Anchorage Alaska to Raleigh NC – A road trip

Where do I begin, well at the beginning of course! Last December Bethany and I visited our friends James and Lauren in Anchorage. James has been my best friend since highschool, and I thought it would be the last time I would see him and Alaska for a while. About two months after we got back James calls me and says, “would you be interested in helping me drive from Anchorage to Georgia?”

In the two months since Bethany and I left Alaska James had been selected for a new job in the Army and they said they needed him as soon as possible in Georgia. Of course I said yes to helping him make the drive. That is not the kind of opportunity to pass up, road tripping through the continents most awesome roads with your best friend who you never really get to spend time with. Luckily, it took about an extra month for his unit to find a replacement and have the change of command so we set a date to leave on March 18th. We hoped this would be enough time for the Yukon to warm up a bit…

You might ask, why drive and not fly? James and Lauren’s dog Maggie has seizures and cannot go on planes so drive it was.

All for this little dog

Alaska Wedding Photographer

When we left anchorage and head to Tok. 350 Miles only passed 8 other cars…

Alaska Wedding Photographer

Alaska Wedding Photographer

Alaska Wedding Photographer

Always get the fuel! Headed into the Yukon. Luckily the weather was still good.

Alaska Wedding Photographer

It was a balmy -10 when we crossed the border into Canada.

Alaska Wedding Photographer

Alaska Wedding Photographer

I really enjoyed this spot called “Destruction bay.” At the gas station here, someone landed a helicopter next to us and proceeded to order soup. Not many roads around these parts.

Alaska Wedding Photographer

A typical town along the way.

Alaska Wedding Photographer

We had great weather the first two days, this morning heading out of Whitehorse the weather took a turn for the worse. The next three days where what I call “White Knuckle Driving…”

Alaska Wedding Photographer

We did find an awesome hot spring!

Alaska Wedding Photographer

The weather got worse and worse as we crossed into British Columbia.

 

Alaska Wedding Photographer

Alaska Wedding Photographer

Alaska Wedding Photographer

They do have nice rest areas though!

Alaska Wedding Photographer

Snow for days! Our luck had to run out sometime.

Alaska Wedding Photographer
Alaska Wedding Photographer

Due to the slow driving speeds, our 8 hour days turned into 12 hour days… Once night fell, the darkness was amazing!

Alaska Wedding Photographer

As we closed in on Jasper the weather got worse and worse. After 1000’s of miles in the snow and wind gust finally got the better of us and ran us off the road. Stuck. Hard. Luckily it was in a flat stretch and we were ok.

Alaska Wedding Photographer

Luckily, the local tow truck had to come out to rescue an ambulance a few hours down the road from us and stopped to help. Otherwise, we would have not gotten winched out until the morning.

Alaska Wedding Photographer

Alaska Wedding Photographer

Alaska Wedding Photographer

Alaska Wedding Photographer

Shockingly, when we made it Banff the next day, no snow! Wahoo!

Alaska Wedding Photographer

Alaska Wedding Photographer

We made appointments for some tattoos in Calgary, James got two new ones and I got Bethany’s signature on my right arm. You’ll have to see it in person.

Alaska Wedding Photographer

Once onto the plains, it looked like this for miles…

Alaska Wedding Photographer

Back to the US!

Alaska Wedding Photographer

After making it into the US, we were able to get out of the snow in Fargo ND and make some real time and get back to our families! If you get the chance to take a road trip with your best friend do it!

Trip Stats:

1 Accident

1 Mountain Lion

1 Lynx

1 Mule Deer (All my wildlife photos consist of a animal rear end running into the woods)

3 Moose

Countless Buffalo and…

4800 Miles Driven!

 

San Fransisco March 2015

Last week I got to spend 1 day in San Fransisco and I made the MOST of it! I was in town for a photography workshop, and I went a day early just to check things out since the last time we went to the city, we were to tired to do anything.

Since I was in the Cali alone this time, I chose to do a tour through Vantigo, a company that gives small scale tours via a Volkswagon bus. What could be more fun? It was a PERFECT was to see a ton of sights that I wanted to see, while avoiding that feeling of being “cattle” and barked at through a megaphone.  After the tour I went the Walt Disney Family Museum, Lucas Films Headquarters, and the Castro to see where Harvey Milk’s camera store was back in the day. My phone died right when I parked in the Castro and I was forced to ask for help, which I always actually enjoyed. I met a couple of guys who gave me directions to where I was having dinner AND I met another couple who had been to Maine. “Love your state. Hate your governor.” Good times. It’s funny how having your phone die can get you out of your comfort zone, (my favorite place to try and leave). I had dinner with a friend I had not seen in 8 years!! It’s always such a treat to see old friends. We had to tell long stories to eachother to get caught up and I loved every second of it.

