Huntsville, Alabama is best known as Rocket City, home of the U.S. Space and Rocket Center and the world-famous Space Camp. But we discovered there is much more to see in this city than rockets and space shuttles (although rockets are awesome!). We first visited Huntsville in 2018, and since then we’ve moved to Alabama ourselves. Huntsville is only about a 3 hour drive from home now, and we’ve been back a number of times to explore the city’s museums, gardens, historic districts, trails, restaurants, and craft breweries. Huntsville initially grew because of its cotton and railroad industries, but today it is a center for military technology and aerospace. It was here that scientists designed and tested the Saturn V rocket that first sent men to the moon, and NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center continues to be at the forefront of U.S. rocketry research, earning Huntsville its “Rocket City” nickname…. Read the rest
Archives for November 2018
Best Places to See Puffins in Iceland
Want to see puffins in Iceland? We spent over 3 weeks in Iceland during puffin season one year and saw hundreds of puffins at more than 10 different locations across the country. In this guide, we share everything we learned, including the 14 best places to see puffins, which tours are worth booking, how to watch them responsibly, and tips for getting great puffin photos. Short on time? Here are our top three picks: For the easiest option from Reykjavik, take a 1-hour puffin boat tour from the Old Harbor. For the closest up-close viewing on land, head to Borgarfjordur Eystri in East Iceland, where a viewing platform puts you within a few meters of nesting puffins. For the full experience, visit the Westman Islands, home to the largest puffin colony in the world. The Atlantic puffin has become one of the most recognizable animals in Iceland, and for good… Read the rest