Thursday’s Workwear Report: Cotton Poplin Maxi Skirt
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Our daily workwear reports suggest one piece of work-appropriate attire in a range of prices.
Based on what I’m seeing recently, this looks like it’s going to be the summer of the voluminous skirt. I’d tread carefully with this trend in conservative offices, but I think an A-line cotton poplin skirt like this one from Banana Republic could work nicely in a business casual environment.
I would add a blazer with a well-defined waist for a business-on-the-top, work-appropriate-party-on-the-bottom look.
The skirt is $100 at Banana Republic and comes in sizes XXS-XXL. It also comes in five other colorways with some lucky sizes on sale.
Sales of note for 6/4/25:
- Nordstrom – The Half-Yearly Sale has begun! See our full roundup here. Lots of markdowns on AGL (50%!), Weitzman, Tumi, Frank & Eileen, Zella, Natori, Cole Haan, Boss, Theory, Reiss (coats), Vince, Eileen Fisher, Spanx, and Frame (denim and silk blouses)
- Nordstrom Rack – Refurbished Dyson hairdryers down to $199-$240 (instead of $400+) + Father's Day gifts up to 60% off
- Ann Taylor – 50% off dresses, jackets & shoes + extra 30% off sale
- Banana Republic Factory – Up to 50% off everything + extra 25% off
- Boden – 15% off new womenswear styles
- Eloquii – $19+ up select styles
- J.Crew – Up to 50% off women's dresses + up to extra 50% off sale styles
- J.Crew Factory – 50-60% off summer styles + up to 60% off everything + extra 60% off clearance
- M.M.LaFleur – Try code CORPORETTE15 for 15% off
- Rothy's – Up to 50% off last-chance styles
- Spanx – Free shipping on everything
- Talbots – BOGO 50% off everything, includes all markdowns
Just FYI, I have a voluminous skirt from Jenni Kayne that I love (and it was a splurge). Wore it to the office this week and found that it kept getting caught in the wheels on my desk chair. I had to fold it into my lap, but I felt like the hem was in peril all day. Proceed with caution.
Also: not everything needs a drawstring.
Stuck in mod for links, but for those looking for a nicer option Everlane has one here:
https://www.everlane.com/products/womens-prairie-midi-skirt-cotton-optic-white-black
This has always been my problem with any midi- or maxi-length dress or skirt.
This and also stairs. I am klutzy enough without the aid of a giant skirt.
Hello! Can anyone recommend an elder law attorney in the NW suburbs? (Schaumburg area would be ideal.) Thanks!
I wore the hell out of a cotton poplin a-line ‘circle skirt’ in the early 2000s and I’m thrilled to see them back! Of course back then the Gap one had a proper zipper and inset waistband for less than $100. For those looking for a nicer option Everlane has one here:
https://www.everlane.com/products/womens-prairie-midi-skirt-cotton-optic-white-black
For those looking for a cheaper version just for summer Old Navy has this:
https://oldnavy.gap.com/browse/product.do?pid=7669340020001&_gl=1*1wuwluy*_gcl_aw*R0NMLjE3NDkwNTEyMzUuQ2p3S0NBanczZl9CQmhBUEVpd0FhQTNLNUU3X08xRGRQZHRmNkV0dmZxMlZIeWRBUkk2Z2VGSGZGZ1VyQkNybkpVOHlRSnNNcWdwUjlob0NCRElRQXZEX0J3RQ..*_gcl_dc*R0NMLjE3NDkwNTEyMzUuQ2p3S0NBanczZl9CQmhBUEVpd0FhQTNLNUU3X08xRGRQZHRmNkV0dmZxMlZIeWRBUkk2Z2VGSGZGZ1VyQkNybkpVOHlRSnNNcWdwUjlob0NCRElRQXZEX0J3RQ..*_gcl_au*MTA3MTEyNzg4Mi4xNzQ0NjY2Nzc4&vid=1#pdp-page-content
Talbots has one that’s office appropriate.
