google maps but it was on the pamphlet that the ranger gave out. The direction on the handout wasn’t very clear so we got lost a bit but luckily, there was no one around and it made it feel like we owned the place. While following the google maps toward the Dunes, from HWY 89, you will make a left turn at Hancock road. From there, you have to park your car around 64B. Walk towards the bird-like rock (on google maps, this is the Lone Rock Overlook) and keep following the road to the left that goes down the hill. At the end of the hill, you should see the Arch. It wasn’t as grand as the name makes it to be.

It was a mid-sized arch. It looks pretty small in the picture but the hole in the center was about 5feet5inches. We spent some time here, climbing the Arch and looking around the area. But other than the Arch, this area was empty and no visitors. After seeing enough, we headed back to our vehicle and drove off to the Dunes. About 15 minutes in, we started to see the Dunes and lots of ATVs. And while driving, the GPS told us that we arrived but it was in the middle of the road?! Not even a parking lot! So we parked on the side of the street and walked into the Dunes. There were small trail like area so we followed that in.

Guys. The sand dunes are not something you should just walk into. We saw the high dunes and thought they were relatively close but it wasn’t. We ended up walking around 40 minutes to get to the bottom of the dunes. However, it was really impressive! The sand was really soft and as we climbed to the top, we kept sinking a bit. By the time we got to the top, we had sand in our pants and shoes! The sand waves were really pretty and from the top, you can see the other dunes and there were teams of people in ATVs and also sandboarding.

One thing to definitely consider is the sun. There were no shade and it was 98 degree sun just beating on us. After our climb, we headed back but we got lost. All the trails were starting to look the same and we ended up somewhere we didn’t pass. We were lucky we brought our water bottle but it was just too hot. We ended up following the sound of vehicles passing on the road and got out. I think if you were to walk, make sure you bring something to help you navigate (like strings you can tie around plants?).

After getting out of the maze-like Dunes, we headed to our next destination, Page, AZ. The drive to Page was very straight forward with lots of canyon views. The red colors of the canyons along the roads were a sight to see! And once at Page, we were amazed to see all the water from the Lake Powell into the canyons! We quickly checked into our hotel for the next 2 days, Sleep Inn & Suites, ate a quick lunch/dinner, and headed to Lake Powell.

We brought our swimsuits just in case and it was a good thing we did. The hotel gave us two options for swimming: The Wahweap Marina and The Chain. The Marina was a bit further but it has a beach and is part of the National Park. The Chain was more of a local people’s gathering area and was close to the dam. We decided to give The Chain a try and I’m so glad we did.

From the hotel, you have to follow signs/GPS to The Hanging Garden Trail. Do not park at the parking lot but keeping driving down until you see another parking lot (there is a small building at the end). Park here and you can follow the trail down to the bottom. It is about a 10-15 minute walk. Once at the bottom, you should see people swimming, fishing, and just enjoying themselves.

It was amazing to swim between the canyons! The colors were amazing and the water was just right. At some parts, it was shallow but it dips rather quickly so if you cannot swim, I would not recommend this place. On the deeper end, we noticed small motor boats driving by so watch out for those as well. This place was really peaceful and nice. No wonder the locals come here to relax! And I couldn’t believe we were able to swim so close to the dam! It was definitely an experience 🙂

We played in the waters until sundown. After getting out, we explored the area a bit before heading back. The view of the canyons along with the rock formations were just amazing. We didn’t want to leave! Plus, there were still several groups of people here when we left.

Once back at our hotel, we washed up, relaxed, and talked about our plans for the next day. Tomorrow was going to be our big day: Grand Canyon!

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Roadtrip with my roommate (Goal: Grand Canyon)

I have been working from home since Covid-19 took off and have been loving the idea of working from home. However, after 7 month of being stuck at home, I was starting to get a case of cabin fever. So I decided that I wanted to take some time off to rejuvenate myself by taking some time off.

