Late season skiing
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Skiing has become one of my favorite sports since I moved to the U.S. I first learned how to ski back in prep school, and this year, we planned our very first skiing trip together. We chose Chestnut Mountain in Galena, a small town in Illinois. Surprisingly, the terrain there wasn’t as flat as most of the state. That’s where Poy had her first skiing experience—taught by me, a first-time coach! (That does sound scary.)
As shown in the picture above, we didn’t head straight to Chestnut but made a stop in Aurora, another city in Illinois, to watch one of the most famous musicals, Waitress. We’ve been regular visitors to the Paramount Theatre in Aurora since last year, after purchasing a season pass. The pass costs around $130–$140 and allows us to watch four plays throughout the year. This was our third play of the season, and we thoroughly enjoyed it—the performance was so moving that we almost teared up during the main actress’s heartfelt scenes!
The next day, we drove to Galena and started our ski lesson. I hadn’t skied in almost a year, so I was really excited to get back on the slopes. For Poy, however, this was his very first time skiing! We spent about two hours on the bunny hill to make sure he felt comfortable and wouldn’t risk injury on the actual green trail. He did fall a few times—well, quite a number of times to be honest—but thankfully none of the falls were serious. And despite that, he seemed to be having a lot of fun (at least, I hope so!).
After trying the Old Main Road trail, we discovered there was actually an easier one—long and gentle without too many curves. We ended up spending the rest of the day on that trail, which really helped boost his confidence! The food at the ski resort turned out to be surprisingly good, though we didn’t think to take any pictures of it.
For dinner, we headed to downtown Galena and dined at Vinny Vanucchi’s, a well-known Italian restaurant in the area. We don’t usually eat out at places that look this fancy, but since it was Poy’s birthday, we decided to go all out for the occasion! (Though, to be fair, the prices were actually quite reasonable.)
We ordered a lasagna and a fettuccine dish, and both were wonderfully comforting and delicious. But the highlight of the meal was their homemade tiramisu—it was incredibly light, custardy, and absolutely perfect. We savored every single bite!
And with that memorable meal, we wrapped up our weekend trip to Galena.
There are not many national parks that are ideal to visit in winter, except for those in the desert. For this Christmas trip, we chose three desert national parks, namely, Petrified Forest, Saguaro, and Joshua Tree. In addition to these, we also stopped by some of the most iconic landmarks in Arizona’s desert landscape, including Horseshoe Bend and Monument Valley. It was a dry, sandy, and breathtaking Christmas. One that turned out to be truly memorable for both of us.
Despite the polar vortex that swept through Illinois, we decided to visit Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Ohio, driving from our home in Champaign. Along the way, we got to meet some friends in Cincinnati and Akron. In fact, we didn’t stop only at Cuyahoga Valley; we also continued on to see a much bigger set of falls in upstate New York—Niagara Falls. Everything was freezing cold, but the fresh snow somehow gave the entire trip a magical atmosphere.
Foliage season feels so fleeting to me, so Poy and I never really planned to chase fall colors anywhere beyond our university campus. But there are a few national parks that are especially beautiful in autumn, and we wanted to try visiting them at their peak. We followed the fall–color predictions closely and booked our flights well in advance to keep costs down. On this trip, we were lucky enough to catch vibrant red and yellow leaves in Shenandoah, New River Gorge, and Great Smoky Mountains National Parks. We also had the chance to explore the beautiful wetlands of Congaree National Park before flying back home!
At the end of Summer 2025, we embarked on a grand tour of the northern United States. Our goal was to explore a mix of popular national parks and hidden gems across Montana, Wyoming, Oregon, and Washington. The journey took us through breathtaking mountain ranges and bountiful wilderness teeming with wildlife. Thanks to booking our flights more than six months in advance, we were lucky enough to fly directly out of Champaign, a perfect start to our adventure!