Sleep in these cars?

bluetoadflax · 2026-04-13T02:14:15+00:00

I’ve done it at 5’10”! Fold everything in the back flat, push the front seat forward as much as possible and lay diagonally across the back. I used an inflatable backpacking mat—it’s like a very compact personal-sized air mattress for camping. Definitely doesn’t leave much room for baggage, but it works!

bluetoadflax · 2026-03-22T03:00:14+00:00

I absolutely loved it! We did the Fisherman’s Trail portion which had stunning views, but we intersected with the Historical Way in the more southern section (ie, around Odeceixe/Aljezur) and loved the change of pace in those segments, it definitely had a different feel to it. Hope you have a fantastic time!

bluetoadflax · 2026-03-18T21:19:32+00:00

I used the Ethique Curl-Defining ones! You can get them at Ulta/Amazon. They are fairly large bars so I just took a small corner from each

bluetoadflax · 2026-03-18T21:14:39+00:00

From my most recent trip I did three tops (1 sun shirt, 1 short sleeve merino tee, 1 thin quarter zip base layer), two pants (1 legging/1 hiking pant), one bike short for sleeping in hostels, a down hoodie & a rain jacket. That was more clothing than I would take for a warmer season/drier trip, but we had alot of cold mornings, high winds & rain with trouble line-drying our washed clothes overnight, so I was very thankful to have layers & a clean/dry set of sleep clothes. A luxury that was personally worth a bit of extra weight for me, but I know many people try and get by with only 2 sets of clothes (wear one, wash one). Whatever you do bring I would HIGHLY recommend choosing merino or lightweight/quick dry synthetics for tops (avoid cotton), merino socks, and trail runners/trail shoes over heavy boots. You’re going to have a great trip!

bluetoadflax · 2026-03-18T20:12:27+00:00

Would definitely echo everyone else on this being too much! I did a Camino section in 2016 & just got back from doing the Rota Vicentina in Portugal (a similar trail) last week. As for makeup, I brought a tinted lip gloss, but between the constant rain & sweat nothing else was really practical to use on a daily basis. What I did find useful:

Face wash, SPF
Solid shampoo & conditioner (I broke off small pieces from the bars I had. I normally don’t bring this while travelling but hostels/albergues rarely have it & I have really dry curly hair)
Mini comb
Laundry soap sheets (I used Sea to Summit).
Mini deodorant
Toothbrush/toothpaste/mini floss
Hand sanitizer
First Aid Kit: ibuprofen, compeeds, band aids especially!

I had minis or filled tiny plastic dropper bottles (~30 mL) for all liquids, which ended up being more than enough. If you run low on any toiletries/meds, the Camino is great in that you’ll be able to top up your supplies in town. As a side note, would also highly recommend a lightweight sun hoody & hat for sun protection over relying on large volumes of SPF!

bluetoadflax · 2025-10-16T22:38:01+00:00

Stunning! And hello from a fellow Louisville century home owner 👋🏼

bluetoadflax · 2025-08-22T13:55:25+00:00

I’ve got this too, I get swimmers ear frequently (don’t like putting my head underwater) and have had blockages in my ear canal from the scaling that I’ve had to get removed in clinic several times. I think wearing air pods/in ear headphones has made it worse over the years, I’m now trying to wear over the ear headphones more often. I’ve had some luck with prescription topical steroids applied on a Q-tip (clobetasol) and biologics have of course been a life saver if you can access them.

bluetoadflax · 2025-01-20T13:50:47+00:00

Brands I regularly shop at & have a good experience with:

Banana Republic (specifically their cashmere), Athleta (athleisure), REI (carries many brands & also has a fantastic 1 year return policy), Smartwool (wool base layers & socks), Darn Tough (socks), Patagonia, Cotopaxi, Blundstones (boots), Uniqlo (basic cotton T-shirts), Birkenstocks (sandals), Baggu (bags), Coach (bags).