During this time off, I wanted to go see some open fields to make myself feel free again and I instantly thought of Grand Canyon. It was going to be a long drive (about 14 hours) and I knew I couldn’t do it all in one day and I knew I couldn’t do it alone. So I asked my roommate if she wanted to come along. We had some Covid-19 scares and had to be careful but in the end, she agreed to come with.

This trip was pretty spontaneous with no actually plans except that we were going to Grand Canyon on one of the days. This was because I was planning on attending the day lottery for The Wave. I will talk more about this in the day to day write up but because of this, we needed to make plan A and plane B. Plan A was for in case we win the lottery and plan B was for in case we didn’t win the lottery.

The places that were listed to visit during our trip:

• Grand Canyon (north rim)
• The Wave
• Seven Magic Mountains
• Coral Pink Sand Dunes
• Lake Powell
• Horseshoe Bend
• Antelope Canyon (on the list but couldn’t go because they were closed for Covid-19)

So for Plan A (we win the lottery)

Day 1 : Drive to Kanab, UT. On the way, see Seven Magic Mountains
Day 2: Win the lottery in the morning, drive to Page, AZ, see Horseshoe Bend
Day 3: Early morning, drive to Grand Canyon (North Rim) and head to the Wave in the afternoon
Day 4: Drive back home

And Plan B (we don’t win the lottery)

Day 1 : Drive to Kanab, UT. On the way, see Seven Magic Mountains
Day 2: Don’t win the lottery in the morning, visit the Coral Pink San Dunes, drive to Page, AZ
Day 3: See the Horseshoe Bend in the morning, drive to Grand Canyon (North Rim)
Day 4: Drive back home

These were my original plan. A bit ambitious with lots of driving but lots of nature! We also thought about renting a campervan but had to X that plan because of the drop off and pick up time. However, I would love to try camping in a campervan next time.

[Day 16] Last day in Bolivia

Last day in Bolivia. I wanted this to be a lazy day and the accommodation I picked was the best for that. The official check out was until 1pm! I’ve never heard of a hotel’s check out time being this late. However, this was my only full day in La Paz so I wanted to check it out.

I packed my bags, checked out of the hotel around 11am, stored luggage at the hotel, and ventured out.

First, we headed to st. Francisco church to meet a new travel buddy for the day. As this trip was my first trip alone, I tried to gather people to travel with, before and during the trip. And I think I was very successful. Throughout my whole trip, I was with someone and everyone has been awesome.

So today, I met up with my new travel buddy and headed to Valle de la Luna. Before, I looked at tour agencies but could not find something that suited my schedule. So I decided to take the local bus. After some searching, a lot of people were pointing me to bus #43. However, after waiting for over 30 minutes, we asked the police for help. They told us to take #902 going to Mallas.

The bus was only 2 bol but the traffic was awful! If you are going to visit Valle de la Luna by bus, please go early in the morning. It took over an hour and the road was rough. The bus system was interesting. It was more l ike a mini van. People would fill in the seats and when it was full, the driver would not stop at any of the other stops until someone got off. And people paid the driver as they got off.

Once at Valle de la Luna, there was an entrance fee of 15 bol and there were several different trails, all marked with how long it takes, and we decided to take the 45 minute one. The trail was beautiful and presented itself with a very different kind of view than what I expected. Since it was named Valley of the Moon, I was sort of expecting craters or something similar to it. However, the Valley was filled more more sharp peaks and cliffs. Luckily, the trail had a lot of railings for safety. They also had lots of picturesque areas to take photos so even on the 45 minute trail, it took longer.

Also, it was really hot! The Valley did not provide any shade and since we were there around 1pm, the sun was really on top of us. Make sure to bring a lot of water because the trail doesn’t have any fountains. The trail is one way so you just have to keep going. There are lots of ups and downs so be ready to walk.

After finishing the trail, we decided to go back to the city. This time, we wanted to take the telefarico. So we took a cab to the closest line, which was the green line. The cab was 25 bol and at the green line, we bought tickets to Prado, which was 15 bol for 3 people.

