World Roadies

One of these two obelisks is in Paris.

Ramesses II built a matching pair at the entrance to Luxor Temple. One still stands here. The other has stood in the Place de la Concorde since 1836 — along with colossal statues of himself, because apparently one monument wasn't enough.

But the part that actually stopped us: a mosque sits built directly on top of the temple's ancient columns, and it's still active today. We happened to be there at prayer time. Over 3,400 years of continuous worship on the same ground, across completely different religions — and for a few minutes, you can actually hear it.

Every mile has a story. This one's still being written.

Two temples. One boat. 🏛️🛳️

Kom Ombo docks right at the temple — a double sanctuary built for two gods, Sobek the crocodile god and Horus the falcon god, side by side in perfect symmetry. Next door, a small museum holds dozens of mummified crocodiles.

Edfu is different. The temple sits back from the river, so we took a short bus ride through town to reach it. It's the best-preserved temple in all of Egypt.

Two stops, one overnight sail between them, and neither one looked like the other.

They don't show you this part in the glossy travel brochures. 🐪💨 A Jeep safari through the Hurghada desert sounds like a romantic, sun-drenched adventure. In reality? It’s a bone-rattling, dust-eating, white-knuckle test of survival. The heat hits you like a wall, the dust gets into everything, and you’re forcefully reminded just how vast, brutal, and unforgiving the Egyptian desert really is. It was wild, and easily one of the funnest things we did in Egypt. Would you brave this, or stick to the resort pool? 👇

We started at the Red Sea — turquoise water, mountains dropping right into the coastline — and ended up tearing through the desert on ATVs a few hours later.

🏖️ Red Sea coastline, colors that don't look real
🏎️ ATVs in the desert — way more fun (and way more sand in places sand shouldn't be)
⛰️ A dune so big it made the people look tiny
🫓 A Bedouin family showing us how they make bread over an open fire — this was the moment that stuck with us
🌅 Ending it all with the jeep at sunset

Hurghada gave us beach and desert in the same breath. Wild place. 🇪🇬

We spent our days standing in awe of ancient wonders, exploring the breathtaking tombs of King Seti I and Queen Hatshepsut and being completely overwhelmed by the vibrant energy of the local markets. From scaling tombs to cheersing fresh hibiscus juice and eating hot soup, every single corner of this country holds magic. Huge shoutout to our incredible tour guide from Trip To Go for bringing all this history to life!

We just landed back home after 9 days in Egypt — Cairo → Aswan → Luxor → Hurghada — and we are still processing it all. 🇪🇬

A few things that stuck with us:
🔺 Standing at the base of the Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx — pictures do not prepare you
⛴️ 3 nights on the Nile, waking up at 5am for Edfu and not even caring
🏛️ Walking into the Valley of the Kings and down into King Seti I's tomb
🚗 Cairo traffic that runs on car horns instead of rules (and never, ever sleeps)
🌾 The Nile countryside — quiet, green, and full of birdlife, a total contrast to the city

Our guide Yasser dropped more history on us than we could hold onto — we don't know when the man slept.

Three days in the Smokies, based out of Gatlinburg.

Started at Sugarlands Visitor Center for my park passport stamp — non-negotiable at every park we visit — then hiked to a waterfall where we found a snake hanging out by the creek.

Next morning we got up early for Cades Cove — a scenic, wide valley with an 11 mile one-way driving loop. We were some of the first people in, so we took our time wandering through old cabins and churches, the gristmill and wild male turkeys strutting for females, tails fanned out in full display. Then, we spotted a black bear! Our whole trip made in that moment. Caught The Sinks on the way out too.

Last morning we headed toward the South entrance visitor center and mountain farm museum, then on into Cherokee, NC.

Every mile has a story — especially the ones with turkeys and bears in them.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Yellowstone doesn't do subtle. It does geysers that roar, springs that glow, and the most adorable bison calf.

Which clip stopped your scroll? 👇
Yellowstone National Park