October 22, 2019
{It’s My Party 🎉, Part 6} My birthday excursion was packed with all of my favorite things, but reality returns tomorrow. The last day had me finally seeing downtown Cleveland and getting back into the foliage just a short drive from my motel in Richfield. The truth is that I consulted Read more…
October 21, 2019
{It’s My Party 🎉, Part 4} As I headed to Avon, Ohio I knew it may be a futile endeavor. As October is wrapping up surely there will be no more blooms at the massive sunflower field, Maria’s Field of Hope–a beautiful display of activism spreading awareness about the need for Read more…
October 20, 2019
{It’s My Party 🎉, Part 3} Of course there is a historic rural cemetery on my list! Home to the devastatingly wicked Haserot Angel, Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland has been on the very top of my list for quite some time. I’ve been to many cemeteries and this one has Read more…
October 19, 2019
{It’s My Party 🎉, Part 2} Geauga Observatory Park is an IDA-certified International Dark Sky Park a quick hour from Cleveland. One of 56 dark sky parks in the country, it is my 3rd I have visited in an astrophotography capacity. Not bad considering it was less than a year Read more…
Arts & Crafts, Beautiful Places Far Away, Nature, These are a few of my favorite things., Wanderlust
{It’s My Party 🎉, Part 1} When I thought about where I’d whisk myself off to for (triple prepositions!) my birthday, I asked myself, “Self, what would make your special day enjoyable?” To which I responded, “Being far away and on my own, a national park, an old cemetery, lots Read more…
September 22, 2019
In finally looking through all the Milky Way shots from my summer vacation, I am bummed I live in such a light-polluted area. Though plenty of the shots have creeping invasive light sources, they’re nothing compared to New York City’s bright lights. And now I am hooked on capturing the Read more…
August 28, 2019
On my first official day heading north, I had a fantastic breakfast in the Hourglass District of Orlando, Florida. You know places like this: bright murals, great fonts, food halls with social spaces… vegan options. Apparently Hourglass is an “it” place. So in one spot I can get my coconut Read more…
August 27, 2019
Animals, Asian Cuisines & Fusions, Beautiful Places Far Away, Eating Out, Nature, Photography, Wanderlust
The day would start in a place far from where it would end, in West Palm Beach’s budding downtown–within its brightly colored murals and instagram opportunities, its hip eateries. In the span of just a few hours I was within Florida’s “Prairie”–its cowboy apparel stores, fields of grazing cows who Read more…
August 26, 2019
Phipps Ocean Park is the perfect beach. I have never seen the Atlantic Ocean like this. Bright and clear turquoise waters, shells, soft sands, pretty fishies, empty, free before 1 pm, and close by. And I was pleased to have a bit more success with the snorkeling equipment in the Read more…
August 25, 2019
The potential of one day is pretty mind-blowing. Waking up in our adorable green pastel RV in Key Largo’s Sunset Cove Resort we headed to the renowned John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, the country’s first undersea park. Though our snorkeling tour had been cancelled the previous day due to Read more…
August 24, 2019
Just one look, as the song goes. A glance up at the sky in the secluded Curry Hammock State Park in Marathon, Florida and I knew it’d be another fruitful night shoot. Above me, the most clear, dark skies to my memory. When I saw the Milky Way again, the Read more…
August 23, 2019
After a day of convalescence, I was back on the road… but this time with a co-pilot! We would be heading south to the Florida Keys, a neat opportunity to drive off the continuous United States for some tropical beauty. An important stop on the itinerary was the Turtle Hospital Read more…
August 21, 2019
Today would take me to my 25th National Park! The only one of Florida’s three National Parks that is accessible by car, Everglades National Park. I also start my quick journey East. But first, a healthy breakfast at Delicious Raw Kitchen & Juice Bar in Naples. Like the name implies, Read more…
August 20, 2019
A shelling excursion on a remote island only accessible by boat? Just: Yes. A quick drive to Marco Island would have me within the most beautiful hues of green and blue… and more shells. But also dolphins and an abandoned dome-shaped home. First I had some errands at the campsite. Read more…
August 19, 2019
Animals, Arts & Crafts, Beautiful Places Far Away, Bucket List, Eating Out, Nature, Photography, Wanderlust
Real quick: I photographed the gosh darned Milky Way 🌌 last night. I needed to say that first as it would not have happened if the earlier parts of the day played out differently. So the 2-hour traffic delay on the I-75, the extended shelling expedition at Bowman’s Beach, losing track Read more…
August 18, 2019
Animals, Arts & Crafts, Beautiful Places Far Away, Eating Out, Nature, Southern Comfort Food, Wanderlust
Blog back-up makes me uneasy. Each day is a million adventures, so just two days ago is a million miles away. But Day 6, yes. Speaking to what I took pictures of is a helpful system, but it doesn’t indicate a lot of the important feelings I am having on Read more…
August 17, 2019
A peaceful morning in the swamp wouldn’t last all that long as I hit the road once again, enduring nonstop torrential downpours. Now… this rain… it is starting to damper my days! I continue to honor my itinerary, but it is just much more… soggy. But I guess the moisture Read more…
August 16, 2019
Today would be day of driving, mostly. Its daylight hours started in North Carolina and ended in Georgia… in a cabin in a swamp. Which means tomorrow I’ll be in Florida! And maybe I’ll get some consistent sun? It seems everyday I’ve had erratic weather. Mostly because I spent these Read more…
August 15, 2019
I needed a day like today. I needed to be within nature, not just passing by and jumping back in my car. On this Day 3 I hiked to waterfalls and to what felt like, incline-speaking, the altitude of heaven… if the road maps are accurate. But first, on my Read more…
August 14, 2019
At some point, as I sat in the vacant astronomy field across the street, the traffic in the parking lot of the public stargazing field of Cherry Spring State Park died down. There was darkness above, yes, but it was blanketed by a murky sheet of heavy overcast. Underneath it Read more…
April 23, 2019
Balmorhea’s wonderful freshwater pool filled with fishies is part of the San Solomon Springs and helps several endangered species of fish survive… and take little nibbles of me. It was a magical afternoon surrounded by these little guys and their cute faces. I took these pictures and video with my Read more…
Terlingua is one of the coolest places I’ve ever been. So I’ll let the pictures show you why. It’s “up my alley” (as my Dad says) in so many ways. My accommodations… a tipi at Buzzard’s Roost. My tipi: La Luna Inside, way too much animal for a vegan. The Read more…
This would be my 24th National Park. 24 out of 61. Big Bend National Park lies right at the US-Mexico border, bordered by the glorious Rio Grande of Duran Duran fame. I was slightly bummed that the day would–and into the evening–would be mostly cloudy. I looked forward to shooting Read more…
April 22, 2019
Day 1 in Texas: Wild flowers say, “I do what I want!” And then I show up after to take a bunch of pictures. Like the orchids and sunflowers, they join the ranks of my Favorites Things… for their evocative power, their dismissal of the rules, the color they spew Read more…
April 19, 2019
My second astrophotography excursion would be in Western Texas, within the deepest and darkest sky of the state–inside Big Bend National Park. As important as packing is some advance research regarding dark sky conditions at the time of my visit. I am sharing my resources here to help make the Read more…