Baby, 2000 was 25 years ago! Of course there has been inflation since then. :)
Really, really intense couple of months for myself and my husband are coming up. Immigration, a huge event for us to plan, plus the largest volume of work in the most compressed timeline you can think of… what normally takes two years, we have been able to squeeze into six months, and are being asked to compress further into three months. Everyone’s exhausted and the scope keeps increasing. I’m not sleeping much.
How do you all cope and make it through with the work done and your minds/bodies, if not unscathed, then on the less-scathed side?
Take a 5 minute break every hour to walk around the office and refresh the brain. Get coffee, pop out onto the balcony, whatever.
Hang in there! One year, between the two of us, DH and I had in a two-month period: a PhD thesis defense, hosted family, an international trip to see other family, moved house, and we did all this with two toddlers in tow while I was working full-time. I stayed sane by running at least a mile every day. I told myself I could do anything for just 15 minutes. I also oscillated between eating things that made me feel good and feeding the entire family from the Trader Joe’s freezer section.
I try to cut out things that negatively impact my stamina – alcohol
– coffee (I still have caffeine but I switch to black and green tea which provides a slower burning caffeine and fewer highs/lows)
– phone scrolling in bed
I don’t have the taste for clean living, but I adopt it during crunch times because it genuinely makes me capable of more.
Also, while I’d be tempted to drop housework, I actually find this ends up increasing stress because I can’t find anything. I outsource deep cleaning and during busy times I become militant about when laundry gets done so it’s never an ill-timed emergency.
All meals are ready-made or takeout. Hard boil a bunch of eggs for when you inevitably forget to pick up ready-made and you can throw together an egg salad sandwich or snack on several eggs as part of a meal
If the large scale event is a wedding, you scale down what you are doing and hire an event coordinator. So many of my friends resisted having a planner only to get halfway in and realize they really needed the help one would have provided.
I throw money at as many problems as I can to solve them.
I try to be frugal in my day-to-day, but when SHTF I throw money at things that make my life easier. Healthy takeout, grocery delivery, laundry, etc.
Does anyone have a preferred DIY teeth whitening treatment?
Crest White Strips have always worked well for me.
Crest White Strips
Favorite books about how to pull yourself out of the weeds and manage/lead managers? I’ve done it before, but I really struggled with delegating and letting go and could use some inspiration as well as practical advice.
Radical Candor
I have a colleague with this issue and the best I could tell him was that delegating is *part of the job*. Like, think of it as your job description to give people assignments and then to let go. If you hover or micromanage or just don’t give out the work, you are also not doing your job! This seemed to help.
Yep, this isn’t a book to read, it’s something you have to do over and over and catch yourself when you meddle and don’t let your people do their jobs.
This. Also remember that a leader’s job is to make sure that her people have everything they need in order to do their jobs well.
Yup, you just have to practice. And remind yourself that there is a difference between, “not done the way I would do it,” and “not done correctly.” Interfere when it’s the latter!
I’m an executive now but when I was a director or manager, I had to manage teams and reported to someone managing a bunch of managers. In no particular order:
1) make sure you trust your direct team. Go in assuming they are all rockstars.
2) do a once-weekly team touchpoint with all your managers to go over any strategic objectives for the week. Like, what do you, as the department head, need to get done this week, and how are they and their teams going to get you there. Also give your team any business updates that are appropriate. I always felt more valued when I was “in the know” about whatever corporate BS was swirling around.
3) do weekly 1:1s with your managers. Send them an agenda in advance and have them present to you. Let them use you as a sounding board. If they need help, help them think through options.
4) fight for your team and let them know you have their back. My favorite managers would take my question/complaint/request and run it up the food chain to get me what I needed.
5) have clear strategic goals for the year/quarter that you can work with your team to execute on. Be very transparent.
6) help your managers recognize their own rockstars.