A few take-aways from the day in San Fran:

The hills are absolutely no joke. Get ready for a workout OR avoid it completely and take a tour.

The Golden Gate Bridge is just as cool as you think it is.

Head to Twin Peaks for an incredible view of the whole city. See if you can spot the Castro district in the first photo.

After two trips, I still don’t really see why you would spend a ton of time at Fisherman’s Wharf. Perhaps it’s because I live near a pretty harbor, or that I’m not that crazy about shopping at the same stores I can shop at everywhere, but I just dont really get it.

The address of Harvey Milks old Camera Store is 575 Castro Street. Go there. Now its this site of the Human Rights Campaign Store, which is fitting.

Talk to people while you are there! I met a lot of nice folks.

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Alaska Trip 2014

We went to Alaska.

Here’s the story behind it:

Dan and James have been best friends forever and ever. James is in the Army and his family has been all over the country at different bases and he is currently stationed in Anchorage. We had some flyer miles and time to visit AND James was on leave so we just went for it. We didn’t have huge grand plans or a list of things to see because our sole reason for going was to visit them. If we went in the summer I think we would have MUCH busier doing every single thing we could think of while we were there, but this trip was about as relaxing as they come, hanging out, eating good food, going on long drives, and watching movies at home. It was exactly what we needed at the end of a long wedding season and we got to be around people we love whole heartedly. They just happen to live in a GORGEOUS PLACE!!!

So let me tell ya about it:Del and Matt 0028.JPG

The following two photos we taken at 4:00 pm and 10:00am. It was dark a lot there.iPhone Alaska 2014 0173.JPG2014-12-04 16.02.45-1.JPG

Here are James and Lauren fawning over their little girl. It was so fun to meet her ourselves!!! She is the first baby that I have ever met that made me think, “Hmm…. maybe I could do this baby thing!”Alaska 2014 0005.JPG

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Alaska still has Blockbusters!! We decided to pay homage to the good old days and go as a group to walk around and pick it out. Then we ordered Papa John’s and had it delivered. So 1997 eh?
iPhone Alaska 2014 0197.JPGWe did A LOT of  “STOP THE CAR I NEED TO TAKE A PHOTO.” Im sure you can image that.
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Alaska 2014 0017.JPGUs being cute. Obviously.
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We got to do a few portrait sessions while we were there because really… we could NOT go there and not photograph people in love in that environment. Luckily we have TWO couples who we are friends with who live in Anchorage so we made it happen. You’ll see them soon on the blog so stay tuned.
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One of my favorite things we did while we were there was go to a movie at a theater that served delicious pizza and some of the best beer I have ever had. I wish I could have all three of those things again right this moment.

Here are the details for your trip: Bear Tooth Theaterpub serving the Moose’s Tooth Pizza and Broken Tooth Brewing beer, (I loved the Hard Apple Ale omg omg omg omg omg). So now you know and now you must go.
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2014-12-05 10.26.17.JPGAnother stellar experience was the Anchorage Museum. I loved the design of the building. I loved the special exhibit. I loved the kids science area. I loved learning about Alaskan Culture and History. I loved the art. I loved the view. It ruled.
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iPhone Alaska 2014 0288.JPGOne of the best things about being in Alaska is that literally everywhere you go, and everywhere you look, IT IS BEAUTIFUL! We spent a lot of our time gasping and looking around wide eyed. To give you an example, this is a photo of the Target parking lot.
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iPhone Alaska 2014 0295.JPGThe most adventurous part of the trip was the hike that Dan went on with James, and a few of James’ lieutenants.  Since I didn’t go, I’ll pass it over to Dan to tell you about it: James and I had the idea of doing a hike up Crow Pass but had no motivation, on the last day we finally decided to go for it. Arriving at the road up to the trail head, we realized it was to icy to make it up by car – add another mile. By the time we made it to the trail head I was already tired! The hike is about 3 miles straight up (or it feels like it) a mountain. Once above tree line the snow got really deep and we switched to snowshoes. I have never hiked in snow that deep or in Mountains that large, it was incredible! We finally made it to our stop at a cabin to try to warm up. It was a welcome rest. We only had about 30 minutes to break before we had to return to try to make it back down before dark. We started in the dark and ended in the dark. The trip was one of the more tiring adventures I have done in my life…
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The Hike Alaska 0009.JPG The Hike Alaska 0044.JPGThe Hike Alaska 0014.JPG2014-12-10 16.28.47.JPGThe Hike Alaska 0021.JPG The Hike Alaska 0040.JPGAnd then we flew home, packed up our apartment, and headed south for the winter.
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Thanksgiving 2014 Road Trip: Wisconsin

