How to Plan a “No Plans” Trip

By Sarah Martin HoodAugust 28, 2022August 28, 2022 active lifestyle, travel astoria, oregon, PNW, road trip, seattle, washington 1 Comment

No one loves making travel plans more than I do. I revel in the planning and I believe a well-crafted itinerary is something of which to be proud. I’m regularly sharing past itineraries with friends…

Manhattan Kayak: Sightseeing from a New Perspective

By Sarah Martin HoodJuly 10, 2019July 10, 2019 active lifestyle, adventure travel, canoeing & kayaking, travel colt, intrepid, jeff, kayak, manhattan, new york city, NYC, SUP 1 Comment

NYC is one of my favorite cities and no stranger to the Hood family. Jeff and I went for a Yankees game years ago, three years ago I took Colt on (what would become) our first…

A Day Trip to Pearl Harbor: Travel (with kids!) Guide

By Sarah Martin HoodApril 28, 2019 active lifestyle, adventure travel, travel, travel with kids colt, hawaii, maui, spring break, spring break 2019 2 Comments

This post is part of a series of stories from our 2019 Spring Break adventure in Hawaii. Click here for all posts. Early in the planning for our trip to Hawaii we decided to stay…

Helicopter Parenting! Am I Doing This Right?

By Sarah Martin HoodApril 11, 2019 active lifestyle, adventure travel, motherhood, travel, travel with kids air maui, colt, hawaii, helicopter, maui, spring break, spring break 2019 Leave a comment

This post is part of a series of stories from our 2019 Spring Break adventure in Hawaii. Click here for all posts. I wish you could’ve seen the look on Colt’s face when I suggested…

We Tried SNUBA in Maui: Here’s What You Should Know

By Sarah Martin HoodApril 10, 2019April 11, 2019 active lifestyle, adventure travel, travel, travel with kids colt, hawaii, maui, sail trilogy, snorkel, snuba, spring break, spring break 2019 Leave a comment

This post is part of a series of stories from our 2019 Spring Break adventure in Hawaii. Click here for all posts. Two years ago I tried snorkeling for the first time in Belize, and I…

The Road to Hana: The Road Less Traveled

By Sarah Martin HoodApril 8, 2019December 12, 2021 active lifestyle, motherhood, travel, travel with kids colt, hawaii, maui, spring break, spring break 2019, waterfall Leave a comment

This post is part of a series of stories from our 2019 Spring Break adventure in Hawaii. Click here for all posts. Driving The Road to Hana was one of the first things I put…

Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument: Slot Canyons and Blue Skies

By Sarah Martin HoodApril 10, 2018November 4, 2018 active lifestyle, hiking, motherhood, travel with kids colt, junior ranger, kasha-katuwe, national park, new mexico, spring break, spring break 2018, tent rocks 2 Comments

This post is part of a series of stories from our 2018 Spring Break road trip across New Mexico. Click here for all posts. Early in the trip planning, Susan texted me a photo she…

Bandelier National Monument: An Unexpected Gem

By Sarah Martin HoodApril 8, 2018November 4, 2018 active lifestyle, hiking, motherhood, travel with kids bandelier national monument, colt, junior ranger, national park, new mexico, spring break, spring break 2018 1 Comment

This post is part of a series of stories from our 2018 Spring Break road trip across New Mexico. Click here for all posts. My friend Jackie once told me about a study she read…

UP! Hot Air Ballooning in New Mexico

By Sarah Martin HoodApril 4, 2018November 4, 2018 active lifestyle, motherhood, travel with kids albuquerque, colt, hot air balloon, new mexico, rainbow ryders, spring break, spring break 2018 Leave a comment

This post is part of a series of stories from our 2018 Spring Break road trip across New Mexico. Click here for all posts. I have a well-documented history of getting talked into trying things…

3 Lessons I Learned in Albuquerque

By Sarah Martin HoodApril 3, 2018November 4, 2018 active lifestyle, motherhood, travel with kids albuquerque, colt, new mexico, spring break, spring break 2018 Leave a comment

This post is part of a series of stories from our 2018 Spring Break road trip across New Mexico. Click here for all posts. By midweek, we were headed north on our loop through New…

White Sands National Monument: A Playground Like You’ve Never Seen

By Sarah Martin HoodApril 2, 2018November 4, 2018 active lifestyle, motherhood, travel with kids colt, junior ranger, national park, new mexico, spring break, spring break 2018, white sands Leave a comment

This post is part of a series of stories from our 2018 Spring Break road trip across New Mexico. Click here for all posts. We got into town late Monday night but woke up Tuesday…

Carlsbad Caverns National Park: Journey to the Center of the Earth

By Sarah Martin HoodApril 1, 2018November 4, 2018 active lifestyle, motherhood, travel with kids carlsbad caverns, colt, junior ranger, national park, new mexico, spring break, spring break 2018 1 Comment

This post is part of a series of stories from our 2018 Spring Break road trip across New Mexico. Click here for all posts. One of the biggest reasons we headed to New Mexico for…

Snow Creek: What to Know Before You Go

By Sarah Martin HoodJanuary 28, 2018November 4, 2018 active lifestyle, northwest arkansas, travel with kids colt, gopro, skiing, weekend 1 Comment

“I was good at ice skating. Maybe I’ll just be good at all winter sports.” Build child’s confidence. Check! He’s not wrong, necessarily. He was surprisingly good at ice skating on his first try a…

Keep Calm and Triathl-On

By Sarah Martin HoodAugust 19, 2013September 18, 2016 active lifestyle arkadelphia, DeGray Lake Triathlon, jennifer, triathlon 2 Comments

Last year, triathlon started as a way to stay active during the summer. The hot, humid, miserable summer during which I all but refused to run any longer than 4 or 5 miles. It worked…

We’re all on the same team here

By Sarah Martin HoodJune 24, 2013September 18, 2016 active lifestyle, northwest arkansas arkansas, drowning, fayetteville, lake wedington, Ozark Valley Triathlon, triathlon 10 Comments

In every possible way, this weekend was not what it should have been. It should have been a Saturday of out-of-town athletes traveling to the area and checking out the course, local folks enjoying the…

Triathlon Wisdom

By Sarah Martin HoodJune 10, 2013September 18, 2016 active lifestyle Ozark Valley Triathlon, training, triathlon 2 Comments

The first triathlon of the summer is less than two weeks away and, after spending the last three weeks feeling crappy, I can confidently say I DON’T recommend a cocktail of DayQuil, 5-hour Energy and…

Still tri-ing.

By Sarah Martin HoodAugust 29, 2012September 1, 2020 active lifestyle arkadelphia, arkansasoutside.com, DeGray Lake Triathlon, jeff, lake degray, triathlon Leave a comment

It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters. Right? On that note, I did another tri. And it was a lesson in patience and perspective from start to finish….

Getting my feet wet :: SharkFest Tri 2012

By Sarah Martin HoodJuly 23, 2012September 18, 2016 active lifestyle Sharkfest Triathlon, triathlon 4 Comments

It’s been hard for me to determine exactly what drove me to triathlon. Sure there were warning signs, but it wasn’t until this summer came screaming outta the gate at 100 degrees that I knew…