OP here, and these are all great points, thank you! I did not have a great example in my leader at my last job, so my brainstorming of “what did I appreciate about [boss]” is coming up scant.
So Soliman not only masterminded a vicious, hateful, and antisemitic attack in Boulder, he played right into Trump’s hands by doing it all on overstayed visas. Immigrants are already in a worse position than ever before and I’m worried for how this will be weaponized further.
right but according to the article in WaPo, Egypt is not even on the list of restricted countries, and valid visa holders will be able to travel still. Doesn’t sound like it would address this issue at all.
No, I meant that it plays into Trump’s narrative that immigrants, especially anyone who overstays a visa, are here to commit crimes. One is a civil violation and one is a criminal violation but it can all be used against immigrants of all stripes, very effectively.
Well, if someone has over stayed their visa, they should be deported. This is part of the reason visas exist. My understanding is that they had also applied for asylum, which means they can’t legally be deported without a hearing, but I may not be 100% current.
Is the situation sad? Sure. However, if this person wasn’t here, this situation wouldn’t have happened.
right, if someone overstays their visa, it’s up to law enforcement to enforce I guess. They have always had that legal power and it’s not been implemented. There is an element of Kafkaesque processes here, where overstaying not always but sometimes means a paperwork error. Sometimes a lapse between valid visas. And it’s difficult to grasp how capricious and hard to navigate the system is if you’re not affected. None of this is simple.
The current administration is not solving the problem by streamlining processes or enforcing existing laws, but they are choosing to close the door to entire countries instead.
I hate Trump with the heat of 1000 suns, but I resent the focus on how this hurts the perpetrator’s daughter rather than the Holocaust survivors and other Jewish people who were targeted. There’s a lot of pain as antisemitism is growing and none of our traditional allies are speaking out against it.
She’s a victim of her father’s actions and I have plenty of sympathy for her. Why on earth shouldn’t I?
She’s basically a child who had hopes and dreams and it’s over for her now.
Every murderer’s child suffers. But they aren’t usually highlighted as the most sympathetic victim of a mass attack.
Indeed. Yes, it’s sad that male violence has yet again destroyed a family as well as the people he targeted, but the family shouldn’t get the most attention here.
I feel very sorry for her. I can feel deeply sorry for lots of people at the same time. I’m not willing to let her get lost in my prayers just because her dad is a monster. She deserves more compassion than that.
No one’s saying you can’t feel sympathy for her. It’s awful that her life will be so changed by something she has no control over.
But if an Israeli person firebombed peacefully protesting Palestinians, we’d be hearing a lot more about the firebombing victims and a lot less about uninjured family members facing deportation. At least one woman was literally on fire from head to toe. This was not a small attack or minor injuires.
Israel is doing a lot more than that to Palestinians not even protesting, and the focus is still on poor, misunderstood Israel
Anon 10:43 do you understand that the Colorado victims live in Colorado, not Israel, and are not responsible for acts of the Israeli government?
That’s right, they are not responsible. They are just showing their support from abroad. It is what Jews do, as they are a monolith, and that is what makes this anti-Semitic.
Saying “Jews are a monolith” is anti-Semitic
Reading “Jews are a monolith” literally makes me nauseated.
I do understand, and the attack was horrific. I’m taking issue with the assertion that if it were the other way around and Palestinians were injured, there would be an uproar. The country has shown it largely does not care about Palestinian pain
@10:57 and @10:59 – Did you read through “It is what Jews do”, nod your head, and then get offended by the monolith part? Proving the point of the comment without understanding it?
This country has long cared about American lives over the lives of people being attacked in other countries, except when they are Jewish Americans apparently. There is also barely any coverage of the horrific and ongoing situation in the Sudan which is far larger in scale in terms of the millions of people at risk of starvation.
