Must see: Acadia National Park

I've been to a lot of National Parks in my life. Yet after spending just a few days in Acadia, it's obviously worthy of one of the top spots in my list of favorites (in case you're wondering, Glacier National Park is, and always will be, my all-time favorite NP).

Cam already covered a bunch of the stuff we did, but I wanted to share a few of my own favorite moments:

Alpine hiking with incredible views right on the coastline. It's like Montana, with an ocean.

Cami is goofy. This is one of my favorite things about any national park.


Unbelievable sunsets.


Did I say incredible views already?


A cool alpine lake to swim in after a fabulous hike on a warm, sunny summer day.


Though Glacier will always hold the top spot in my heart for national parks, I have to concede that Acadia has hands down the nicest bathrooms of any public park of any kind. Ever. I hope my home looks this nice some day.

So that's it. There have been a ton of fantastic things to do and see in New England and Acadia is certainly worthy of a spot on the Must See list.

Move over, IN-N-OUT

We interrupt our regularly scheduled program to bring you this shocking news.

Cami and I have done some amazing things since we have been in Boston. And by far one of the most important was finding a new burger joint that may actually be better than the almighty IN-N-OUT.

That almost sounds sacrilegious when you consider our last trip to St. George with some great friends, during which we ate at IN-N-OUT 3 times in 3 days. But it's true. And all you lucky folk in SLC don't just have to take my word for it, either. You can now taste for yourselves. I haven't been to the SLC location yet (only because I'm in Boston for the summer), but Five Guys Burgers and Fries has a new location in glamorous Midvale, Utah. So if you're aching for the IN-N-OUT fix, go check it out. I promise you won't go wrong.



Hans' Top 5 Burgers

1. Five Guys Burgers and Fries - The new king of the mountain. All the qualities of IN-N-OUT, but even better tasting, and even better fries. Plus, all burgers are actually doubles, unless you ask for a single patty. Not to mention they actually have a location in the Salt Lake valley (I know IN-N-OUT supposedly will soon, too. But they've already lost this race, as far as I'm concerned).

2. IN-N-OUT - The old #1. Still a treat. And IN-N-OUT does have shakes, where as Five Guys does not. But we're not talking about shakes here. That would be a whole other post.

3. Mr. Bartley's Burger Cottage - A Cambridge, MA institution. Almost as famous as the school across the street - Harvard. Check out their menu for a list of their nearly unlimited burger options, most of which are cleverly named after politicians, actors, or other pop culture icons. The frappes and onion rings are also worth trying.

4. Acme Burger - Although their menu does include some other wierdo stuff for a burger joint, their ACME Breath Enhancer is the best garlic burger I've had in recent memory. Great fries too. Also now located in downtown SLC.

5. Chili's - Get the Chile's Oldtimer Burger, and have them add blue cheese crumbles. The server may look at you funny at first, but it's worth making them understand what you want to get the blue cheese added. For me, Chili's is like my security blanket of restaurants. And I can't even begin to count how times I've ordered this. Along with the Chips and Queso, a chocolate shake, and their can't-be-beat Molten Chocolate Cake desert, of course.

Honorable Mentions:

Wendy's Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger - Best burger for under a buck. By far.
Hopper's - Also a great garlic burger here. And great homemade Root Beer. Located in Midvale, UT as well.
My dad's grill-fired burgers - In the end, a good hand-packed, home-made burger can't be matched.

I fully expect to get some flak for this. So go ahead and share your opinions below. I'd love to hear them.

Bald is beautiful

I needed a haircut, but I didn't want to pay big-city money to get one from some unknown, uber-chic stylist. So I got someone better. I got Cami. She's never cut my hair before, even though I've probably asked her to 100 times. I finally convinced her she couldn't mess this one up.

Before



After

Must see: Old Granary Burying Ground

If this adventure in Boston has been anything for me so far, it's been an absolute revelation in the vibrancy of our nation's birth.

Already, we've strolled the same streets as George Washington. Roamed the same squares where the Continental army camped. Walked some of the path of the famous Midnight Ride. Crossed the same river as the formidable British army. Even sat under the same trees as young Benjamin Franklin. "Awe-inspiring" does not even begin to describe the solemnity of such places.

One place that really left a significant impression on me was the Old Granary Burying Ground. It's actually the second of the three main historical cemeteries located directly in downtown Boston. And it's present day surroundings offer an unmistakable juxtaposition of generations. While it's perimeter include the cold, concrete and crowded environs of a major downtown street, the burying ground itself is a peaceful, inviting and comfortable place. And the final resting spot of what are truly some of our Nation's most valiant forefathers. John Hancock, Samuel Adams, Robert T. Paine, Peter Faneuil, Paul Revere. Perhaps the thing that struck me most though, was the epitaph left by Benjamin Franklin as memorial to his parents. Written by one of our country's grandest minds, their simplicity and supreme reverence inspire:

Josiah Franklin and Abiah his wife, lie here interred. They lived lovingly together in wedlock fifty-five years; and without an estate or any careful employment; by constant labor and honest industry, maintained a large family comfortably, and brought up thirteen children and seven grandchildren respectably. From this instance, Reader, be encouraged to diligence in thy calling, and distrust not Providence. He was a pious and prudent man; she a virtuous woman.

