Although I had been to Diani (a beach just south of Mombasa) last year, this trip was no less exciting and full of an entirely new set of adventures. During one of our many walks on the beach, I started photographing the dhow boats in the water. It was only after a few takes that I realized a fisherman was on one of the boats taking a rest.

More on our trip is to come (like a follow-up video to answer the question ‘Do people on the coast cook with salt water?’).

With less than three days to explore Istanbul, I think I can say we made the most of it. One of my favorite architectural sights in the city is Hagia Sophia, once a Christian church that was transformed into a mosque and is now a museum. This photo is just a teaser of my stopover in Istanbul that I hope to share in the coming days.

It would be a crime to visit Amarillo (and the Big Texan) and not make a stop at the amazing and inspirational Cadillac Ranch. Located just outside the city on I-40, Cadillac Ranch is a cow pasture, home to 10 old Cadillacs colorfully decorated by the public. The cars are in the ground nose-first, at the same angle as the Great Pyramid of Giza. Stella and I had looked for the weird and wacky stops to make on our road trip, and of course this one neared the top of the list.

I’m ashamed to say that we failed to bring spray paint to create our own lovely works of art on these Cadillac canvases. But, this isn’t to say we didn’t have fun!

We also saw one sign that is part of the Dynamite Museum (fake, and sometimes humorous, road signs in Amarillo that also have the same patron). I just wish we had seen more! Have you been to Cadillac Ranch? If so, what did you paint on the cars?

I was gripping the steering wheel and trying not to yell at every grandma driver on the road. We were running late… for a wedding! I hate being late for so much as a happy hour, so being late for a wedding was nothing but stress. We planned to arrive a half hour early donning our fabulous flapper costumes. Unfortunately, the look of a flapper takes more preparation than anticipated, and Haley and I spent a little too long waiting in line and catching up over brunch at Pancake Pantry.

Fall Wedding in Tennessee

We calculated the remaining miles, we looked at the building numbers, and we counted the minutes we had until we would arrive. Fingers crossed that they start late. As we left suburbia and mall traffic and got out into the countryside, it was a beautiful day with the changing fall leaves. The narrow drive up to the location on the hillside was gorgeous. We parked in the grass across from the tombstone parking sign, jumped out of the car, and hiked up the hill. In the distance, we saw the wedding party lined up, along with our gorgeous friend and bride Rachel. Letting out the first sigh of relief, we scooted past them with a quick wave to the bride and took our seats before they began the walk. Just… in… time… phew!

The ceremony site

The altar

Haley and I met through a mutual friend in college. Actually, he had arranged for us to be roommates. Turns out he was a good matchmaker- we instantly clicked. The following year we were given a random roommate in our apartment. Her name was Rachel, she was a hair stylist pursuing a biology degree, and she was nothing short of awesome. She was immensely entertaining, and she brought a lot of laughter and ridiculousness to our apartment. She also tried hard to keep Haley and I as up to date as possible in terms of hair and makeup. It may have been a little bit of lost cause (yes Rachel, you would be ashamed if you had watched how long it took Haley and I to apply fake eyelashes and smoky eye makeup… I recall us saying more than once, “Now how does this work again? It only says Apply glue.” And I’m pretty sure we both said, “I wish Rachel were here to help” multiple times). Though we only loosely kept in touch since the five years we were roommates, when Haley and I received invites to Rachel’s Halloween-themed wedding, there was no question in our minds- we had to go! We were delighted to have a roommate reunion, and on top of that, who would ever miss out on the chance to dress up? I absolutely love costume parties, and though several would cringe at the idea of a Halloween wedding (opting for the more traditional route), Haley and I were stoked!

Flower girl (with the ring bearer in the background)

Rachel's parents giving her away

We sat up front on the bride’s side. The sun was shining through pockets in the trees, and the crisp fall air was just perfect. The groom took his place up front, and the music started for the bridal party. They walked out to this song, and it was beautiful. The fairy flower girl and the knight ring bearer were precious. Rachel walked out with her dad in a strapless gown with a black sash, black gloves, and a fun white headpiece. Rachel and Dyllon wrote their own vows… while some of the bridesmaids got teary-eyed over Dyllon’s heartfelt promise to always give Rachel the best, Rachel quickly saved the girls from runny mascara lines by always promising to love him when she’s right…. or he’s wrong. Yes guys, the girl is always right.

