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Rain or Shine Guides 2017 Bucket List

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

It's 2017! 

It kind of came at us like a freight train and we are sitting here in the first week of January wondering how another year could have come and gone. 

To start this year off right we figured we would make a bucket list of all the things we want to make sure we do, big or small! 

Our 2017 Bucket List

1. Find #ThatNWBus at Palouse Falls 

People visiting Palouse Falls have started making a pitstop at an old abandoned school bus in the area and it is gaining fame on Instagram with the hashtag #thatNWbus. It's beautiful and run down and holds art from the people who have made the trek. Keep your eyes peeled on Highway 260 and you can visit too!

2. Float Green River

The Green River gorge in Auburn is supposed to be one of the most beautiful river canyons in Washington. You can start the beautiful float south of Seattle in Flaming Geyser State Park and take out at the SR18 Bridge. It should take you around 2.5 hours to complete, and we heard this is a very popular float filled with people partying, throwing back a few beers, and enjoying the sunshine. If you are looking for a quiet float, this might not be your spot.

3. Stay at the new McMenamins in Bothell

McMenamins is a PNW charm and their new location in Bothell is supposed to a be a great place for a little stay-cation. With a pool, restaurant, bar, movie theater, and outdoor grounds with fire pits, this place is great for relaxing, reading or hanging out with friends. It has something for everyone.

4. Try the iced cardamom coffee at Voxx

We fell in love with Fonte's cardamom latte and now we are moving on to the rumored deliciousness at Voxx Seattle Coffee, an iced cardamom coffee! We might save this one for the summer months.

5. Take a cooking class at Hipcooks

A good friend of ours recommended Hipcooks for great cooking classes in Seattle and ever since hearing the rave reviews on Bonnie and her cooking secrets we have been dying to get into one of her classes!

6. Zipline at Canopy Tours NW

It's one thing to hike through the beauty of the PNW, it's another to zip through it amongst the trees! We want to get in touch with our inner flying squirrel and check this out once it warms up!

7. Hike the ice caves

Up north in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Park near Silverton, WA you can hike a trail to view the Big Four Ice Caves. Not only are ice caves cool on their own (they just scream Game of Thrones battle scene), but Macklemore filmed his music video for "Can't Hold Us" here. Just oozing cool points now.

8.Visit Soap Lake

Soap Lake is located in Eastern Washington and has been used by early settlers for its healing purposes and therapeutic effects due to its extremely high mineral content. While we heard there isn't a whole lot going on here, the town is trying to attract tourism and has plans to install a 52,000 pound lava lamp as a roadside attraction. So, let's recap: soak in a lake for healing AND see a giant lava lamp? Sign us up.

9. Enjoy a drink and the view at Mbar.

Mbar is new to the Seattle scene and apparently has one of the best rooftop patios in the city! There is nothing we enjoy more than cocktails in the sun, so we will absolutely be here on the first semi-warm day of the year.

10. Search out the best Korean BBQ in the city

Who doesn't love roasted and delicious marinated meat? (Vegetarians probably don't but there aren't any of those in this duo, so we are just going to say 100% of people love Korean BBQ.) We are going to be on the hunt in 2017 to find the best. Apparently Lynnwood is known to have great Korean BBQ (who knew?). First stops will be Sul Lung Tang and Ka Won.

So those are our 10 bucket list items. What do you have on your bucket list this year? We would love to hear in the comments! 

New Year's bucket list
Confetti gun fail

Confetti gun fail

Our 5 Favorite Travel Blogs

We love to travel. We live to travel. It's a basic need that we must fulfill at this point. Today we wanted to share some of the blogs that inspire and help us with these endeavors. So, besides the obvious one, Rain or Shine Guides, the worlds best travel guide to all that is the PNW, here are our favorite travel writers! 

This American Girl

Camille Willemain is a female travel writer who has amazing travel advice for places like Costa Rica, India, and countries in Southeast Asia. She also has a pretty cool perspective on life that we can appreciate. She, like so many, used to try to find happiness through material objects. One day she realized she was done with that lifestyle, packed her bags, and moved to Costa Rica. Boss move, Camille. Respect.

One of our favorite posts? This one on how not to get food poisoning while traveling. If you are a traveler with a sensitive stomach we recommend trying out her suggestion!

The Borderless Project

This blog is great for travellors who like to travel cheap and see things off the beaten path. They specialize in South America, but go other places as well! The creators, Megan and Henry, met at The World Cup in Rio, hit it off, and have been traveling and documenting ever since. They have a fun and honest way of writing that we enjoy and their videos are great too! 

 One of our favorite posts? This packing guide to Machu Picchu! We had a million questions when we went and this post covers it all! 

Trans World Expedition

This blog is no longer maintained, but for a year in 2009 Nicholas Rapp recorded his adventure as he drove around the entire world in his 1996 Toyota Land Cruiser. His trip was unique and amazing in so many ways and it's fun to get lost in his archives. He breaks down his entire budget, how he outfitted his car for living and all of his adventure and mis-adventures along the way. He is now a freelance designer.

One of our favorite posts? We love his time spent in Africa for so many reasons. 

The Wanderlust Chronicles 

These two Aussie travelers are wonderful at photographing and giving tips and details of their travels ALL over the globe. When we decide where we are headed on our next trip, we always check out their blog to see what resources they might have for that particular location. 

One of our favorite posts? This one on driving the Great Ocean Road in Australia gave us some serious travel lust! 

The Everywhereist

To say we are envious of Geraldine DeRuiter's life would be an understatement. She is hilarious, smart, and gets to travel the world as her job because she is such an amazing writer. Her posts make us laugh out loud and her brutal honesty is so refreshing. It is one we bookmark and read consistently, we recommend you do as well; it's good for the soul! 

One of our favorite posts? The German in both of us pine for everything in this ode to Bavarian food post.