Asia, Gluten-Free, Hikes, Travel, Tropical

🏝️ Koh Tao, Thailand: Hiking, Snorkeling & Endless Island Paradise

Koh Tao may be small, but it delivered some of the biggest highlights of our Thailand adventure! After celebrating Songkran in Phuket, we flew to Koh Samui and hopped on a ferry to this gorgeous little island, where we spent three unforgettable nights exploring jungle trails, snorkeling with blacktip reef sharks, and discovering two of the most spectacular viewpoints we’ve ever experienced: Koh Nang Yuan and John-Suwan! We stayed at the incredible View Point Resort, where our private infinity pool villa offered breathtaking ocean views and spectacular sunsets. Between the island’s scenic hikes, an amazing beachfront fire show at Sairee Beach, and a resort we never wanted to leave, Koh Tao quickly became one of our favorite stops in Thailand. Our only regret? Not staying longer!

Continue Reading

November 8, 2026 by
Asia, Gluten-Free, Hikes, Travel, Tropical

🏝️ View Point Resort Koh Tao: Our Private Pool Villa Paradise

Imagine waking up to spectacular ocean views, enjoying breakfast beside your own infinity pool, and watching the sunset from the comfort of your private villa! During our three-night stay from April 16–19, 2026, we called Pool Villa 4 at View Point Resort our little slice of paradise on Koh Tao, Thailand. Between the breathtaking scenery, convenient dining at The Cape, and helpful transportation arrangements, it was the perfect home base for our snorkeling and hiking adventures. We loved having such a beautiful retreat to return to after exploring the island!

Continue Reading

November 8, 2026 by
Asia, Hikes, Travel, Tropical

🌅 Two View: Hiking Koh Tao’s Scenic Viewpoints

Koh Tao is famous for its spectacular coastal scenery, and Two View offers a chance to experience both sides of the island in one hike! Perched high above Sairee, this scenic hiking area features panoramic viewpoints overlooking Tanote Bay, Ao Leuk, and Koh Tao’s western coastline. We spent our final afternoon exploring rocky trails, photographing a surprisingly photogenic black cat, and soaking up golden-hour views before relaxing at Two View Bar & Restaurant for sunset. With relatively short hikes and incredible scenery, it was a memorable way to wrap up our Koh Tao adventures!

Continue Reading

November 5, 2026 by
Asia, Hikes, Travel, Tropical

🏝️ Koh Nang Yuan: Hiking Thailand’s Iconic Viewpoint & Exploring Paradise

Just off the coast of Koh Tao lies Koh Nang Yuan, a tropical paradise made up of three small islands connected by two stunning white sandbars! Famous for its crystal-clear turquoise waters and spectacular panoramic viewpoint, this was one of our most anticipated stops in Thailand. We arrived just before the island opened, raced to the summit to beat the crowds, and enjoyed breathtaking views almost entirely to ourselves! Afterward, we explored Nangyuan Island Beach, one of the most beautiful beaches we encountered during our entire Thailand adventure.

Continue Reading

November 5, 2026 by
Asia, Hikes, Travel, Tropical

🛶 Koh Tao Private Boat Adventure: Snorkeling with Sharks & Island Paradise

Koh Tao is a tropical paradise known for its crystal-clear waters, colorful marine life, and breathtaking coastal scenery. With so many beautiful bays scattered around the island, we decided a private longtail boat adventure would be the perfect way to explore! The highlight of our five-hour journey was snorkeling alongside blacktip reef sharks at Ao Leuk, an unforgettable experience! We also explored colorful fish and coral at peaceful Mango Bay, visited the stunning islands and sandbars of Koh Nang Yuan, and cruised past secluded bays and dramatic granite formations along Koh Tao’s coastline. It was one of our favorite adventures in Thailand!

