Hometown Glory

Sometimes I get so caught up in seeing other places that I forget to remember how beautiful the place I call home is and how many wonderful photo opportunities there are here.

The beaches are wonderful and I don't think I could ever get sick of Dana Point and Laguna

This is my baby brother on a day at the beach

The sunsets here can be miraculous <3

And Whale/Dolphin watching is a fun thing to do as well

As much as I love traveling, I also love being home and hope to raise my family here someday too. Even the rainy days are gorgeous!!

Washington DC

When I was younger I had no appreciation for the history and beauty of Washinton DC. I have been there several times this past year and have fallen in love with the place.

It probably has something do do with the fact that I have become much more patriotic in the last few years thanks to AJ. But I love the beauty of this city.

There is so much to do and see, and all the museums are FREE!! This is a city that every American needs to see someday!

This picture makes me so happy! I can't wait until this day in the picture in June when AJ and the boys return!!

The UK

This summer my brother and I went to the UK. We spend 4 days in Ireland and 4 days in London. Ireland was a fun and beautiful place. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would go back in a heartbeat.

We went on a tour of Wicklow and to a centuries old monastery and graveyard. Wicklow is where many movies based in Ireland are filmed (PS I love you, among others that I can't remember at the moment). For those of you who know me well, you know I have a fascination with graveyards, and this was by far one of the coolest ones I have seen.

In Dublin we walked around Trinity College (awesome), and enjoyed the live music. There is live music EVERYWHERE and it is all really entertaining!! I wish I had a longer time in the country to travel around and explore more, so hopefully I will return one day. 4 days was not enough!

London, for me personally, was a different story. I have talked to so many people who just love it there, but I found that after day 2 I was bored. Perhaps that stemmed from the fact that I was poor and everything there requires an abundant amount of spending money. Dont get me wrong, I enjoyed my time there and liked some aspects of the city, but it probably isnt somewhere I would return right away.

We did meet some interesting Characters and saw all of the famous landmarks which I am so thankful to have seen!....The architecture there is absolutely gorgeous.

The view at night wasn't too shabby either. Is it weird that I thought of Harry Potter the whole time I was there? :-)

Not so dirty south

AJ was at Jump school in Georgia this summer so I got to fly out there for 4th of July weekend. I spent several days prior to heading over there in my favorite state (besides CA of course)...Tennessee. I got to see family over there and enjoy the warm summer weather and sweet tea!

The land next to my cousin's house was irresistible so of course we had to have a photoshoot.

On the way home I drove through Nashville for a night, which is one of my favorite cities in the world.

Okinawa

As most of you know my boyfriend is deployed right now but for the time leading up to his deployment and the few months after, he was/will be based in Okinawa. I have gone out there twice to visit for 2 weeks each trip and it was amazing. I think I am a little biased to this place because thats where AJ lives so I am always happy when I am there. But it is a gorgeous Island.

We hiked to Hiji falls which is a beautiful waterfall and hiking area. Despite the "preese do not swim" warnings the guys had a blast playing around in the water anyways.

There is a lot to do and see. Shuri Castle is the reconstruction of the palace of the former Ryukyu kings.

The water over there is the clearest and warmest that I have ever seen. Okuma is a fun place where we went snorkling, wakeboarding, and rented wave runners.

I plan on going back for AJ's homecoming in June and I CAN'T wait!!!

Oahu

I had the opportunity to travel to Hawaii (Oahu) twice last fall. The first time I went with my good friend Alyson and the second time I went for a day with my Dad before we headed out to Australia.

It is such a gorgeous place. The water is so clear and blue. My Dad and I went snorkling at Hanauma bay and got to swim with the sea turtles. He was so excited.

Waikiki is a wonderful vacation spot, but if your feeling adventurous, I would try to visit more of the local areas and steer clear of all the tourists. You might find beaches with even bluer water and areas with less commercialism and mobs of people.

Sydney

In November I was fortunate enough to go to Sydney, Australia over Thanksgiving with my Dad and his brother's family. Honestly, I went over there thinking it was going to be just like Orange County and that I wouldn't be all that impressed, but I was so wrong. I fell in Love.

In a lot of ways it is like Orange County. It is a warm and beachy place. But it is different in the fact that it is also a city. It reminded me of a mix between Seattle, San Francisco, and New York....minus all the bad things about each of those cities. The public transportation is always on time. Im talking to the T! There is no trash and very little pollution. And there are literally only 2 homeless people in the whole city. It was somewhere that I could definitely see myself living and a place that I hope to return to someday soon.

There was an amazing wilderness park with all sorts of animals. My favorite part was petting and feeding the kangaroos, wallabies and koalas.

Summer had just begun so we had a blast playing around in the waves (even though i still found the water to be a little cold for my taste!)

My absolute favorite thing about Sydney was the skyline at night. The harbor lit up so beautifully at night and I could truly never get sick of looking out at that view.

First Blog Ever/ Guatemala

Hi there! I have always been a cynic of blogs but decided to give it a shot. My life is basically a whole bunch of randomness but the 2 things that have always been a constant love for me (besides AJ of course) are photography and traveling, so I guess that will be what the majority of my blog will consist of. I have spent a lot of time this past year traveling and taking photos and one day in the very near future I hope to make a career out of photography, but still have a lot of learning to do so while I am in the process of that learning I will Share all of my adventures with you all!

Most recently I spent a week in Guatemala. I had no idea what to expect going down there and was pleasantly surprised. I spent most of my time in Antigua visiting a good friend of mine who moved down there to work for Habitat for Humanity, and spend 2 days at Lake Atitlan and a day at Mt. Picaya climbing an active volcano.

Guatemala is a gorgeous country filled with cobblestone roads, colorful buildings, farmers markets, and ancient ruins. One major downside was the poverty (and the fact that you had to throw your toilet paper in the trash can since the plumbing couldn't handle it...gross). The streets are filled with young women and children peddling scarves, blankets, jewelry, and other crafty items to earn money for their families. It broke my heart seeing the way that some people have to live down there.