Category: North America

Canada Trip, 2016: Cape Breton Cabin and Beach

Michael Rappa1 Comment

During the Nova Scotia leg of our Canada road trip, we spent three nights at a cute little cabin in northern Cape Breton. The cabin was owned by people from Holland, and at their Dancing Moose Cafe they make this delicious Dutch dish called pannekoeken, which is basically like a thin pancake or crepe made however you want it. The first two mornings I got mine with bacon (in my pre-vegetarian days) and onions baked in, and a fried egg on top. The third morning I got one with apple and cinnamon. If you find yourself in northern Cape Breton, look up the Dancing Moose Cafe–you won’t regret it.

The cabin is a nice place to stay as well, right on the beach, where we saw dozens of seals floating off the shore, one of which is featured in the photos below.

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View from our cabin property.
View from our cabin property.
The beach in front of our cabin: long exposure shot.
The beach in front of our cabin.
The beach in front of our cabin.
Seal viewed from the beach in front of our cabin.
The beach in front of our cabin.
Rainbow in the clouds viewed from the beach in front of our cabin.
The beach in front of our cabin.
Looking toward the Dancing Moose cafe (where our landlord made delicious breakfast).
Chickens owned by our landlord–fresh eggs for breakfast!
Our cabin.

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Seattle Trip, 2019: Bainbridge Island Ferry

Michael Rappa

When I was planning my trip to Glacier National Park, the flight home was going to require a layover in one city. I believe the options were Seattle, Denver, or Chicago. I’d always wanted to visit Seattle so I decided to make a four-day stay out of it. This is the first batch of photos from my visit to the Emerald City this past September. These were all shot while riding the ferry to and from Bainbridge Island.

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View from Bainbridge Island Ferry
View from Bainbridge Island Ferry
View from Bainbridge Island Ferry
View from Bainbridge Island Ferry
View from Bainbridge Island Ferry
View from Bainbridge Island Ferry
View from Bainbridge Island Ferry
View from Bainbridge Island Ferry
View from Bainbridge Island Ferry
View from Bainbridge Island Ferry
View from Bainbridge Island Ferry
View from Bainbridge Island Ferry
View from Bainbridge Island Ferry

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Upstate New York Trip, 2015: Letchworth Middle/Upper Falls Hike

Michael Rappa

These photos are from my hike along the Middle and Upper Falls of Letchworth State Park in Upstate New York. As I’ve mentioned before, Letchworth is one of my favorite parks, rivaling some of the national parks in splendor.

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Glacier National Park, 2019: Avalanche Lake Trail

Michael Rappa

Greetings, readers, it’s been a while, but this post is hopefully the start of my renewed dedication to this blog.

Back in September I took another trip out west, this time to Glacier National Park and then Seattle. The photos below are from my final hike on my last day in Glacier. I had almost quit the Avalanche Lake Trail before the end because it was late in the day, the woods were getting dark, and I was hiking through grizzly country with very few other hikers on the trail, but I’m glad I stuck it out because the reward at the end was more than worth it: a pristine hidden lake casting a perfect mirror image of the earth and sky above, including a pair of waterfalls in the distance.

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Avalanche Lake
Avalanche Lake Trail
Avalanche Lake
Avalanche Lake Trail
Avalanche Lake
Avalanche Lake
Avalanche Lake
Avalanche Lake Trail

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American Southwest Trip, 2018: The Movie

Michael Rappa

This compilation of the videos I shot on my trip last summer features footage of Bryce Canyon, Grand Canyon, and Zion national parks, as well as Cedar Breaks National Monument and driving footage through Nevada, Arizona, and Utah, including Route 66.

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American Southwest Trip, 2018: Best Friends Animal Sanctuary

Michael Rappa

These photos are from my downtime at the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Utah, where I volunteered in Dogtown (you can also volunteer with cats, horses, pigs, bunnies, etc.). It was a rewarding experience; I would love to return one day.

When I wasn’t volunteering, I explored the Angel Canyon area, where Best Friends is located. Unfortunately it was a mostly rainy couple of days and I wasn’t able to explore the majority of the canyon as the roads were closed for flooding, but I still managed to get a few decent shots.

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The Best Friends welcome center (right).

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Virginia Trip, 2018: The Farmhouse

Michael Rappa

This past October we took a road trip down to Shenandoah National Park in Virginia to try and catch the fall foliage. Unfortunately, extended warm weather and a very heavy season of rain meant that everything was still green when we got down there (not that there’s anything wrong with green, just not what we were hoping for). Despite that, it was still a nice getaway.

These photos are from the charming farmhouse we rented in the town of Luray in the Shenandoah Valley. The grounds and interior were beautiful; I could totally get used to living like that, though the location was a little too remote for my wife’s taste. I, on the other hand, loved the privacy, and we both dug the feeling of staying in a historic place while still enjoying modern amenities. I would definitely recommend the farmhouse if you’re planning a trip to the area. Just do a google search for “luray modern farmhouse.”

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Our Farmhouse Rental
Our Farmhouse Rental
Our Farmhouse Rental
Our Farmhouse Rental
The cows in the farm next door to our farmhouse rental.
The cows in the farm next door to our farmhouse rental.
Our Farmhouse Rental: Ollie surfs the web with his mommy.
Our Farmhouse Rental
Our Farmhouse Rental
Our Farmhouse Rental
Our Farmhouse Rental
Babbling brook on the grounds of our farmhouse rental.

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Canada Trip, 2016: Cape Enrage and Fundy National Park

Michael RappaLeave a comment

The photos below are from my visits to Cape Enrage and Fundy National Park on August 29, 2016.

My wife and I first drove to Cape Enrage, where we enjoyed a delicious lunch next to the lighthouse before taking a walk around the grounds. They have rappelling and ziplining at Cape Enrage, but unfortunately the zipline from the cliff down the the beach was closed due to the wind. Bummer.

After leaving Cape Enrage we drove to Hopewell and hiked out to the beach among the famous rocks at low tide (this experience will be recounted in a forthcoming post).

During our hike back from the beach at Hopewell the skies opened and drenched us, but by the time we got back to our chalet in Alma, it was sunny again, so we headed out to nearby Fundy National Park for an early evening hike along a small waterfall trail. It was beautiful, like a stroll through Middle Earth, and peaceful—we had the entire trail to ourselves.

Later that evening we enjoyed one of the best pasta meals I’ve ever had (yes, in Canada!) at a place called An Octopus’ Garden Cafe. Pasta is made fresh with sauce customized exactly how you want it (I chose a spicy red sauce). Highly recommended. I would make a trip back to Alma just to eat there again.

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California Trip, 2014: 17-Mile Drive

Michael Rappa

A few years ago I went on a business trip to San Francisco, where I decided to take a few extra days to myself to do some exploring. On my first day in San Francisco I met up with my cousin who lives nearby. He took me on a driving tour of the Pacific coast. These photos are from 17-Mile Drive, a scenic route along the Monterey peninsula, featuring rocky coastlines, large crashing waves; and islands of sea lions and birds.

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