Wanderlust
I plan to see as much of this "too-huge world" as possible in my lifetime and want to share a few of the highlights with you.
Wanderlust
I plan to see as much of this "too-huge world" as possible in my lifetime and want to share a few of the highlights with you.
“What is that feeling when you’re driving away from people and they recede on the plain till you see their specks dispersing? - it’s the too-huge world vaulting us, and it’s good-bye. But we lean forward to the next crazy venture beneath the skies.”
“There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind.”
“Not all those who wander are lost.”
“We need the tonic of wildness...”
Pacific Northwest
Pacific Northwest
Mount hood, Oregon
We love the Northwest so much we wanted to share it with our friends and family, so on June 29, 2013 we had them join us on Mt Hood for our wedding.
Our venue, The Resort at The Mountains has spectacular views and the staff made our day perfect. Thank you Tami Kay Galvin for making this day so fun for us!
A fun part of planning the wedding was getting to taste all the amazing cupcakes our friend Laura made for us. She is so talented and wonderful for doing this for us.
The best part about the whole day was when I looked around after the ceremony and realized everyone was genuinely enjoying themselves. The kids were playing lawn games, some family were golfing and others were having a great time on the dance floor. It was more perfect than I could have planned or hoped.
After our wedding we drove further up Mt Hood to ride the Alpine Slide at Skibowl
During certain summer months, they continue to have some snow at the top of Mt Hood and have a snow machine to add more so people still ski and snowboard, even though it's warm enough for shorts
Our longtime friend, Cyndi Long was our officiant and she NAILED IT.
Chellee Manselle at The Resort at the Mountains did an amazing job on my Bouquet, Arbor and Centerpieces.
Our photographer, Ashley Forrette was amazing! She was somehow able to get photos from all around the afternoon and evening that I didn't even see her taking and they are all beautiful. If you ever need a photographer in the Portland area, please do yourself a favor and call her!
Around Washington and Oregon
One of the many fern covered trails near the Columbia River Gorge
The first time I have ever seen a Fuchsia plant was at the Cottage Creek Inn in Redmond, WA
A Foxglove near the Columbia River Gorge
A very overcast and foggy Columbia River Gorge where on sunny days you can see people Kite Surfing in the wind.
Driving through rural Washington, just outside of Mt Rainier, we stumbled upon a sculpture park created by Daniel Klennert in Ashford, WA.
Around Portland
Da Tung & Xi’an Bao Bao ( Universal Peace and Baby Elephant ) in Old Town/Chinatown Portland, Oregon
The White Swan Bar and Hotel
Cyndi and Russell in their happy place at Deschutes Brewery in Portland
Top Pot Doughnuts, Portland
Tasty n Sons in Portland. We eat here every time we're in town, because it's delicious!
The coast
Cannon Beach
The beach was new and magical for my niece. She had never seen this much sand!
We got a little chilly
Olympia and Seattle
Seattle
San Juan Islands
For our honeymoon, we joined an REI Adventures travel group to kayak and camp in the San Juan Islands.
Friday Harbour 4th of July Parade
Starting our trip in Roche Harbor
We are READY!
We met some really fun people
British Columbia
Walk amoung the treetops on the Capilano Suspension Bridge in Vancouver, BC
On the beach in Victoria, BC
Our wedding photos were taken by the talented Ashley Forrette.
Many thanks to my husband Russell Fincher for traveling the world with me and sharing some of his photos for this post. I don't know what I'd do if you didn't like to "go" as much as I do.
Japan
Stay beautiful – and weird – and wonderful, Japan. You have forever made your mark on my heart.
Japan
Stay beautiful – and weird – and wonderful, Japan. You have forever made your mark on my heart.
Japan is full of breathtakingly beautiful scenery.
With hot springs like Takaragawa Onsen Osenkaku in Minakami
In the right season vibrant Japanese Beautyberry line the streets of Kyoto
Tiny mushrooms outside a Temple in Kyoto
Interspersed with human touches, like this foopath lighting in Arashiyama Bamboo Grove in Kyoto
The popular Japanese Maple in it's true surroundings
Japan builds great things.
Some of the largest statues in the world like this one at the Tōdai-ji Temple in Nara
They tower majestically, perfectly interspersed within natural surroundings
Sometimes the Japanese cage these giant guardians
Japan has awesomely modern and weird cities.
