Taking in Life Around Me......#Sundaystills Favorite places

This #sundaystills challenge is hosted by Terri from Second Wind Leisure. It's a great themed photography challenge that you'll enjoy. I love seeing the other participants interpretation of the theme each week...it causes me to think outside the box. I joined in hopes of it pushing me to get out and take more photos...I have to some degree, but I also like that Terri is okay with us finding photos in our archives, which is also a lot of fun. So check out my photos and then head over to Terri's page to participate or visit other's posts. There are some awesome contributors who always inspire me.

Terri is taking some time off and so she has a few other bloggers jumping in to help out, this week is being hosted by Cathy from Between the Lines.  Todays theme is sharing our favorite places. Oh my! I have so many favorite places. I'm thankful that over the last 10 years or so my hubby and I have been able to travel more. We love seeing new places. 

I hope you'll take time to scroll down as I share a few photos from some of my favorite of favorite places.

First up: Italy and Switzerland. We took this trip right before the pandemic. It was amazing. I have way too many photos, wait that's not possible. I'll just say it was hard choosing what to share. We visited Venice, Como and the areas around Lake Como. I'd love to visit other areas where my moms family was from. In Switzerland, we visited Bern, Zurich,  and a few other spots. My husbands mom is Swiss.  

My daughter, looking out the balcony from her room at our airbnb in Venice. 

My MIL always told a story that they were told as children of a Kindlefresser (ogre) who would find bad children and eat them. When we visited, lo and behold there's a statue right in town.

We also took a Gondola ride up to the James Bond Experience at Schilthorn, which was pretty cool. I wish we could've stayed longer and stopped at few of the small villages but we were on a time crunch. It was a beautiful view though.

We visited the Chillon Castle which was pretty neat. 

This garden was beautiful overlooking the valley. I do have quite a few photos on FB if you'd like to visit over there. Just search Kirstin Bozich Troyer.

Next up: Colorado. Oh my! I could live in this state. In a smaller town of course. It was beautiful. The leaves were stunning and the wildlife fun. We planned this trip around fall colors and the elk being in their rut season. We spent a lot of time in Estes Park, and basically made a loop around the state. 

I know a lot of people talk about the Red Rocks in Utah, but man, Colorado has some amazing ones as well.

Let's move closer to home and visit the Washington Coast. Particularly the Olympic Peninsula area. I will say the Oregon Coast is a fave BUT this area in Washington is also stunning. On this trip we also hit the Mt. Rainier area for a couple nights, which was pretty as well.

This tree is a popular tree that was named the tree of life because despite it's exposed root system, and repeatedly being beaten by storms and tide, it has survived. I'm not sure it'll last much longer, but I'm glad I got the chance to see it for myself. 

The Olympic mountains are a sight to see, and one I highly recommend if coming to visit Washington.

Every year since 2022, I take a solo trip to Northern Ohio to see my aunts and uncle (my moms siblings). It is a special time for me. They all live on the shores of lake Erie and Sandusky Bay. One aunt lives on Kelleys Island and I stay part of the time with her and part of the time on the other side of the lake with my other aunt, and sometimes we go back and forth on the ferry. 

The island itself has been around for who knows how long, but it officially became Kelleys Island in 1840. There are many old ruins and so many old buildings and homes. Here is more info.

The lake is beautiful, warm and fun to swim and play in. Although you have to be careful when the waves kick up.

Next on the list are the New England States. We took a 10 day road trip in 2022 that was amazing. We went in October to enjoy the colors and we weren't disappointed. The small towns were equally amazing...we stayed off main highways as much as possible. I did do a series of blog posts on that trip.

We drove to the Von Trapp Family guest lodge in Stowe, Vermont. If you are a fan of The Sound of Music, the story of their trek to the United States is a neat one. They were also featured on Family Dinner with Andrew Zimmerman and that was a really fun episode. 

When we travel anywhere, we always look up places we want to see. I was excited to see this Old Stone Church in Maine. 

Back in the Pacific Northwest, one of our favorite places is Sunriver, Oregon. We took our honeymoon there and once we had our girls we went every year for vacation..then we had to skip some years, and that was hard for awhile. We are actually going again this year as a whole family and I can't wait. 

The high desert of central Oregon is beautiful and Sunriver offers miles of bike trails and so much to do, along with nearby hiking.

Another Spot that has become a favorite is Seabrook, Washington, which is a quaint coastal town that is pretty unique. 

The grandkids and I love going to the gnome trail, bringing our own things to leave and exploring the trails. 

The town has fun shops and eateries and a full grocery store with plenty to do. 

It's so hard to choose favorite places. There are just so many, because I love things about each place. 



With Joy Unquenchable,

Kirstin