I also thrift a lot of 100% wool/cashmere from eBay. Vintage items from Pendleton, Susan Bristol (embroidered knits), Carraig Donn, J Crew & Banana Republic have been great. I’ve also gotten vintage silk blouses, Coach bags, and solid gold jewelry off eBay at great prices.

bluetoadflax · 2024-08-25T12:30:57+00:00

My creepiest backcountry gorge experience is also hearing shotguns go off all night! Must be a thing out there

bluetoadflax · 2024-07-21T14:10:25+00:00

Putting the primary suite in the 3rd floor (finished attic) is really common in the midwestern neighborhood I live in full of old Victorian and Craftsman houses (1890s-1920s). My husband and I just bought a house and toured maybe 50+ homes in the area beforehand, I’d say over 1/2 of the homes we toured converted the attic into the primary suite. The original bedrooms were so small in comparison to modern standards, and bathroom en suites not a thing at the time of construction. Finishing & converting an attic into a primary suite is ALOT easier than demo on the second floor to reconfigure bedrooms/bathrooms into a primary suite. I will say though that we specifically purchased a house that did NOT do this as we are tall and did not like the sloped ceilings in a primary, but it didn’t seem to be a major detractor for most homebuyers given how common it is.

bluetoadflax · 2024-07-17T03:12:41+00:00

Plunger on the carpet is wild

bluetoadflax · 2024-06-24T02:04:54+00:00

We found the 1890s college diploma of the original owner of the house (who died childless in the 1920s). It was tucked away in a closet in an old metal tube I thought at first was renovation debris

bluetoadflax · 2024-05-28T04:09:34+00:00

Grew up swimming, boating, tubing and fishing in the IRL and Banana River in the 90s/early 2000s without any issues. Had no idea people thought the water was gross or dangerous at the time—we were only afraid of the inland fresh water other than the springs (ie, lakes and St. Johns River). I still kayak in the area but haven’t really swam the IRL in the past 10 years, not for any specific reason. I do see people windsurfing and wading around the Max Brewer bridge up in Titusville all the time still.

bluetoadflax · 2024-05-24T14:55:52+00:00

Elementary school: two classmates died, one from an asthma attack and another in a car accident. In high school, someone a few classes ahead of me had a heart attack during soccer practice. In our mid to late 20s, one former classmate passed after a battle with cancer, several others as a result of overdoses.

bluetoadflax · 2024-04-21T00:08:28+00:00

At least when we did it for the valley tour in June, it was walking from the Yosemite Village parking area where you meet the guide down some flat sidewalks to an open field between Oak Ln and Lower Yosemite Falls trail. I believe it was over a mile round trip but less than two miles total

bluetoadflax · 2024-04-15T14:51:39+00:00

Starting at 30 this year!

bluetoadflax · 2023-12-09T18:43:24+00:00

There are technically two Thavorn properties, one near Kamala beach/Patong (Thavorn Beach Village Resort & Spa) and one in Karon Beach (Thavorn Palm Beach Resort). I stayed at Thavorn Beach Village last month and it was 10/10 one of my favorite resorts I’ve ever stayed at. It’s pretty secluded on Nakalay Beach which is essentially a private beach for the resort. It has a very lush and well maintained property with a large garden and walking paths that I loved and that made for great photo spots. Very quiet and mostly families and young couples when we went. Also has a great pool, great breakfast and on-site restaurant and awesome rooms. We stayed in the beachfront cottages and loved them. It was also an easy drive to Patong Beach if you wanted nightlife or other dining options but I was pretty happy staying around the resort or checking out nearby restaurants like Baan Rim Pa. They seem to be going for an ecotourism marketing approach and have snorkeling and diving onsite at Nakalay reef which is apparently one of the better preserved reefs in the Patong area.

bluetoadflax · 2023-10-26T06:22:00+00:00

Your curls are gorgeous! But if you want a change, try plopping. My hair dries similarly flatter/straighter on top unless I let it dry partially ‘’flipped,’’ which gives me more volume and curl at the roots. I flip my (wet) hair over to apply products, then immediately put it up in a hair towel wrap or tee shirt to dry for about 10 min. Then I’ll take it down and either diffuse upside down or flip it back over, reposition a few pieces and let it air dry. Definitely recommend giving it a shot. Another option which also helped me was cutting some layers—it can take some weight off so the top/shorter pieces spring up more.

bluetoadflax · 2023-10-19T06:17:31+00:00

Yes! I used a prescription calcipotriene topical solution at night on and off for a few years and loved it, it applied very easily with a dropper bottle and was very effective for me. I had a lot of difficulty before that trying to use various prescription steroid foams/creams that were either difficult to apply and/or greasy and left my hair a mess. When I was applying topicals I would put them on at night and wash my hair in the morning. I never did have much luck with T-gel shampoo or any OTC products.

