I have a little brother. Well, he isn’t my little brother anymore, he is my younger brother now since he is taller than me.

For as long as I can remember I thought one of two things:

• He HAD to be adopted
• He HAD to be an alien

We may look a lot alike, but after common facial features, we are about as different as you can get.

• He is an engineer, I pursued a career in marketing, communications, and design.
• He went to Penn State, I went to Indiana (well I wound up with a PSU degree as well, but that’s another post for another day).
• He likes to ski and hike. I like to go to the beach and pool.
• He camps, I am a diamond level guest at Hilton.
• His trips are to exotic places or national parks, mine are to Disney, LA (where there’s a Disney), Paris (where there’s a Disney), and NYC (where there’s a big Disney Store).

You get the idea.

A few weeks ago the opportunity for my husband and I to go to Salt Lake City, Utah arose. Uncharacteristically, I jumped at the chance to visit Utah and go to Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. When I told my brother about this trip I really don’t think he believed me. I actually think even now he doesn’t believe we are going there, I guess he’ll have to wait for the postcard to believe it!

In the weeks leading up to the trip my husband and I have practiced hiking, added walking poles to our collection, bought Tilley hats and trail pants, moleskin and blister bandages, and more! As we packed we wondered whose vacation this was? We usually pack our Disney passes, swim suits, flip flops, cute shirts, and the like. Were we packing for a trip for my brother?

My Idea of Camping

I guess it goes to show, even though I still kind of think he is adopted or an alien most of the time, we might really be more related than I thought! After all, guess where he went on his honeymoon? Disneyland!