Author Archives for Fit To Wander

Unknown's avatar

About Fit To Wander

Welcome to Fit To Wander! I’m Rachel and I am extremely passionate about traveling, food, and fitness. I currently live in San Diego, CA with my husband Tristin and our adorable pup Scout. I’ve started this blog to share and cultivate my life passions as well as to hopefully help improve my reader’s health and well-being by promoting living a balanced lifestyle. I believe that being healthy involves more than exercise and healthy eating. It also involves improving one’s state of mind. My background in psychology has led me to view health from a holistic perspective. I believe that health is not only shaped by what we put into our bodies, but also how much we move, how well we sleep and our mindset. Yes, I do eat Paleo, well, more Primal, but I love to eat. In fact, love is a bit of an understatement. I might be slightly obsessed with food and have been known to even become “hangry” (thankfully, I have a very patient husband). I’m hesitant to put a label on how I eat because of the stigmas that can come along with any label, but the most important thing to me is to just eat real, unprocessed food as often as possible. I definitely believe in the 85/15% rule, as there is no way I am ever going to give up chocolate, especially not dark chocolate! The one thing I love more than eating is traveling (although it is a close race). I love everything about traveling...whether I am exploring an ancient ruin, wandering a new city, learning the history of the country, people watching while sitting in a cafe or trying a new cuisine that the country is known for. If I had to pick out the one thing that I love most about traveling, it would be that every time you set out, traveling opens you up to an array of new experiences, which appeases my almost insatiable curiosity. If you love food, love to travel, and want to live a healthy/active lifestyle, then you’ve come to the right place. I invite you to share in my journey as I wander down this ever-changing path called life. As one of the my favorite writers once said, “not all who wander are lost...” ~J.R.R. Tolkien

Coalition Snow: Innovative Snowboards for Women, by Women

I recently had a chance to chat with Jen Gurecki, founder and CEO of Coalition Snow, and to try out one of their snowboards in Mammoth, California. I have admired this companies’ products and mission since I first heard about them, but after riding one of their boards, and getting an inside look at how the company was created and the people behind the brand, I am even more impressed.

Mammoth02

Jen has been skiing and living in the mountains for 20 years now, and is incredibly passionate about snow sports and the mountains. She originally grew up near Phoenix, but since moving to Flagstaff for college, she has lived in the mountains ever since. Jen wholeheartedly loves the snow and lives for those epic fresh powder days on the mountain.

Where did the idea for Coalition Snow come from? Continue reading →

Tips & Tricks for Booking a Campsite in Yosemite During Peak Season

I’ve always wanted to go to Yosemite. This year, I’ve made it a priority to get there and check off this long standing bucket list item. Thanks to some help from my brother-in-law’s girlfriend, we are finally going to make this trip happen!

The first obstacle was to obtain Half Dome Permits in August. Thankfully, that panned out, as we all applied to the lottery to increase our chances, and we ended up getting offered way more permits than we actually needed. That’s my first tip, have several people in the group, if not all apply for the permits to hike Half Dome on your preferred dates, as the permits are limited in the peak season.

Sweet, now that we had Half Dome permits, we needed to actually figure out where we should camp, and how to get a site for the dates we needed. I knew it was tough to get a decent campsite closer than an hours drive from the main entrance to the National Park, but who knew it was more like trying to win the actual lottery??

Continue reading →

The Tallest Mountain & the Clearest Skies in New Zealand

After departing Dunedin, our travels led us back through Queenstown and then up through the center of the South Island of New Zealand to Aoraki/Mt. Cook National Park and Lake Tekapo.

We had a few good Paleo eats along the way as well. In Dunedin, we had breakfast at this great spot called Good Oil Cafe. They had delicious coffee and food with tons of healthy options. I had the kumara (sweet potato) hash with poached eggs and smoke salmon…however it appears I was too hungry to consider a picture at the time!

For lunch, we ate in Cromwell, a city outside of Queenstown with a cute little historic part of town.