I cry for the hundreds of Jewish lives lost twenty months ago on Oct 7 2023. It’s just that the sound of those cries is muffled by the sound of my tears for the tens of thousands of deaths that have followed every day since, up to today, “in defense” of those hundreds of lost Israeli lives. I know that some cry only for those with whom they share a faith or an ethnicity and believe that is their strength, that they stand solidly and blindly with their ethnic “kind” and believe that is where they find safety and success, that empathy and solidarity is to be a reserved for their ethnic “family”. But maybe that is how we got into this position in the first place.
re: Sudan, the US government isn’t funding it.
I’m more pro-Israel than most on the left, but do think there’s a distinction between Gaza and Sudan for that reason.
She can get educated elsewhere, no?
Exactly.
Thanks for your comment. It helped me think through my perspective on this.
Yes, the people behind Project Esther must be absolutely salivating.
Ordered LVP flooring from a wholesaler in another state last Thursday. Company has good reviews overall, and we were looking for a specific SKU to put in additional rooms (we already had the floor installed in kitchen and dining, and want to add on). Anyway, the sales rep first told me it would be delivered by Wednesday. Ok, great. However, today is Thursday and still no email with tracking info. I asked yesterday if it would be delivered before Mon June 16th (when the installer is planning to start) and she emailed back, yes it should arrive by then. Yesterday was my second time contacting her this week. I don’t want to be annoying but what do you think? Should I call her again tomorrow asking when is this shipping? This was my first time placing a big order ($4,000) over the phone with a company and I’m anxious to get the product and inspect it. She initially said it would ship within 1-3 business days so I am wondering if something is wrong. Yes, I did use a credit card instead of checking/debit.
it it shipping LTL (less than truckload)? There may be a hold-up with someone else’s product that is supposed to fill the truck.
I’m wondering who you ordered from because I ordered a shower pan that is back ordered everywhere else from a wholesale site. It’s supposed to ship within 1-2 business days and arrive Monday, but I’m a little nervous because it hasn’t shipped yet and it did seem a little too good to be true! Site got good reviews
I’m wondering who you ordered from, because I bought a shower pan that was back ordered everywhere else through a wholesale site this week. It was supposed to ship within 1-2 business days and arrive Monday. I’m starting to get a little nervous that it hasn’t shipped yet; it did seem a little too good to be true. Site got good reviews
A flooring wholesaler in the southeast. They dont sell bathroom stuff though, so a different company
Got it. Well, commiseration on renovation stress when you’re waiting on materials! This process has been very “hurry up and wait” as we get plans and permits in place and decide on all the fixtures we want, and now suddenly the contractor has an opening and demo begins tomorrow morning!
In case it was Hurst Hardwood, their shipping took longer than promised but the product showed up accurately.
Can you check if the installer has any flexibility in case of delay? Maybe they have a small job they can do in the interim. In general, until the materials appear, it’s very difficult to schedule installation.
You also likely want to leave the LVP inside the room to let it acclimate to your climate – if it’s coming from southeast, it’s likely hot and humid (so expanded). You don’t want it to contract inside your house post-installation. During winter it’s worse, but you’ll ideally want to let it come to temp/humidity over 24-48 hours before installation.
For people who get K-1s at work and are always having to put their taxes on extension, how bad is the FAFSA to fill out? And if you have a rental property?
We won’t be qualifying for aid, but it is required for us and the last thing I want is an annoying form I can’t really outsource. If I have my 1040 done, would I have the info for the FAFSA in my files?
And is a Zillow value close enough if a property value is needed for the rental?
How can they require you to do this?
Many schools require it for their own aid, even if it is super limited
I believe some states (NJ?) require it for graduation. Also, even if you don’t qualify for aid, more and more colleges require it to be filled out even for merit aid
*should be: even if you don’t qualify for federal *financial* aid, it’s needed for merit aid, too
This is key — even for merit aid (our next door states frequently discount tuition via merit aid but you need to do the FAFSA).