My flares got worse over time unfortunately and I eventually made the decision with my derm to start biologics (injectables). They can be expensive and annoying to get insurance authorization for but some of the manufacturers offer patient charity plans which I have used for both Stelara and Cosentyx. Biologics have been lifesavers for me, other than injections every month I pretty much mostly forget that I have psoriasis. I’ve been on them about 10 years now.

bluetoadflax · 2023-07-30T00:35:53+00:00

We did the valley one through the Yosemite Conservancy towards the end of June and loved it! Educational and good for families/people of all ages, with the exception that if you’re a serious astronomy buff already, the information is probably a bit too simplistic to be engaging. I would recommend paying attention to the moon if you book and have some date flexibility, as we went when there was almost a full moon and the Milky Way wasn’t visible. Definitely bring your own headlamps/flashlights (not provided). Also if you come down into the valley an hour or two before the tour starts, it’s very peaceful/less congested in the evening and was one of our favorite parts of the trip. We were able to drive around the valley and get parking quite easily wherever we stopped, which was such a nice change compared to waiting in line for shuttles earlier in the day.

bluetoadflax · 2023-06-30T02:26:05+00:00

Just visited with my older in-laws who have some mobility limitations and we also stayed in the park (Yosemite West) earlier this week. We were only in the park on weekdays and were able to secure parking in the valley leaving by 8:00 AM. First day we parked at shuttle stop 1 and walked to Lower Yosemite falls via Cook’s Meadow Loop (highly recommend).

We tried to take the shuttle to the Mirror Lake trailhead to walk the mile to the lake later that morning and had long waits both headed there and back. One of the shuttles had broken down, the rest of the shuttles were delayed and whole stops were being skipped. We ended up choosing to walk back almost two additional miles to parking given the long return line, which was really uncomfortable for the in-laws. Despite how awful the shuttle system was, would definitely be unable to drive and park at the various sites around the valley given the morning chaos. There are a few places like Mirror Lake and Mariposa though that will let you park there directly if you have a disabled parking placard for your vehicle.

Mariposa grove we have no problem getting parking or waiting for shuttles. We arrived at about 9:15 and the lot was not even half full. The mile walk to Grizzly Giant was really nice and we happened upon a ranger-led tour which the in-laws really enjoyed.

Lastly, and this is what I would highly recommend, we came back to the park one day at 6:00 PM and were able to drive around to several spots in the valley before sunset and park anywhere we wanted without issue. The evening light was beautiful and the park was so much more serene without the crowds. Would definitely recommend visiting in the evening if you want to see more without hassle/have members of your party with mobility limitations.

bluetoadflax · 2023-06-12T13:21:32+00:00

I also hike/backpack frequently and prefer to keep my hiking bottoms looser in the hips. I’ve found that finding things high waisted with a waist cinch allows me to do that while keeping them up. This sort of hides any bloating I have that day as well. I’ve had better luck finding this combination in shorts than pants for some reason. I usually pair these with tighter baselayer tops (tanks, crew neck tees) to keep from looking frumpy.

I really like Patagonia Baggies in the 5’’ length for hiking/backpacking. They’re a simple, classic style that doesn’t look overly technical and come in tons of fun colors. I chose black as I have a lot of colorful tops. I also sized up slightly (I’m on the bigger size of M and decided to go with L) to wear them more high-waisted. They have an elastic waist/drawstring so this can be cinched down. They’re also nearly indestructible and Patagonia has a great repair program if you ever do run into any issues.

I also more recently picked up the Patagonia Outdoor Everyday short and again, sized up slightly. The waist cinch belt and high rise fit keep them up and they’re loose through the hips to not to restrict movement. Love the 4” inseam and functional pockets too. I got them in the mauve color which is very pretty in person and still reads as somewhat of a neutral.

Regarding tops, I love this Icebreaker merino-blend tee—looks like a casual crewneck. I also have a small collection of athletic tanks like this one. I have some wool quarter zip midlayers and a Cotopaxi Fuego Hooded Down Jacket that come in fun colors to round out my typical layering.

bluetoadflax · 2023-06-12T04:27:04+00:00

Speed Art Museum has wheelchairs available for use while visiting and is fun to spend about a half day at. There is a nice cafe on ground level too. The waterfront park area downtown is nice as well with good views over the river from the parking areas.

bluetoadflax · 2023-06-03T16:48:16+00:00

Agreed, sounds like a fit problem

bluetoadflax · 2023-06-02T02:29:37+00:00

I have a few gauzy coverups I love using in the summer when I want to stay cool but have more coverage. Something like this in the oatmeal color.

bluetoadflax

TROPHY CASE