Rachel and Dyllon are hitched!

Following the ceremony, Haley and I were consumed with checking out the crowd. There were zombies, prisoners, hippies, nuns, priests, Harry Potter, athletes, doctors, a viking, and the list goes on. And the decor- fantastic. After the first dance, the bride and groom disappeared… and came back as Batman and Robin! The entrance was nothing short of comical with the Batman music playing in the background Duh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh Batman! The fabulous orange dreamsicle cake was made by Jay Qualls, a contestant on the Next Great Baker.

The Decor:

Table Setting: Halloween candles, photos, and candy corn

Another Table Setting

Tombstone Parking

Pumpkin carved with their name on the food table

Glasses for the toast

Stair decoration

Decorate your own pumpkin

Party favor: Halloween candy

Oh, the costumes!

Zombies

Pirate and gypsy

Harry Potter

80s!

Mullet man and Raggedy Ann

The cotton candy clown

70s

Medical peeps and athletes

Police officer and Ace of Hearts

And of course... the flappers!

The Bride & Groom:

Gorgeous

Enter Batman and Robin

Garter toss

Orange Dreamsicle Cake:

Halloween cake

I’m thrilled that I was able to be a part of Rachel and Dyllon’s special day, along with our friend Haley. And, I must admit that the rest of my friends have a tough act to follow… I can’t imagine what could be more fun than a wedding involving costumes!

Congrats Rachel & Dyllon and Happy Halloween!

I love buildings, but I also love structures- especially bridges. The Cooper River Bridge in Charleston is one of my favorite bridges. Photographs of it are dynamic and seeing it at sunset is just beautiful (just check out this photo or Google it to see more). My other favorite bridge? The Golden Gate of course!

What are your favorite bridges?

One of the very first things I did when I got to Barcelona was take a cable car up to the castle of Montjuic (literally ‘Hill of the Jews’). I went not so much for the focus on the castle but for the gorgeous views of the city of Barcelona (my previous post features one of the many photos I took of the city). However, walking through parts of the castle were an added bonus.

Since I hadn’t done any planning before getting to Barcelona, I went on impulse. With little research, I took the cable car to get up to the top. I walked down because I at least knew what cardinal direction to head. It was fun to wind along small streets and cut through parks to make my own way back into the city. I would compare Montjuic to Piazzalle Michelangelo in Florence- it’s a great place to visit that is absolutely free to get a great view of the city.

I loved how the donkey is hanging out on top of his owner’s house. To see more photos from my time in Petra, click here.

I learned on my first safari in Kenya a few years back that, while hippos may peep their head out of the water, they usually only get out of the water at night to look for food. It’s rare to see a hippo out of the water during the day. So when I saw this family of hippos sunbathing on a little island in the Chobe River in Botswana, I knew I was witnessing a rare site.

Check out more photos from my safari in Chobe National Park.

In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia one evening, the rats decided to make an appearance on our walk home from dinner. At one point, Lauren and I were hugging each other in the middle of the street, screaming like school girls as the pesky rats darted around in search of food scraps. We ducked into a grocery store for cover and started rattling off to the store clerk about the “giant rats” and how they were “everywhere” and on and on. At first he gave us this puzzled look- we were talking way too fast for him to grasp what we had said, but he knew it was something serious since we were so alarmed. As it turns out, he didn’t know the English word for rat but it didn’t take long for us to convey the traumatic scenario of the evening. We came to our senses, the guys in the store got a good laugh out of us, and then we decided to take a gander around and grab some snacks for our transit the next day. So the rat story has absolutely nothing to do with this photo except that, my friends, is how we stumbled upon these delectable Pringles flavors. If Blueberries & Hazelnut, Soft-shell Crab, or Lemon & Sesame don’t strike your fancy, what will?

Have you seen any crazy Pringles flavors while traveling?

As I stood at the water’s edge and looked back towards Cape Town I tried to imagine…. imagine what it was like being a prisoner on Robben Island, a person whose crime was most likely fighting for equal rights and defending freedom. Feeling trapped and wrongly imprisoned on an island, while tensions ran high back on the mainland. The views of  Table Mountain, Cape Town’s grandiose backdrop is spectacular and one not to be missed when visiting Robben Island. I could enjoy the views as a temporary spectator. If I had to see this sight every day for years before I would be allowed back on the mainland- now that might be a different story.