The 2025-2026 school year FAFSA uses tax year 2023 info. Do you have that available?
Yes, finally in and done. All the info will be within it or backup paperwork? I hate that FAFSA isn’t a form you can see but a clickable program that I fear opening up and starting but pausing long enough that partial or missing info gets stuck (have learned the hard way to touch something only once if possible).
You get a login, and you can go back and work on it later. It’s not going to be as bad as you’re thinking – just put one foot in front of the other.
Even my free-file software automatically outputs a summary page of the FAFSA info needed to complete the filing; does yours do this? It takes all of 5 minutes to enter that info into the FAFSA program itself. It’s really NBD.
The FAFSA website now pulls in your tax return automatically. There is very little you have to enter manually.
The CSS, on the other hand, is a whole other beast.
If you want to outsource it, find a Certified Financial Planner with the CCFS certification and have them help you fill it out.
Question for in-house lawyers. When you go out for a meal with outside counsel, who pays? I usually pay because if it’s a billable working meeting, that meal will be an expense, and I’ll end up paying it anyways, or it’s not billable in which case I’m getting the attorney’s time for free. What do others do?
Not in-house, but former biglaw. You’re right about billable working meetings, but I’d never have let a client pay for a non-billable lunch. Of course you’re picking their brain, but that’s part of marketing for them.
Outside counsel pays – they’ll expense it as a client development expense to firm overhead, not charge it to you!
They do always and I’d seriously question their judgment if they didn’t insist
Similar situation here, and the FAFSA looks back two years – you don’t need your tax returns for last year. But you will need them for 2023. It’s a minor pita, but honestly not that bad – the tax return info populates much of the FAFSA form. Do you have tax assessment info for rental property values? You can justifiably use those, and that’s often lower than zillow.
I have a nephew going off to college who likely has some need based aid and will be getting loans. How can I give him some graduation money that he can use for books or incidentals without messing up his aid or having the school think he can use it for tuition? I just don’t want to mess up anything for him. My sister is one to yell at me and want the money for herself but I want to help him get a good start in college and his adult life.
how much money are you referring to?
I’m guessing books are a few thousand dollars a year, no?
not necessarily, they can do digital rentals cheaply.
Understood, but still that amount and so he can get pizza with friends or do normal college things.
that seems like a huge amount for a freshman kid. Maybe I would do $500 cash for graduation, and space other generous gifts out over birthdays and holidays. If you can have a conversation with him about that it’s supposed to benefit him in his everyday life, and that could include everything from books to pizza.
Does the campus bookstore offer gift cards? If he’s going out of town, maybe a gift card for the nearest large mall?
Could also send him e-gifts cards to his email so your sister is not aware and then gift a smaller amount of cash in a card.
Yeah, if there is a Target with a grocery store nearby (Meijer/Walmart/whatever), an e-gift card would cover a lot of incidentals. The Target near our Big Ten campus is apparently the busiest one in the nation on move-in week. If the bookstore offers gift cards, splitting the gift 50/50 per semester would help a lot also.
If he doesn’t have a car, the logistics of getting to Target or the mall may be challenging. My carless college kid can get to Target on the bus but still rarely goes because it’s a hassle. The suggestion below to give him gift cards or cash to cover books or necessities during the semester, once he’s figured out where he’s actually spending his money, is a good one. Even if you have to send cash, if you send it to his school address his mom won’t know. If he’s already 18, helping him open his own bank account without a parent as co-owner is also a very good idea.
He should set up his own bank account (and if he hasn’t already maybe offer to help him?). From there I’d just send him money via Zelle. Otherwise the bookstore gift card idea is probably the best way to ensure his mom doesn’t get any of the money you intend for him.
If you think it’s a real possibility maybe have a gentle word with him about not letting his mom take out any loans with him as the co-signer/open any credit cards in his name. I’ve heard too many horror stories about college aged kids finding out their parents have put them deep into debt as minors by signing up and using their credit without their consent.
