The Surf - Santa Cruz

December 02, 2014 in California

Travis and I woke up when it was still dark outside and walked a mile to the water with the simple intention to catch the sunrise. Along the way we ran into this surf spot. It was nestled right along some rocks and provided just a small patch of waves - so small that surfers couldn't even ride them into shore. But seeing the passion and determination these people possessed was enough to keep us watching for a good hour. And it was a fine spot to watch that sunrise.

See more of our California trip here

Belgium

November 25, 2014 in Europe

Belgium took me by complete surprise. It's a country that had never been on my radar and even when planning for the trip, most people gave me a confused look at the mention of it's name. And yet, ironically, of the four countries we visited (UK, Paris, Ireland, and Belgium), Belgium is the one place that I want to return to as soon as I can. We spent most of our time in Brugge - between the narrow streets, the calmness that the presence of water brings about, the architecture, and most importantly, Belgium waffles, this place is at the top of my list.

The Cloisters

October 30, 2014 in New York

The Cloisters has been on my radar for a while now. So with a few hours to kill yesterday, I made my way north of Manhattan, like past 190th Street north, to finally see the museum for myself. The Cloisters is situated on a hill that overlooks the Hudson River. It is made up of a combination of art and architecture from medieval Europe. And it was such a pleasant surprise. While the museum is dedicated to showing it's collection of architecture and art from cloisters around the world, I was especially taken by the greenery throughout. All three of the gardens are inspired by poetry, garden documents, and other elements from medieval times and they compliment the space so well.

Fall in Upstate New York

October 27, 2014 in New York

Upstate New York in the Fall is easily one of my favorite things. I think that's largely associated with the fact that when I first moved to New York, I knew very little about life outside of Manhattan. So driving through the mountains of New York and coming across views and hikes like these is always such a pleasant surprise.

THRILLS: Hike Kaaterskill Falls

That California Fog

October 23, 2014 in California

My senior year of high school was followed with a trip up the California coast to celebrate. Never once do I remember seeing fog. And somehow, on my most recent trip (down the coast from SF to Big Sur) we kept getting caught in it. At first, we were disappointed - all we really wanted to do was enjoy the coastline and see the water. But then we started to fall in love with it. It made us more of explorers, per se, pulling over and venturing down to the water, rather than simply enjoying it from far above. By the end of the trip, driving upon it was actually something we really looked forward to.