It was so nice to get the opportunity to take the drive from Seattle to WI to meet our new niece, Jovey.  We were a tad worried due to driving in February, but we remained safe and lucky.  Our family thought we were flying in, but we wanted to surprise them and bring Leland (whom grew up with them being around, and meet the new pup!).  The drive ended up going by pretty quickly considering that it was 31hrs, and the views were beautiful.   Here is a quick summary of our lovely trip, and photo’s of our beautiful new niece!

One of the best parts about long drives is seeing the terrain change. Going from mountain passes, to some sun shine and flat lands, to just white space for miles upon miles. It keeps the drive interesting!    Most people (including myself) can get so lost in daily routines, stresses, worries, & responsibilities…and these drives make me slow down.  Look around and appreciate the world we live in.  It is therapeutic to me.Nothing is better then being rewarded with a colorful sunrise after being on the road for nearly 24hrs.  It is so refreshing.
Arrived!

To freezing, freezing weather- but nonetheless, we made it!

Before our trip was over we decided to drive to The Bluff (which we try to do every visit home).  And our visits here have become more and more adventurous as winter goes on.  Joel and I got stuck in the snow when we came out during christmas time, and then again, during this trip.  But, we keep making the haul during crappy weather to visit his Dad.  This time around, we had the help of his Mom and Sister.  Could be pretty bad, as no one really goes to this location during this season, but we have embraced the challenges and come home with great stories!Then it was back to the road home….

Once again its time for the Best Restaurants plus: 6 Hot new openings!  I loved getting assigned these larger projects.  This month the restaurants were split up between me and a fellow shooter at the magazine.  It is fun to look through the article and see how our styles differ and are alike.   Together we provided an overview of Seattle Magazine’s ‘Best Restaurants‘.  Here are the restaurants I had the opportunity to showcase.  Enjoy

Vif

Juicebox

Il Corvo

Turkuaz

Bar Del Corso

The Whale Wins

Poppy

Madison Kitchen

Westward

Kaffaklatsch

Barnacle

Anchovies & Olives

Le Pichet

Shanik

Due to this time of year, I have not given my blog as much attention as I should, or need to.  So, I am sorry for the slight procrastination on my end but very excited to finally show images from my adventures on highway 101.

This trip has been on my bucket list for some time now, and I am very happy that my wee-little family and I got to do this.  Unfortunately, the first few days were beyond foggy and rainy, but we were rewarded towards the end of our trip.  Either way, we made the best of it, explored, and drove on the edge of the world!  Relive the adventure with me by checking this post out

Some of the areas we explored (especially with the way the weather was) reminded us of Iceland.  It was such a nice and familiar feeling- I could of spent hours here!

Meyers Creek Beach

Committing to a week long road trip with pets in the car, rain or shine, we had to stop to let the little guys play.  Sand dunes ended up being our go to pit stops.  What was amazing about the dunes this time of year was that no one was around.  We had the beaches to ourselves.  And the pups loved it, just as much as we did!

The redwoods have such an incredible spiritual feeling when you just stop and look up.  Soak it all in.  These trees are remarkable!  Could of spent days there.As the sun started to set we headed to a nearby cabin in the redwoods to rest.  It was so charming and incredible to wake up amongst the largest of trees.

Avenue of the Giants

As we slowly approached Cali the weather improved- allowing more time to be outside and explore the area.  This made us decide to add more time on to our journey just drive through San Fran to see Big Sur.  So, that is just what we did.

So, we watched the sun set over the bridge then drove a bit further on the coast and found a sweet little cabin for the night.  Turned on the fire, had some wine and pizza and slept the night away till the morning .Big Sur blew our minds.  We only had a day to see the ‘edge of the world’ before heading back to San Fran (where we had a hotel reserved for two nights) but it was so worth the extra driving.  We just look forward to returning with more time on our hands next time.Time to turn around….

We saw this really amazing cafe/gallery place on the drive along Big Sur and decided it would be the perfect place to stop and grab food and coffee before driving back to the city.  As we waited for our food, we enjoyed the views and some ice cream.  It was the perfect rest stop.
San Francisco!Because we didn’t have more time in San Fran, we made sure to jam pack our days with adventure.  The weather was perfect and the city was alive!
No shock that we would be on the hunt to find ourselves some good coffee on our stay…

And we did at Blue Bottle!

Last night exploring!Then the morning came. We had to pack up the car, check-out at the hotel, grab food & coffee, and start our long drive home.  BUT we made one last stop.

The Beach!  (and a nude one at that)

then we said goodbye

As a freelance photographer I never know what photo opportunities I will have week to week.  But some of my favorite email’s are from Seattle Magazine.

This month I had the opportunity to represent West Seattle, as well as photograph some lovely new places around the city.  For starters, I went to Loulay.  The chef here was such a pleasure as well as his wife, whom stepped in a few images.  Their restaurant is just as beautiful as their dishes.  Here is Loulay!

Loulay

Ellenos Real Greek Yogurt

Teachers Lounge

This pretty much sums up our trip to Turks and Caicos.

 

This trip was filled with such joy, beauty, warmth, laughter, love, appreciation, relaxation, great food, blue waters, rum punch, swimming, good talks, and FAMILY!

 Let me explain how we got here:

So, for Christmas this year my Mom treated everyone to go on this family vacation!  And everything about it was perfect.  I seriously can not thank my Mom enough for such a generous gift.

Beaches Resort

As you get older life has a tendency to keep you busy, stressed, distracted, and in general you just have more on your plate.  This is all fine and dandy, but the importance of stepping away and being able to regroup is a blessing.  My mom made that possible for all of us. 

In preparation for this trip I bought my first Nikon camera.  I couldn’t pass up their new water-proof interchangeable lens, point and shoot!  SO, all these images are taken with my new toy.    Enjoy!  

The house we stayed in had a private pool, rooms for everyone, steps from the beach, and best of all -a Butler for the week!  We were truly pampered.Beach DAY!

After a long first day … we were all tuckered out!  We relaxed, ate some amazing food, and started planning for the next day of sunshine.  We all knew we had an incredible week ahead of us.

We started the 2nd day by the pool side.  It was such fun having the kids in the pool, the swim up bar, a special spot reserved for us, snacks delivered, and baby naps in a cabana. 

The best part about this trip was that the only thing we had to think about was which restaurant we were gonna try next, beach or pool day, and what kind of daiquiri to order!  

Who doesn’t enjoy a lazy river?!The next morning my Mom and I went kayaking (her first time) as well as sailing.  I was so proud of my Mom because she doesn’t know how to swim, and she didn’t let her fear get her in the way.  It was nice to have some of that one on one time on this trip with her.…back to the beach!Beaches Resort did such a wonderful job being kid friendly, but not in an over the top kind of way.  And these lovely characters were spotted here in their throughout our stay.  It was so cute seeing how excited the kids got when they saw them!For Valentine’s Day, Joel planned a candlelight dinner for us by the ocean and I had planned a massage during sunset (on the balcony)  It was so relaxing!  Afterwards we grabbed Hibachi and ended our evening walking along the beach during a full moon.  During our night walk we saw two huge manta rays.  Was so exciting, and a great Vday if you ask me! 

Our last night & morning!