I wouldn’t tie this to graduation. Just give him a graduation gift, not some extra-large sum of money that would get your sister involved.
Then let him know that you’d like to help out with books and incidentals this fall, and you’ll connect with him about during the summer. Then do that specifically with him in a way that bypasses your sister and is very specific to how you intend the money to be used: gift card to Target or Walmart or wherever; a gift card to the bookstore or online site to buy books.
This is a good approach, and you are a generous and loving aunt!
I really like this approach.
You could add money to his campus card, which he could use in the bookstore or dining hall. You would need to ask him for his school email or ID number. I also second the campus bookstore gift card idea.
Cash.
+1 cash
Just do cash. It’s increasingly common for textbooks to be included as a material fee in tuition and fees, so there’s no guarantee he needs to buy them at the bookstore, or he might rent them online from a third party. Cash he can spend for whatever he needs most.
My daughter just finished her freshman year and spent very little on books. The professors mostly taught from materials posted to the course website, the same stuff that would have been included in the photocopied “course packs” we had to buy at the bookstore in my day. She only had to buy three actual books for the whole year, and two were cheap paperbacks.
Cash allowance, or pick up a regular (non school) bill for a year.
Cash, and FWIW my college junior’s textbooks only run about $200 per semester if she purchases used because so many are available as PDFs for very cheap or free.
They would run much higher if she was buying all of them new in physical copy form, but she’s fine with printing the PDFs.
Does he have younger brothers and sisters you’ll also be doing this for? if so, you might set up the “Aunt Anon’s College Fund.” It’s stocked with $x/month for each kid, but it stays in your name. Each month, the kid can get $x from the fund, but they don’t have to. Whatever they don’t take stays in there, and anything unspent comes to them at graduation. That way you can be directly generous with each kid and ensure they have $ available throughout their college years, but it’s never in large, unspecified sums that your sister could talk the kids out of. If you want, you can also offer extras, like paying travel costs up to $x if they want to study abroad. Again, if they don’t use it, they get it at graduation.
Can anyone recommend a relatively affordable personal stylist in NYC? Tia!
check out charmed by carmen on instagram. She’s a nordstrom stylist in NYC and so so great. She has a really particular personal style, which is like a 180 from my personal style, and I think she’s amazing. She can do anyone, so don’t get a bit thrown if you’re not a huge fan of lots of color or her personal style – she dresses me wonderfully for my very conservative office job.
Bridgette Rae’s in Brooklyn is great. You can check out her website https://www.bridgetteraes.com/
What is the most stunningly beautiful view — single view — that you’ve ever had? Do you think the trip was worth it? Was talking about this with my son the other day — he has friends sending pics from Colorado and I was worrying whether we should do more National Park type trips.
Santorini
Delta Lake, Grand Teton National Park. Snake River Overlook outside of Jackson is pretty good, too, though.
I’m the poster who asked about Alaska cruises and Seattle a few days ago and I was absolutely overwhelmed by the beauty of Alaska and the Yukon – it’s hard to pick a favorite but Glacier Bay is a national park and that was incredible. We also had sunny days in Seattle and Mt. Rainier is gorgeous!
Alaska is very high on my list. Glad you loved your cruise.
I’m notoriously immune to views but we went to Derwent Water in the Lake District and it was spectacularly beautiful. It was a calm day and the reflection of the hills and trees in the water was absolutely stunning.
Winter- snowy ski day felt like Narnia
Summer- tie between Lake Como and views from the Amalfi coast
I vote yes to more national parks – more nature is always good! But one person’s favorite won’t be another. My husband loves the PNW and thinks Mt Rainier is the most beautiful thing around. To me, the dark conifers of the PNW are omninous and depressing, so I don’t see much beauty in it, even though I understand others do. The most beautiful view I ever saw was the sun setting over a rolling field with an Ansel Adams-type oak tree in the far-middle. Many people might say that was sort of a pedestrian view. That field is maybe 15 minutes from my house.