From the green line, we transferred to the blue/celestial line and got off at Prado. From here, we walked to Witch’s Market. It was so small. Smaller than I expected. There were small, individual shops that all sold similar things like stones, perfume, incense, and items for rituals like dried animal and animal parts. I wasn’t sure what to buy here so I just took pictures. I wasn’t super impressed but very unique.

So we headed to dinner. We wanted to find some traditional Bolivian food so we searched for a place and found “Luciernagas Restaurant” and this place was amazing. It was all home cooking and tasted great. The restaurant is in a residential area so while looking for it, I thought we were so lost.

Once we were at the restaurant, we met the owner and his wife. The owner recommended our meals and the wife cooked for us. It was a family owned business and really great for home cooked meals. They had an extensive menu but there were several things that were not available, so ask! We ordered a soup and main entree to share. The portions were pretty big here.

After dinner, we wanted to see the city light up the night. I was told the best view of the city was at Killi Killi park. I was told the Park could be dangerous at night but when we were there, it didn’t seem too bad. There were several travelers taking photos there and some locals playing around. It was cold but the view was nice. The lights from the city sparkled and provided a good city view.

One thing that worried me was the ride back. Our hotel was nice enough to get us a cab when we went up to the park but the way down was different. We tried to call an Uber but they wouldn’t come. We thought about walking down but that was a long walk. Lucky for us, a tourist came up and we were able to take that cab back to the hotel.

While going back, we saw the night market and it was really lively. I wish I could have visited. It looked like there were lots of food vendors. Once we were at the hotel, I said good bye to my travel buddies and headed to the airport.

Since I was taking the night plane out of Bolivia, the airport was very empty. It took only minutes to check in and it was very simple and quick. I wasn’t looking forward to ending my trip but was looking forward to sleeping in my bed again. After checking in, I headed inside to use the lounge. It had a small selection of things but had warm food like pancakes, cold food like cereals, and drinks. They have 3 different local beers and pepsi products.

This concluded by trip to Peru and Bolivia. It was my first time traveling in South America and it was amazing. I cannot wait to come back soon.

Peru and Bolivia Master Plan 2019

This was the first time I took a long vacation in 4 years. Mostly of the time, I would attach 1 or 2 vacation days to a weekend or a work trip. The most I have taken was a week. So this was definitely something special for me.

I took 2 weeks to see Peru and Bolivia but this was definitely not enough. Of course in the span of 2 weeks, I did my best to see the major cultural points in the 2 countries. Or at least what I wanted to see.

Here was my list of to-do.

For Peru:

• Machu Picchu
• Vinicunca/Rainbow Mountain
• Sacred Valley Tour
• Humantay Lake or 69 lake
• Huacachina (Dune Buggy)
• Nazca Lines Tour

For Bolicia:

• Uyuni Desert
• Ride the teleferico
• Witch’s Market
• Valle de la luna/Moon Valley

I knew I didn’t have a lot of time. So I had to compromise on what I can see and do. I heard the beauty of 69 lake from other travelers but that was quite far from where I planned on going and it would not be a day trip. So instead of 69 lake, I decided to visit Humantay Lake. From reviews, many travelers said that if the weather permits, Humantay Lake is also beautiful. I took a chance. I also wanted to see Nasca Lines since it is close to Huacachina. However, it was another compromise I had to make since I would need to stay in Huacachina for a night and I wanted to do a day trip.

Also, I knew I was going to have only a day to see La Paz because of Uyuni. I have been told that Uyuni’s weather can be unpredictable and if you want to see the salt flats as you see on the internet, you might need to stay extra days just in case.

So with this in mind, here is the schedule I made.

So when a plan, I was pretty set. Now, I just needed to pack.

Packing was a bit challenging. I did not want to take too much but since the weather was all over the place, I had to basically pack summer AND winter clothes. Overall, the weather was going to be in the high 60s to mid 70s. However, Uyuni Desert was something else. Everyone said to take winter clothes, lots of layers.