CookandTekapo03

The Grain & Seed Cafe, despite its name, had healthy paleo options as well. Everything was made from scratch, delicious, and the place is adorable! I had a tasty salad with a mint and honey vinaigrette.

CookandTekapo04

Continue reading →

Are the Penguins Worth It?

What penguins am I referring to?

The awesome little blue ones (the smallest species of penguins in the world) that you can find in a few different locations on the South Island of New Zealand (and Southern Australia). So, is it worth it to take a road trip detour?

Why yes, yes it is.

Dunedin13

If you have a soft spot in your heart for penguins (or obsession, like me), then you might find a detour to visit one of the spots where you can witness hundreds of them waddling ashore as the sun sets behind them well worth the trip.

Dunedin09

Dunedin11

Dunedin12

If you don’t have a soft spot in your heart for little penguins, then you may not be human? (just kidding!) But really, how can you not think these little ones are adorable?

Dunedin18

Dunedin14

These little guys reside on the Otago Peninsula – just about a 30 minute drive from Dunedin, which also happens to have the most photographed building in all of New Zealand:

Dunedin03

In order to see the penguins and satisfy my obsession, we went to the Royal Albatross Centre in the evening after a pretty delicious dinner at Velvet Burger in Dunedin. If you are interested, there are more than just the penguins to see. They also have the only mainland breeding colony of the Royal Albatross (a large sea bird) and interesting historical and educational exhibits. Plus, the beauty of the peninsula is not so tough on the eyes.

Dunedin05

Dunedin04

Dunedin07

My favorite part about the center is how close you can get to the penguins. They literally waddle right by you to get to their nests. Some of them even waddle around under the platform, and if you lie down you can get inches away from them (resist the temptation to touch them though). It took all of my willpower not to take one home…

Dunedin16

Dunedin17

Not to mention, while the little ones are making their way to their nests, the sun is setting and creating an incredibly beautiful backdrop.

Dunedin08

We debated for quite awhile if we should take the time to drive to Dunedin, but in the end, I thought it was well worth the detour. We had an amazing time and seeing the penguins turned out to be one of the highlights of the trip for us.

Dunedin10

Dunedin itself looks is modeled off of Scottish towns and is also home to NZ’s Speight’s brewery.

Dunedin02

Not to mention, we stayed in a cozy hostel in Dunedin called Hogwartz, complete with room 9 3/4, reading loft, and awesome outdoor space.

Dunedin01

Clearly, Dunedin and the penguins brought my childlike enthusiasm to an entirely different level…

10 Tips to Improve your Trip to the Milford Sound

Interested in visiting the Milford Sound while in New Zealand? Here are some facts and tips for making your visit to the Milford sound the best it can be.

Continue reading →

The Best Kept Secret of the Routeburn Track?

If you’re planning or have planned a trip to the South Island of New Zealand, you may know that the Routeburn Track is arguably the most popular and best of the Great Walks. Some may regard the most popular sites as tourist traps or steer clear of them to get the most “authentic” experience when visiting another country. Generally, I agree with this, and like to seek out the road less traveled or find that hole in the wall local shop/restaurant/bar. However, in my opinion, this would be a mistake when it comes to the Routeburn Track in New Zealand.

IMG_1483

Continue reading →

Redefining What Success Means To You

In a recent post regarding my personal development, I discussed feeling as though I have finally “arrived,” and that I am living a life I truly enjoy. What I didn’t mention in this post, as I didn’t quite make the realization until after I wrote it, is that I have discovered that this feeling of having “arrived” seems to be a product of internal work largely focused on redefining what I deem as successful. Impeccably timed, just after writing this post on my journey, I received an e-mail update from Marie Forleo on the topic of redefining success, and it definitely led to an “ah-ha!” moment. Lightbulb It was incredible how this 5 minute video sparked insight to connect a bunch of scattered dots for me.

Continue reading →

1 … 3 4 5 … 10
Blog at WordPress.com.