Journeys

A few of my favorite journeys, and the places that stayed with me

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

2007

Sun, salt air, and the early signs I was never meant to stay put.

Puerto Vallarta 1 — Enjoying the sun, salt and tequila!

Puerto Vallarta 2 — View from the balcony at our all inclusive resort.

Puerto Vallarta 3 — Teeny tiny octopus on a friend's hand

Puerto Vallarta 4 — Sunset over the Pacific Ocean.

Puerto Vallarta 5 — Colors of sunset

Iceland

2008

Landscapes that make you question every boring choice you’ve ever made.

Iceland 2008 1 — Iceland being dramatic (as it should) Gullfoss waterfall.

Iceland 2008 2 — Sunset

Iceland 2008 3 — Proof this wasn’t edited. Iceland just does this.

Vermont

2008

Cozy, calm, and suspiciously good for the nervous system.

Ben and Jerry's — Ben & Jerry’s. Because priorities.

Flavor graveyard — Paying respects at the flavor graveyard.

Lake Champlain — Lake Champlain doing “peaceful” flawlessly.

Sunset at Lake Champlain — Sunset, because Vermont loves being photogenic.

Grand Canyon

2009

Pictures don’t do it justice. Humans are tiny. The canyon is not.

Grand Canyon 1 — Trying to capture “massive” in one frame. You really cannot fathom how large the canyon is until you stand on the edge and see it in person.

Grand Canyon 2 — Another “how is this real?” moment.

Grand Canyon 3 — Yes, I took too many photos. No, I’m not sorry.

Europe Adventure

Amsterdam • Belgium • Germany • Luxembourg • 2010

A multi-country sprint fueled by walking, wonder, and a love for music.

Europe 2010 6 — Luxembourg

Europe 2010 7 — Amsterdam

Europe 2010 8 — The most quintessential Amsterdam photo. Bicycles, boathouses and canal houses

Europe 2010 9 — Brugge, Belgium

Europe 2010 10 — Lovely park in Brugge, Belgium

Europe 2010 11 — Ghent, Belgium

Europe 2010 12 — Manneken Pis statue in Brussels

Europe 2010 13 — Royal Palace. I tried to explain that I am a Princess and as such, should be allowed into my home. The guards were having none of it.

Europe 2010 14 — Grand Place, Brussels, Belgium

Europe 2010 15 — Grand Place, Brussels, Belgium

Iceland

2010

Returning to Iceland is not “repeating a trip.” It’s called having taste.

Iceland 2010 1 — Blue Lagoon, Iceland

Iceland 2010 2 — Blue Lagoon, Iceland.

Iceland 2010 3 — View of a glacier from the plane

Iceland 2010 4 — One of many waterfalls in Iceland, Seljalandsfos. It was a little windy.

Iceland 2010 5 — Skogafoss, Iceland

Iceland 2010 6 — Black sand beaches of Southern Iceland

Iceland 2010 7 — The church where I was married a few years later in Vik, Iceland. Don't get married there. It must be cursed.

Iceland 2010 8 — Road to everywhere

Iceland 2010 9 — Icelandic horses enjoying a sunny day

Seattle, Washington

2012

Coffee, moody skies, and a city that looks like it listens to indie music on purpose.

Seattle 1 — Pier 57 in Seattle, Washington

Seattle 2 — Space Needle.

Seattle 3 — Seattle sunset.

Seattle 4 — Seattle

Seattle 5 — View from the Space Needle

Seattle 6 — Chihuly Garden and Glass Museum. The glass artwork in impressive. Must see if you are ever in Seattle.

Yellowstone & Grand Teton National Parks

Wyoming • 2014

Wild, massive, and humbling. Also: animals do not care about your plans.

Yellowstone 1 — Yellowstone National Park tour bus that the driver allowed me to jump in and take a photo because I am a dork.

Yellowstone 2 — Old Faithful doing its thing

Yellowstone 3 — The biggest bison I saw the entire trip. His head was the size of a VW bug.

Grand Teton 1 — Teton mountain range from Jackson Lake

Grand Teton 2 — Mormon Row, Grand Teton National Park.

Glacier National Park

Montana • 2014

The most beautiful place I have ever visited

Glacier 1 — Some horses enjoying the gorgeous August weather

Glacier 2 — Outside of Many Glacier Lodge. Should be named Many Bear! We heard the park rangers yelling at tourists to get away from the bears.

Glacier 3 — Mountain goats at Logan Pass.