How lucky you are to enjoy a view so close to home! I feel that way about sunset at the beach here in Southern California.
Probably Capri. We never traveled for natural beauty when I was a kid. It was all about museums and history and cities. I really crave exposure to beautiful places now.
Bora Bora
National parks trips are great! Completely underrated among the travel-oriented crowd imho.
Glacier and Grand Teton national parks both have gorgeous views. Yellowstone is well traveled but if you stay in the park you can get some great views without the crowds. The geysers around old faithful are really gorgeous at sunrise and sunset. Acadia is also beautiful. I haven’t been to the Grand Canyon but that seems like another place with amazing views.
Alaska is stunning. One of my favorite vacation pics was taken at sunset looking across a field of flowers including wishies (aka dandelions) that look like they’re glowing, and if you look closely you can see the spouts from a mom and baby whale in the sound in the background. Was taken right outside the lodge (the only one) in glacier bay national park.
Northern California coastline. Big Sur to the south of SF, Mendocino to the north.
That’s assuming you are using a car. If you’re a long-distance hiker, it’s either the John Muir or the Wonderland trail around Rainier in Washington.
Agree with NorCal coastline. It’s hard to pick one spot.
I also think visiting the Humboldt redwoods was awe inspiring.
I’m a native Californian, so I am obviously biased.
it’s so hard to choose! Most recently was early sunset over the snowy mountains from the top of Jay Peak, VT. Various places in Ha Long Bay, Vietnam are definitely in the top 5. An overlook in WV looking over the New River. White Sands, NM. I love all the nature, though. Dark sky places are amazing, I’m not sure whether that counts as a view, but I live around DC and it takes my breath away when I get away from cities and can truly see how many stars there are.
crater lake
Views in any direction from the rooftop terrace at Kasbah du Toubkal, in Imlil, Morocco. Breathtakingly stunning view of Toubkal, the highest mountain in the Atlas Mountain range, but it was a wonderful view in any direction.
The west-facing view from my old house in the PNW: 180 degree, unobstructed view overlooking the bay with mountains in the distance at sunset. I miss it every damn day.
I was going to say Colorado, but I’ve never left the U.S.
I’ve seen stunning views in Colorado. I was going to say Santa Fe hiking.
This is an impossible question. How can you compare mountains, ocean, lake, cityscape, jungle, etc? But, yes, you should do more national park trips.
If I had to pick a single National Park view as the best, I’d probably choose the main canyon at Zion National Park.
Either Grand Canyon or Glacier Point, Yosemite.
Lake Louise in Alberta.
Parasailing on the lagoon at Moorea.
Hard to pick! If I had to pick a single one, probably the view on the hike up to Grinnell Glacier at Glacier National Park. You overlook one of the glacial lakes as you go up and it is *so* *blue*. Glacier’s my favorite national park we’ve been to thus far (we have not been to any of the Alaska ones, which I suspect are equally stunning). Outside the US, New Zealand as a whole is pretty stunning. I also have lots of beach views I love, but I’m not sure they’re as stunning in the same way as mountains.
For me, the most beautiful views I’ve ever seen were in Banff National Park! I also absolutely loved Muir Woods, but I can’t say that was as stunning as some of the views in Banff. The trip was worth every dollar and minute. We were there in summer, by the way. I would love to go in winter as well but haven’t made it yet. I have also been to Alaska and seen Denali, but did not find Alaska as beautiful as Banff. I have talked to others who disagree, so I’m sure part of that is personal preference, or maybe the specific parts of Alaska at issue!