So things I packed:

• Travel essentials (toothbrush, paste, shampoo, skincare, etc)
• 2 Long sleeve and 2 short sleeve
• 1 sweater
• Water proof winter jacket
• 2 Jeans, 1 jogger, 1 yoga pants
• Pajama
• 1 hiking boots and 1 rainboots
• 12 packs of disposable heating pads
• Flashlight, wide brimmed hat, disposable raincoat
• Camera (Sony A5100)
• Phone (Samsung Galaxy note5)
• Portable Wifi (GlocalMe U2)
• All the charging cables
• Journal and pen

I made sure to book accommodations that offer laundry service for a fee. So I planned to pack as little as possible.

Of course, with traveling, there are always mishaps even if you try to account for everything. So even though this was my plan, I didn’t get to do everything I wanted to. I will write about my day to day and how my travel plans changed. I will also do reviews of the travel companies I used and the accommodations I used throughout my trip.

Busan: the Port City

Busan. I love this city. It’s the second largest city in South Korea and although it doesn’t have the old and new feel of Seoul, it does have it’s own charms. Also, Busan contains the word for mountain but the city is also surrounded by water. So if you are looking to vacation, this could be it.

Busan is a city with a lot of history. After WW2, Korea was just freed from Japan’s colonial rules and had no real leadership and was a strategic location for the US, China, and Russia. China and Russia were pushing for communism while the US was aiming for democracy. The country was way too vulnerable and took in what was near them. So the northern part took in the communism ideals with Kim Il Sung as their leader and the South took in democracy(more like capitalism) with their first president, Syngman Rhee. Both leaders claimed that they were the rightful leader of freed Korea. Unable to come to an agreement, Northern Korea, attacked the South.

The innocent people of Korea, not knowing what was going on, fled. They had just been freed from the Japanese but now, they were fighting each other. Many people, including people in the North, were leaving everything behind to save their lives. The North kept pushing and pushing and eventually, Busan was the last city standing on the South Korean side. And from here, the South, with the help from the US, pushed back. Eventually, they came to terms and set the 38 parallel line and the DMZ.

So within the city of Busan, you can still see the remnant of the War. Gamcheon Culture Village is one. People now come to see the Village as this colorful, artsy place, but actually, these were the houses the refugees built on the mountains. There were so many refugees, this was the only way to house all of them. People from the era still live here but now it has become more of a touristy place to take pictures from.

Gamcheon Culture Village (From https://www.gamcheon.or.kr/?CE=about_01)

If you enjoyed some history from Gamcheon Culture Village and want to see something new, head over to Haeundae area. This is the up-and-coming (not really coming anymore, just up) town. With the highrise buildings that overlook the ocean and gentrified restaurants and cafes, this is the town that everyone wants to be a part of. During the day, enjoy the ocean view from a terrace cafe or walk around the Dongpaek Park and during the night, take in the night view in front of the Bay 101 and enjoy the night life. Also, Gwangandaegyo during the night lights up the beach pretty well if you want to just sit around.

View of the Gwangandaegyo from Dongpaek Park

These are two things I really enjoy about Busan. I’ll write up a list of places to visit for now but will talk in more detail about other places as well later.

• Other places to visit in Busan:
  • Taejongdae Park
  • Songdo Skywalk and cable car
  • Yonggungsa Temple
  • Nampodong and Gukje Market
  • Bosudong old book street
  • BIFF Square

Spontaneous Peru and Bolivia

While I was planning my trip to Grand Canyon, a friend from College contacted me asking if I wanted to travel to Peru with her and her group. I’ve always wanted to visit Machu Pichu so I had no reason to say no to her, right? They always say follow your heart so I did. It was totally spontaneous since I had no plans for Peru this year but since she gave me ample time to plan, I went away with it. She told me that the trip would be in May for about 12 days including Memorial Day and this was good for me since I get national holidays off and can save on PTO days (I have so few ;_; ). She gave me her initial itinerary and I started to work on it.

