The Anchorage Museum in Alaska

Rating: You Might Like It

The Anchorage Museum is one of the few things I could find to do in that city. It was also free with the Bank of America "Museums on Us" program the weekend we were visiting, so we decided to check it out. It has a little of different areas to explore. There are art galleries, a children's science center, a kinetic science zone, artifacts, videos, and stuffed musk oxen all centering around Alaskan culture. We didn't see everything there

Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley, CA

Rating: You Should Go

The Ronald Reagan Library is a fun place to go if you're interested in American history, especially foreign policy. Many of the issues Reagan faced in his presidency still affect us today.  I am not a Republican and I don't know a lot about our presidents, but I still found this Library/Museum fascinating. The admission for adults is $15 each, but parking is free. Kids 10 and under are also free. We actually found a Groupon

America's Largest Ghost Town in Jerome, AZ

Audrey Headframe State Park

Jerome is a tiny town a couple hours outside of Sedona, AZ. It's got a rich mining history and is valiant in the way it has continued to remain alive through fires and copper mines shutting down. The shops are fun to visit along the main street as well as some other local stops. It was a fun trip but it may not be worth a second visit. Still, I had a good time and would recommend going if you've never been.

Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, CA

Rating: You Should Go

MOCA is split into 3 buildings: 1) the Geffen Contemporary, 2) MOCA Grand Avenue, and 3) the Pacific Design Center.  Only the first 2 are museums, and the one we went to was Geffen.  The museum is featuring Art in the Streets (street art) until August 8th, including some of Banksy's work.  (If you don't know who that is, I would recommend watching the documentary "Exit Through the Gift Shop", now available on Netflix instant watch.)

Griffith Park Observatory in Los Angeles, CA

The Zeiss Telescope

Rating: You Should Go

We celebrated the first day of summer at the Griffith Park Observatory with Nate's family.  We got there around 5pm.  Parking was pretty bad so Nate's dad dropped us off and parked down the hill.  We picked up food outside the park and ate at a table overlooking Los Angeles.  This would have been a great idea if we had remembered to ask for utensils, but we made do.  After, we watched a showing of Centered in the

Museum of Photographic Arts in San Diego, CA

Beautiful Architecture

Rating: You Might Like It

Nathan is very interested in photography (which is why he does it for a living), so this part of our anniversary trip was especially for him.  The Museum of Photographic Arts (MoPA) is located in Balboa Park amidst a slew of museums and gardens.  We walked around Balboa a little, but we really only went into this one museum so I'll have to review the entire park and other museums another time.

Muzeo in Anaheim, CA

Rating: You Might Like It

I love trying out new museums (especially as a future teacher scoping out possible field trip spots).  Muzeo is a rather small museum in the business district of Anaheim.  Instead of having several different-themed rooms, it focuses on one theme at a time that takes up the entire space, ensuring a new experience every time you visit.  When we went in 2008, the theme was Africa (which I was excited to see after having visited Africa the year before).  Right now, the exhibit is Gold, and starting June 11th it will be Chocolate (yum!).

The Getty Museum in Los Angeles, CA

Rating: You Should Go

The J. Paul Getty Museum is the kind of museum you can spend all day at (and you'll need to if you want to see everything it has to offer).  There are two locations, one in L.A. and the other in Malibu, but Nate and I have only been to the L.A. location.  There are four main

Our First Trip to Vegas - Acitivites

I've been trying to get away from writing mass blogs, but there is so much to do in Vegas that I thought it would be better to list similar aspects of the trip all in one place.  I'll split the blogs into accommodations, food, and activities.  If we go again, I promise not to repeat information so that each Vegas blog will be different.  Also, I'm going to start writing in the first person since, let's be honest, I (Michelle) am the only one that's been writing these things.  Finally, to explain the picture on the left...Nathan is a nerd.  With all that out of the way, onto our trip.

Huntington Library in San Marino, CA

Rating: You Should Go

We have been to this beautiful garden/museum at least six times over the years (twice most recently just to take engagement photos).  This place is huge and has so much to do and see.  There are about 7 museums (including a large historical library building) and 13 or 14 gardens.  This place is great