I don’t know. The other day my friends and I charted a little boat from out of the local harbor to have cocktails and dinner and the whole cove we stopped in looked like a painting all around us. The sun was just glimmering over the water and the sand looked like it was as soft as powder set with wispy grasses. The air was crisp but we were wrapped in soft blankets just drinking cold champagne from yeti cups and laughing while we watched the sky turn pinker and pinker. I traveled maybe four minutes to the municipal parking lot. Is it better than the sunset in Big Sur? Waves breaking over rocks in the Caribbean where the water looks striped with shades of blue? Lower Manhattan from the Brooklyn bridge, everything framed through the lens of those weighty gothic cables?
I’d love to see the national parks and I one hundred percent believe they’re worth it. But I’m sure you see beautiful views at home too.
Ugh! Didn’t mean to respond directly to greensleeves who now has me 100% sold on Alaska!
I stayed at the most insane hotel in Amalfi, and I literally burst into tears when I stepped out onto our balcony.
You cannot drop that comment without telling us the name of the hotel! Please.
Pictured Rocks, 100% would go again.
As an outdoorsy person who has spent a lot of my life living in beautiful places and also visited many beautiful places, it’s always worth it. National parks are great, but definitely not necessary. Being up early to see the sunrise and get magic hour light really helps, but if that’s not possible, sunset is good too. Some of my favorites are the California coast, especially in the winter, the Carrizo Plain in the spring, the Sierras (including but not limited to Yosemite), the White Mountains in NH in the fall or winter, Acadia in the fall, and Yellowstone and the Tetons, anytime it’s not too crowded.
Just north of the Arctic Circle on the Dempster Highway. Most beautiful trip I’ve been on, hands down. Top 3 overall trip for me.
Santorini, and the trip was undoubtedly worth it.
Waimea canyon in Hawaii was also stunning.
Grand Canyon. Worth the trip just for the view. My mind genuinely had trouble processing what my eyes were seeing because it just didn’t look real.
Amtrak Seattle to Vancouver at dusk.
I’ll add one I haven’t seen here. Mr. Assiniboine from Nub Peak. Totally worth it. I’ve done lots of national parks trips (including to some of the spots mentioned here!) and it’s always totally worth it. Definitely do more!!
The morning hill drive around Loch Ness on Dec 27th. about a foot of snow in the hills and almost completely solitary.
Zimbabwe. And yes, it was totally worth it.
Any Father’s Day gift ideas for a 60-something man? My dad has had a difficult year and I’d like to do something nice for Father’s Day. He’s across the country (so won’t see him day of) and is one of those men who is hard to shop for. If he’d like it, chances are he already owns it. He loves his grandkids, reading, and being outdoors. Appreciate any ideas!
An aura frame loaded with photos of his grandkids;
2-3 books, each wrapped in plain brown paper with a general note about it (eg, “a mystery with done humor!”) to be opened next time he needs a book but doesn’t know what to read
New outdoors socks or sun hat
My mother – who is much older than your dad, I’m probably his age – absolutely loves her Aura frame. Her four daughters and all of the adult/young adult grand and great-grand kids have the app and can add photos to it at any time. She especially loves when she is surprised by photos from a great-granddaugher from college in San Diego or by pictures of a family event that pop up later tha day.
We bought Aura frames for both of my parents (they are divorced) and for my MIL. They all love them so much. It is like an event to go to their house and sit and watch the frame and remember all the funny pictures. My siblings and I took the time to upload some old pictures from when we were young as well and it is the best. We all have the app as well as some of our aunts/uncles/cousins so everyone can add photos.
Depending on the age of your kids, have them do one of those voice recordable story books. Usually it’s meant for an adult to record their voice but the reverse would be cute. Like them reading a story to him.
Photo coffee mugs both travel and regular are always a hit with my dad.
Omaha Steaks or something like that?
+1 Snake river farms was one of the best reactions I ever got from a gift.
What kinds of books does he like? I’m getting my FIL the new Stephen King book. It’s recent enough that he hasn’t read it yet.
Photo book of him and grandkids?
My dad really likes his bird feeder with a camera. We got him the hummingbird version last year.
A subscription to Adventure Journal?