I started to look at what to do in Peru and a lot of people were suggesting crossing over to Bolivia. Bolivia was also on my bucket list because of Uyuni Desert so I started to do my research on both countries. Of course with 12 days, it wasn’t going to be enough so I changed my plans to 16 days. I still feel like it isn’t going to be enough but I would be able to just hit some of the places. More like touch and go. I would not be able to get the full immersive experience but at least I would be able to cross them off my bucket list.

I’m a big advocate for using books for research. So the first thing I did was to visit my local library and borrow books about Peru and Bolivia. Libraries are a great resource for any type of research so I recommend you use it to your advantage. I mean, you can get all the books for free! If your library doesn’t have it, you can make a request to your librarian and I’m sure they will be happy to assist you with it.

the three books that helped me with my planning

There were certain things that the group wanted to do that I was made aware from the beginning. The main thing was the Inca Trail up to Machu Pichu. This is a 2 day trail that covers about 10 miles and you would be able to see some of the Inca ruins close up along the way. This trail is also only for people who book through registered guides and would require us to make reservations way in advance. I’m not against hiking but to do a 10 mile hike in high altitude was new to me and I did not want to risk myself getting too sick in the beginning of our trip. Luckily, I wasn’t the only one who was backing out of the trail from the group. So we were able to split the group a little.

The second one was doing one of those fancy dinners at one of the course meal places in Lima. Lima is filled with amazing food choices and I was learning more and more about them as I was researching. Two restaurants in Lima are Top 10 on the World’s 50 Best Restaurant and it would be a great opportunity to try them while visiting Lima. And I’m always down for good food so I was becoming more and more excited for this trip.

I only had Machu Pichu and Uyuni Desert in mind but with more research, there are more and more places I want to visit so I’m looking forward to what my itinerary looks like when it’s finished. I’ll share it with you once it is all finished.

Traveling with a First-Timer to Grand Canyon and more

In April, a friend of mine will be visiting the USA for the first time. It is her for her to get time off from work so this was something we had to plan way in advance to make sure work would permitted. When she told me she wanted to visit me, she asked gave me two options: Visit Grand Canyon or visit New York. With only 1 week, I knew doing both would be impossible. And also, she has never flown for longer than 2 hours so I did not know what she would be like after crossing the waters. So we decided on Grand Canyon.

I have been to Grand Canyon several times now and there are places I’ve never been to but to make it a memorable trip for her, I planned it as if I was visiting for the very first time. I didn’t mind going back to the same places because every time I see them, it is still amazing. (In the last 4 years, I’ve been 3 times and it never gets old. I want to go hiking there but that will have to wait.)

my original plan

She and I are both Disney nerds so we had to slip in Disneyland somehow. I purposely left the first day empty to see how she would be feeling after the long flight. And once in Las Vegas, I knew we would be doing a lot of driving so I wanted to leave a lot of error time for just in cases. Since it was semi-confirmed, I purchased the airfare tickets, hotels, rental car, and the Antelope Canyon Tour. Also, there was a sale going on for 3 day passes at Disneyland and it was cheaper than buying 2 day passes so we hopped on that. However, we had to make a HUGE change to our schedule.

My friend went to an autograph signing event for Andy from Shinhwa. Since he is from California, she asked him for recommendation. (Note: At signing events, you can ask a question on a post-it and the artist will usually respond to it)

Q: Going to USA for the first time in April. I’m heading to LA area and do you have any recommendation?
A: San Diego Sea World

With his answer, my friend contacted me and said “I want to go to Sea World.” Welp. Time to change our plans around. We couldn’t change too much of it since most of it was paid for. But we could make our schedule a bit tight to make things fit. I didn’t want to make the trip hard for her but she wanted to push to see everything since she didn’t know when she would be back again. So we altered our schedule to include Sea World. The last time I went to Sea World was when I was… 10? So this would be something “new” for me as well.

