Haleakala (Maui, Hawaii)

Haleakala National Park was high on my list, after hearing about it when I first arrived in Maui. The third day I was on the island I actually decided to drive to the park, even though it was pouring rain. When I finally arrived after a 2h drive I ended up sitting in front of a closed gate. The drive was pretty rough and so foggy that I could barely see a meter in front of me. In the end I had to drive all the way back down and I came back a day later to visit.

La Perouse (Maui, Hawaii)

You might think it’s a lot, to have to read 2 blog posts in a week. I used to blog 3 to 4 times a week for months at one point and I loved doing it and I also liked having a ‘journal’ to look back at instead of just a bunch of pictures without written memories. 

Road to Hana (Maui, Hawaii)

Late July, for the first time in months, I found myself in a place where I had some free time. It was probably the first time since my 3 year stay in the U.S. that I had no one expect me to be back at work at a certain time. I was free to do whatever and it felt great! I decided to take advantage of my friend’s stand-by plane tickets and to just go somewhere I’ve always wanted to go to. I decided Oahu, in Hawaii, would be a great spot to explore. 

Hello Twenty Sixteen!

 I want 2016 to be the best year yet. That’s my main goal for the new year every year.

Yellowstone Lower Falls

In June, I went on a family road trip from Salt Lake City to Jordan (Montana), with stops in the most beautiful places. Among those was Yellowstone National Park, which is the most beautiful place I’ve ever been to.

Yosemite National Park

I drove to Yosemite in December to explore this gorgeous national park. It was probably the coldest weekend of the month, cause I was literally freezing. I would go explore for an hour and then go back to the car to warm up for a while. It was amazing though. I saw a bobcat, deer, many birds and many other amazing things that make this country so beautiful. Of course I explored the whole park with my camera close by me the whole time. I loved just wandering around and snapping pictures of what I thought was beautiful. It’s so important to do the things you love and to make time for them. Photography and traveling are my biggest passions and I love that with the life I’m living I can take the time to continue doing what I love.

Please don’t make me put on chains!

How many of you are girls and have (just like me) no clue how to put chains on the wheels of your car when it’s snowing heavily? It had been hot the whole month of December in California, so the last thing I thought I’d have to do is to drive in the snow. Of course, two days before my road trip a snow storm passed through Sequoia and there I was, stressing out about having to put those chains on my rental car. I never had to actually put them on, thank God, but it gave me a good amount of stress. 

Sequoia National Park

About 2 weeks before Strider was born, I was on my winter break and decided to take little trip to Yosemite and Sequoia. I had been wanting to see those national parks for a while now, but I never seemed to find the time. I planned the trip very last minute, rented a car 2 days before I left and I must say, it was one of the coolest trips I’ve made to date. 

Sailing in Redondo Beach

Paul’s dutch cousins are in town for a whole month and that means that there are/were lots of really fun activities planned. They went to Vegas for Halloween, the Grand Canyon, Sacramento, Seattle (to watch the Seahawks play) and so on. They also did a lot of things in our little beach town here. They went biking, are planning a fish trip and they went sailing. After they spent the afternoon on the water, Stacy, Slaiden and I went over to the marina and got on the boat to take a little tour on the water. It was amazing!

Drive through San Francisco

During last month’s road trip we made a very quick stop in San Francisco as it was on our way to Slaiden’s grandparents. We basically drove through and saw the iconic bridge, Lombard Street and some view points. After having taken a couple of pictures like that, we parked the car and walked by the water. I loved seeing all the sea lions by Pier 39, but I couldn’t believe the amount of tourists I saw (I believe we were there on a Wednesday!).