Continue Reading

November 4, 2026 by
3D Prints, Cosplay, Projects

🍄 Super Mario Meets Spider-Verse: Our DIY Halloween Cosplay

With great power comes great plumbing! For Halloween 2026, we wanted costumes the neighborhood kids would recognize, so we gave the Mushroom Kingdom a superhero makeover with a Spider-Verse twist! Scott transformed into Spider-Mario, I became Spider-Peach (Princess Peach meets Spider-Gwen), and our orange tabby Frito reluctantly joined as Luigi. Our nephew also got in on the fun as Luigi, giving us double the green-clad plumbers! Between custom 3D-printed costumes and accessories, a little wand magic, and plenty of web-slinging, we brought our own Mario Multiverse to life for a super-powered Halloween!

Continue Reading

November 1, 2026 by
3D Prints, Decorations, Projects

🕷️ Lord of the Rings Halloween Decor: Shelob’s Lair & Frodo’s Sticky Situation

One does not simply walk onto our porch! For Halloween 2026, we transformed our front entrance into the Pass of Cirith Ungol from The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, complete with a massive Shelob looming over poor Frodo, who found himself hanging upside down in her web. Using a combo of 3D printing, duct tape, trash bags, paint, and plenty of spiderwebs, we brought one of Middle-earth’s creepiest encounters to life!

Continue Reading

October 29, 2026 by
Asia, Hikes, Travel, Tropical

⛰️ John-Suwan Viewpoint: Hiking Southern Koh Tao

Koh Tao is known for its incredible coastal scenery, and John-Suwan Viewpoint is one of the island’s most iconic hiking destinations. We spent an afternoon exploring the southern tip of Koh Tao, combining two panoramic viewpoints, Sun Suwan and John-Suwan, with a visit to Freedom 2 Beach. The short hikes rewarded us with sweeping views of turquoise bays, lush jungle, and dramatic coastline. With several nearby beaches and trails, this is a great area to spend a few hours exploring.

Continue Reading

October 23, 2026 by
Asia, Gluten-Free, Hikes, Travel, Tropical

Phuket, Thailand: Songkran, Island Hopping, Avista & Ta Khai

Phuket was the perfect next stop on our Thailand adventure, offering beautiful beaches, lively coastal towns, and easy access to some of the country’s most spectacular islands. In just three nights, we experienced the absolute chaos of Songkran in Patong, explored the dramatic limestone scenery of Phang Nga Bay and James Bond Island, and visited the famous Maya Bay in the Phi Phi Islands. We stayed at Avista Hideaway Phuket Patong, a quieter hillside retreat with hiking access to the beautiful Freedom Beach, and celebrated Scott’s birthday with one of our favorite meals of the entire trip at Ta Khai, a White Lotus filming location. With two island tours requiring pickups around 5:00 AM, this was anything but a relaxing beach getaway, but it became one of the most adventure-packed stops of our Asia trip!

Continue Reading

October 15, 2026 by
Asia, Gluten-Free, Travel, Tropical

🌅 Phi Phi Islands Sunrise Tour from Phuket: Maya Bay, Snorkeling & Monkeys

The Phi Phi Islands are famous for their dramatic limestone cliffs, turquoise lagoons, and stunning beaches, including Maya Bay, made famous by Leonardo DiCaprio’s The Beach. To beat the crowds, we booked the Luxury Small Group Phi Phi Sunrise Tour with Simba Sea Trips, which meant another painfully early wake-up after our James Bond Island adventure the previous day. Thankfully, this time we were rewarded with a spectacular sunrise over the Andaman Sea! Our day took us from recreating movie scenes and spotting blacktip reef sharks at Maya Bay to swimming in Pileh Lagoon, snorkeling near Viking Cave, searching for monkeys, and admiring colorful longtail boats along Nui Beach. We finished with some much-needed relaxation at Ko Rang Yai before returning to Phuket in the early afternoon. While the boat itself didn’t quite live up to its luxury billing, the incredible variety of stops made this another unforgettable island-hopping adventure.

Continue Reading

October 14, 2026 by