our current plan

So now, this is our plan. We have less than 30 days left for this trip so I hope we can stick to this. We will be heading over to Disneyland right after I pick up my friend from LAX and I really hope she will be ok. I will also need to get some good-night sleep before she comes so I can have the energy to run this plan myself! But overall, I cannot wait for her to visit me 🙂

Soul of Korea: Seoul

Seoul is an amazing city with lots of history. The city is a mixture of old and new, modern and contemporary. In most places you visit, you will get to experience them both. With this in mind, I started to plan for Seoul. Plus, spring time in Korea can be amazing! The Cherry Blossom festivals are something you don’t want to miss! (That is if you time your trip right) I’m so jealous my cousin is visiting in April. It’s PRIME time for the blossoms and there are lots of festivals on the weekends.

I was super excite to plan this trip because my cousin’s has been wanting to go back to Korea for a long time. And as I said before, I’m a bit of a scheduling nerd. So when I plan trips, I tend to use excel to manage my time…. By the hour. Sometimes by 30 minute increments. I know it can seem daunting but it can be very effective and efficient.

my tentative Seoul schedule for my cousin

It doesn’t look too detailed, right? Well…. I couldn’t fully plan her trip since she is staying with friends and family. Also, she wanted a more relaxed plan that can be altered if need be. She wanted it to be more of a vacation than a work trip. I wanted to give her the bigger framework (main sites) and let her pick what she wants in detail. But there were some main places that I wanted her to visit such as the Gyeongbokgung and COEX. I wanted her to be able to take in the history and culture of Korea, from the old to the new. She only had limited days in Seoul so I didn’t want to add all the palaces to the map and she has been to Korea before.

Also, to make it easier for her, I created a My Maps page on Google with pins, marking the places to visit, eat, drink, shop, and more. Click here to see the Google My Maps for Seoul

I color coded them by dates and used identifiers to indicate what the pins are. The reason I wanted to color code by dates was to make it easier for my cousin to see what was around and if she wanted to break away, she could easily see the areas that could be separated. I will do the same for Busan (one of the other cities she will be visiting).

Also, Seoul is a very walkable city. I should just say that cities in Korea are mostly walkable. So I tried to group areas together so she could just walk around and see/eat things. Mostly eat. There are lots of delicious street food in Korea. Plus, Seoul has a lot of these small alleys/streets that has rows of restaurants and shops so if you find one of these, you can shop-hop.

If you have more days, I would suggest visiting all the palaces and museums. There are so many interesting museums such as the “Witch’s Garden” which is an interactive play zone, “Sugar Planet,” an art exhibition on all things sweet, and more. There are so many of these in Seoul that you can fill your day with them.

And speaking of hop, there is also the City Tour Bus. This bus makes a big circle around Seoul and stops at all the major tourist areas and museums. If you are not so sure how to get around or what to see, this could give you an idea. You buy a ticket and just hop on. If you see something interesting, hop off. When you are done, just hope back on to the bus when you see it. Easy! This bus is very convenient so if you are not the planner type, this could be it. Just to let you know, you won’t be able to hop on and off at every stop in one day. So spend your time wisely.

If you are visiting Seoul but want to do something extra interesting? Plan a trip to the DMZ. DMZ stands for Demilitarized Zone and it basically is the border between the North and South Korea. You can only visit the DMZ through a tour so shop around to find one that you like. Most of the tours will include a trip to Panmunjom(Peace Village)/JSA, Freedom Bridge, and Dora Observatory, but many of the tours are unique to themselves so make sure to check them! It is a very intense trip since Korea is still at war (technically) and during your tour, you can see soldiers on both side of Korea eyeing each other, eyes like hawks. After the tour, you will be able to tell your friends that you’ve been to North Korea so I guess that is a plus.

I hope this peaked your interested! And if you visited Seoul and want to give me and my cousin more suggestions, please let me know! I could love to add more to her trip (or my future trips) 🙂