After being on this planet for a number of years, I have learned that most people couldn’t care less about seeing your vacation pics. I can certainly understand why. Unless you’re a world class photographers, the photos produced from you cannot effectively capture the true essence of the sights you’ve seen, no matter how breathtaking. But this doesn’t stop people from asking you why you haven’t taken any photos on your holidays either. I do want to share my holiday photos, yet at the same time, I don’t want to bore you all. Here are some of the pictures I have put together from my travels to the US in the last month and a half, a combination family reunions/belated honeymoon/birthday.
Here we are in Los Angeles, checking out a few theme parks as part of the Hubs’ birthday present (Disneyworld, California Adventures, and Universal Studios). We also wandered the streets of Hollywood and had dinner at In-N-Out Burger.
Whilst in LA I had to visit one of my favorite gal, Emi of the teeny weeny Pygmy Hippo Shoppe!
Then off we went to Colorado to visit my parents, who were kind enough to take us around to a few places of interest:
(Clockwise from left) We toured the Celestial Seasonings factory, had a gander at the wonder that is The Garden of the Gods, rode the train up to the Pikes Peak summit, and gawped at the amazing chapel at the Air Force Academy.
For our honeymoon we took a cruise in Alaska and had a blast stuffing our faces with the bounty in the myriad restaurants on the boat and marveling at the wonders Alaska had to offer, often with a plate heaped with cake in front of us. I was smart. I packed nothing but elastic waisted pants for this trip in order to accommodate my ever-expanding girth.
Fortunately, the shore excursions prevented us from asking the staff to roll us off the boat at the end of the cruise. I enjoyed a tram ride and hike in Juneau while Anthony biked to admire some glaciers before being taken to a brewery. We sampled salmon in Ketchikan and kayaked a bit and we took a train ride up to the Fraser in British Columbia for yet another paddle.
We went to Kansas to visit our friends whom we haven’t seen in years and spent several days gabbing in their bunker-style home with the knowledge that we’d be safe should a tornado hit this fair state.
After spending a bit more time in Colorado with my family, we flew off to San Francisco to visit another set of family that I haven’t seen in years. There we were fed sumptuous feasts and were given a 5-star tour of this glorious city.
Cousin Carolyn drove us down Lombard Street just for kicks; we saw the Palace of Fine Arts twice, once with Auntie Glendy and the second time on Segways. We admired the gorgeous architecture of San Francisco and looked at the Golden Gate Bridge from many angles.
But the best thing we did was taking the ferry to Alcatraz!
Since I was in San Francisco, there was no reason why I shouldn’t visit Alix Bluh and her gorgeous jewelry/curio shop. She is every bit as delightful and whimsical as the jewelry she creates!
By this time I am bloated beyond recognition, so I’m treating you to some photos of her gorgeous shop:
Can you imagine being surrounded by so much beauty?
So that’s it for my time away from the sweat shop! I’m feeling refreshed and ready to get back to work!