America, the Beautiful

I thought it finally time I did this. Post on my blog, that is. Though Cami is the better blogger of us two, I am for sure the more sappy and nostalgic romantic. So for the fun of it, I thought it appropriate to recreate some of my favorite memories from our cross country adventure. Basically, I’m going to write about whatever the heck I can actually remember. Enjoy (or at least humor me)….

The cross country road trip was, um, exhilarating. We left Utah (you don't know how good you have it), headed for Mount Rushmore. I’m not sure why southern and eastern Wyoming even exists, but since it’s there, we had to drive through it. Our first night, we paid WAY too much for a crappy bed at the Motel 6 in Casper (where do they get off charging $100/night for a crappy bed at the Motel 6 in CASPER!), before finally pulling in to Crazy Horse Monument the next morning. What’s crazy is that they’re actually building it. It’s a 563 foot tall man on a horse. And then on to Mount Rushmore. It really is impressive. But my favorite by far was driving through the Badlands. I really wish I'd been a Wild West gunslinger just so that place could be my hidden roost.



Cami didn't understand why I had to stop at Wall Drug. What the heck is Wall Drug anyway? Or the Corn Palace (it's the only one in the world, you know), but she humored me anyway, and now I can at least get a laugh out of them on my blog. Most regrettably, we had to skip the Spam Museum in Rochester, MN (I’m secretly saving that one for next time), and then crashed a night at my good friend Bart's. I hadn't seen him in 13 years, that's how good a friend I am. But he and his wife were the perfect hosts. And we caught up quick.



After finally clearing the Great Plains, we pulled in to Chicago to crash with my cousins, Trevor and Tina. And their adorable kids, Kalem and Quincy. Of course, our timing was perfect. We showed up the very same day the truck arrived to move into their fabulous new house. It wouldn’t be a family visit, if it wasn’t inconvenient and ill-timed, right? Of course, they were the perfect hosts too. And being with their kids almost made me want some of my own. Almost.



After a three hour whirlwind foot tour of Chicago downtown and waterfront, it was back in the car to head to Rochester and the great lakes. “Great” doesn’t even begin to approach how big they are. Can you say unfathomable? (Get it? I’m funny). We saw a bunch of stuff on the way, none of which stuck in my mind (Indiana, Ohio). Then cruised on up to Niagara Falls. I did know that the Canadian Horseshoe Falls is actually the prettier and more famous of the two falls. I didn’t know that the city around the falls is like Disneyland on some crack. That place is crazy. Crowded. Corny. Commercialized. Anyone know a synonym for smelly that starts with C? Again, though, amazing to see. Dinner that night was quite memorable. At Brownie’s, in Wilson, NY, on the shore of Lake Ontario. Quite a nice little lake town. Felt a lot like Garden City, at Bear Lake. So I liked it, of course. Spent a relaxed night at Cami’s friend Robin’s home in Rochester. Our last night on the road.



The last day of driving was surreal. Upstate New York is as beautiful as all say. Western Mass is quite delightful as well. Driving in to Boston for the first time felt something like leaving a peaceful dream-state, into a somewhat warped alternate dimension. We were arriving home, in a place we’d never been.

Happy FMOA Day, Babe!

Pretty much anyone that knows me knows I love life. And that I love pretty much everything in my life. Like soccer, and powder days, dogs, shave ice, Chili's, my family, double (or even triple) digit winners in our portfolio, potstickers from Costco. I even like my in-laws a fair amount. But above all, the one thing I absolutely can't do without is...

...my wife.

Cami is far and away the greatest thing in my life. I adore her. How did I ever survive without her? I don't know. How did I ever convice her that I'm the one for her? Beats me. I'm well aware that sh's not a mother yet, but hopefully someday that will change. So for now, I want to wish her a Happy Future Mother's of America Day! And shout her accolades from the balconies of our somewhat ghetto condo complex.

I'm absolutely positive Cami will be a great mom. How do I know this considering the fact that she actually had to have her sister give her a refresher course on how to change a diaper just a few days ago? I know because I'm giving her tons of motherly practice in other areas myself. I probably can't go give minutes without teasing her. Or singing some nonsense rhyme with some variation of her name in it. Or biting her. Her tickling her (even though she isn't ticklish and I've know that since the day we met). I act more like a dumb annoying kid around her more than any of the kids I actually know. And through it all, she just keeps on loving me and makes me feel like a million bucks. For me, that's the essence of "mom". And precisely one of the things I adore about Cami the most. She not only loves unconditionally, but she makes you feel like the greatest person in the world as well.

Babe, I love you. I hope you have a great day and can't wait to see you.

My Celebrity Look-alikes

My cool celebrity look-alike collage from MyHeritage.com. Get one for yourself.