Like Tokyo with it's unique architecture
Crazy TV shows
Paris, your bidets have nothing on Japan's space age toilets
Really funny advertising
Confusing signage
They do not like devil ghosts
Funny street names
Blazing fast public transportation
Weird electric fish and falling pots?
But they love Tommy Lee Jones
And good luck if you have big feet
Japan's food is amazing and diverse.
Much of the time, you're not sure what you're eating, but it's usually delicious
The seafood is so fresh, it may still be squirming when you buy it at the Tsukiji Market in Tokyo
You get a little bite of a lot of different things
Or you can buy "sweat" in a bottle if you need to rehydrate
They eat so many sea-things
Delicious Sesame & Matcha Green Tea Ice Cream
You can wash it down with saki or beer right out of a vending machine
Japan is steeped in tradition and beliefs.
They believe in the mythical Hou-ou (Hō-ō 鳳凰).
In Kyoto, you can still find Geisha daintily passing through the streets
He's even on their money
They have bustling festivals in which people drag floats around the streets & the performers on the floats have head-to-head dance-offs with the other float performers
Japan has a Buddhist region in the mountains of Kōyasan.
It's at the very tip-top of a cable line after a long, remote journey via train
It has many surreal sculptures
Otherworldly
Sage
In Kōyasan, expect to stay in a Buddhist temple. You will not find big hotels here & why would you want to?
Like all the other cities we visited in japan, it has a mascot
It's home of the beautiful Okunoin Cemetery
Serene
Alien
And very warm
Japan has an entire city called Nara FULL of deer
That have no fear of humans
And if you don't feed them fast enough, they'll literally head-butt you
You can just walk up and scratch them on the chin
They're beautiful
Many thanks to my husband Russell Fincher for traveling the world with me and sharing some of his photos for this post. I don't know what I'd do if you didn't like to "go" as much as I do.
East Coast
From the coast of New Jersey to the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
East Coast
From the coast of New Jersey to the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
New Jersey
Atlantic City has a beach you can't drive up to because all of the giant casinos, so you really need to be into gambling and shopping to enjoy the New Jersey boardwalk.
The good news is there are lots of LOBSTER restaurants nearby. Problem solved.
Cape May, NJ and Rehoboth Beach, DE
The Virginia Hotel in Cape May has a long front porch blocks from the beach, and is surrounded by adorable old home.
The Rehoboth Guest House is by far one of the most beautiful and welcoming bed and breakfast that we've visited.
The Rehoboth Guest House and it's lovely porch is right across the bay in Delaware.
The hosts are fun and welcoming and they have this adorable dog Rambo, who really wants your breakfast.
Dogfish Head Bar
In Rohoboth Beach, DE
In Rohoboth Beach, just walking distance from our guest house, is Dogfish Head's original Restaurant & Brewery where they offer flights, and even distill their own spirits.
Being a home-brewer himself, getting to travel the world and drink different local beers is one of Russell's favorite pastimes.
They have so many options to try from, and their flight portions are quite large!
Dogfish Head Brewery
In Milton, DE
The famous Dogfish Head tree-house.
And matching sculptures sit in their bar area.
They also have some cool cars and old trucks outside.
This is the original brew setup, which you can see on one of their great beer tours.
They talked a little about the ingredients used in the beer making process.
A sign showing that Dog Fish got it's start in 1995.
And they talked little about the spirits they make back at the original Rohoboth Beach restaurant location.
After the tour you get a tasting! We crossed out the beers we weren't into, but the others were tasty. Especially the Burton Baton.
That is one happy man.
They have a photo booth and props in the bar area.
Virginia beach
Virginia Beach wasn't that super over all, but it did have a pretty great Neptune statue that was erected in memory of the man who brought prosperity to Virginia Beach.
The sculpture and surroundings have tiny octopi and other sea creatures.
The Outer Banks, North Carolina
We stayed at the Sanderling Resort in Kitty Hawk, NC. It was a beautiful resort right on the beach. We hope to take our family back sometime. We were there pre-season, so it was chilly! Here are a few photos from around the resort property.
The Wright Brothers National Memorial
It makes sense, that these brothers were driven to invent flight when you stand atop the dunes that they made history on. You can turn completely around and see the town and ocean from where you stand, and you simply want to coast around and soak in the scenery.
Many thanks to my husband Russell Fincher for traveling the world with me and sharing some of his photos for this post. I don't know what I'd do if you didn't like to "go" as much as I do.