Glacier 4 — View from Going to the Sun Road

Glacier 5 — Polebridge, Montana

Glacier 6 — Fawn in Polebridge.

Glacier 7 — Wondering if I should cool off by taking a dip in Flathead River. I did and almost died of hypothermia. That may be a slight exaggeration, but it was very cold..

Glacier 8 — I just liked this view

Glacier 9 — Me and the 'rents

Glacier 10 — Lake McDonald at Glacier National Park

Jackson Hole, Wyoming

2023

Mountain town energy: cozy, bold, and slightly too pretty to be legal.

Jackson Hole 1 — Mountain view from the top of Rendezvous Mountain. No, I did not hike it. I rode the tram.

Jackson Hole 2 — View from outside Jackson Hole Mountain Resort

Jackson Hole 3 — River float down the Snake River in Grand Teton Mountain Range

Jackson Hole 4 — More views from the Snake River float

Jackson Hole 5 — I mean....breath taking

Pacific Coast Highway Road Trip

California • 2024

Ocean on one side, cliffs on the other, and me acting like the main character. Driving the Pacific Coast Highway solo from San Francisco to San Diego. This was one of my first big solo trips and it was wonderful.

California 2024 1 — Golden Gate Bridge

California 2024 2 — Approaching Alcatraz

California 2024 3 — Sunset over Golden Gate Bridge

California 2024 4 — Monterey, California

California 2024 5 — Lone Cypress, 17 Mile Drive, Monterey

California 2024 6 — Just some kids sunbathing in San Diego Bay

Colorado

2025

High altitude, high vibes and great beer.

Colorado 1 — Rocky Mountains

Colorado 2 — View from Pike's Peak. I was at 14,115 ft and felt sick. Altitude sickness is real!

Colorado 3 — Rocky Mountain National Park

Colorado 4 — Cute deer and Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park

Colorado 5 — Mesa Verde National Park. Wonder what the cost of rent is in one of those abodes?

Colorado 6 — Getting great use of my annual National Parks pass. I hit all 4 National Parks in Colorado

Colorado 7 — Great Sand Dunes National Park. That was a weird landscape. A beach, without the ocean, at the foothills of a mountain range.

Colorado 8 — Living my best life

New Mexico

2025

Desert skies and that “why don’t I come here more?” feeling.

New Mexico 1 — White water rafting down the Rio Grande

New Mexico 2 — Petroglyph on the bank of the Rio Grande.

New Mexico 3 — Me and Heather having too much fun with our rafting guide. His jokes were pretty bad.

New Mexico 4 — Quiet float after the rain

Mediterranean Cruise

Europe • 2025

The Mediterranean is basically paradise. Great weather, warm and clear waters, amazing food and great looking, friendly locals..

Mediterranean 1 — The Acropolis

Mediterranean 2 — Prosecco on the Sea View deck

Mediterranean 3 — Mykonos, Greece

Mediterranean 4 — Instanbul,Turkey

Mediterranean 5 — Istanbul, Turkey

Mediterranean 6 — Paleokastritsa, Greece

Mediterranean 7 — Overlooking Korcula, Croatia. It was 95 degrees, humid and I was sure I was going to die on the hike to this viewpoint. I survived and it was worth every bead of sweat.

Mediterranean 8 — Some random island in Croatia

Mediterranean 9 — Found my new friend, Fawna, on this random island as well. We met on the cruise ship as solo travelers. What a great day.

Bend, Oregon

2025

Mountains, rivers, and that crisp “I could restart my life here” energy.

Oregon 2 — Lava Lands, Bend Oregon.

Oregon 3 — Crater Lake National Park

Oregon 4 — Road to everywhere

Oregon 5 — Evening glow at Elk Lake

Oregon 6 — Nightime Canoe trip under the stars. Photo credit to Danielle G.

Oregon 7 — Night sky at Elk Lake. Photo credit to Scott M.

Oregon 8 — Me looking cute AF at Crater Lake National Park

Bahamas & Caribbean Cruise

2025

Warm water, bright skies, and the kind of relaxation you can’t fake in a spreadsheet.

Bahamas 2025 1 — Sea turtles in Nassau, Bahamas

Bahamas 2025 2 — The cutest one!

Bahamas 2025 3 — Me, in my usual spot on the Sea View Deck of any Holland America ship. This was the Eurodam.

Bahama 2025 4 — Sunset somwhere in the Bahamas

Bahama 2025 5 — Ocho Rios, Jamaica

Bahama 2025 6 — Rainbow

Bahama 2025 7 — Ocho Rios, Jamaica