After our day in Niagara Falls, we headed out to Wisconsin to spend Thanksgiving with my Best Friend Annie, and her parents, and her puppies! We drove through Flint Michigan to see where Dan went to school, and then around Lake Michigan, up through Chicago, and finally arrive at Annie’s apartment in Milwaukee.  Whew!

Since we were there for a while, let me just break it down for you right here in bullet point form since thats easier to read and… write.

Tuesday: We made it to Annie’s, ate dinner out with Annie and Andrea, went to the Art Museum, and spent the night.

Wednesday: We headed out to Annie’s parents house in Oshkosh, (yes B’gosh) and Dan and Annie went to the beauty salon. Yup. You read that right.

Thursday AKA Thanksgiving: We walked the turkey trot and cheated to finish early.  We ate WAY more than our bodies were prepared for and then we laid around trying to recover from that. Thats what I call a perfect Thanksgiving. All the credit goes to Dennis, Annie’s dad, for making pretty much every single thing I ate, as well as for decorating the heck out of everything. The turkey shaped confetti took it to a whole other level of wonderful.

Friday: We had planned to head up to Door County but the weather stunk so we headed to Green Bay instead. We went to Lambeau and then to the botanical gardens where there was an awesome light tunnel for photos.

Saturday: We headed up to Door County and saw everything we could since it was the off season and nothing was really open. Annie and I got drunk at a mexican restaurant and Dan proceeded to tolerate us as we laughed our way through the Christmas shop. It was awesome. We also ordered some of the worst pizza I have ever had for dinner that night. This is second only to the pizza I had in San Juan Puerto Rico.

Sunday: We began our VERY long drive back home.

Annie’s family was so welcoming to us and I can’t even begin to thank them for having us with them for the holiday. The food was out of control good and the hospitality was somehow better than that. Well done Mid-west. Well done.

Also, these photos are a mix of photos from all of our iphones (Dan, Mine, and Annies) as well as some DSLR photos from Annie.

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Thanksgiving 2014 Road Trip: Niagara Falls

This Thanksgiving, Dan, Hattie and I packed up the Prius and drove over 2,500 miles from Portland Maine to Wisconsin and back. Along the way we stopped at Niagara Falls because Dan had never been!  I was really excited to take him there because Dan is obsessed with water. He has nearly killed me trying to get a better look at a waterfalls along the road from Maine to Hawaii to Puerto Rico. I thought what better waterfall to show him than the iconic Niagara Falls?? My great grandparents went to the falls for their honeymoon, and I went on a family road trip back in middle school.

If you have never been, you should probably stop by. Both of the bordering towns are a little rough around the edges however it’s nothing that you can’t handle. I get the sense that there was most definitely a heyday, and that time has passed. #sorryniagara

All that being said, it is amazing to see. We stayed on the Canadian side for the most part but we did venture over to the American side to do the Niagara Falls State Park and the Cave of the Winds. We also checked out the Observatory, where you can see both falls from the American Side. Impressive. While we were on the American side we took a photo for a couple who live in Florida, who are from India. They were asking about the best vantage point and I said to head over to the Canadian side. They told me that they couldn’t because of their green cards, and it struck me to realize that being able to see the falls from both countries was a privilege that I had not previously taken as that. It made me feel much more grateful when we headed back to Canada that day.

Near the end of the day, we hopped on the Hornblower Niagara Cruise, which is my number one recommendation for something to do while in the area. It. Was. So. Fun! You can ride a boat all the way up to the Canadian Falls and you get drenched in the mist. I loved being able to experience the power of nature in a relatively safe way. It was definitely something not to miss.

The next day we headed out to Wisconsin, where we would spend Thanksgiving. That’s tomorrow’s blogpost!

Everything you see here was taken on our iPhones.Thanksgiving Road Trip 2014 NY and WI 0014 Thanksgiving Road Trip 2014 NY and WI 0018 Thanksgiving Road Trip 2014 NY and WI 0024 Thanksgiving Road Trip 2014 NY and WI 0061 Thanksgiving Road Trip 2014 NY and WI 0076Thanksgiving Road Trip 2014 NY and WI 0042