My Happy Place

My heart will always be with Lake Superior. I’ve seen a lot of spectacular and beautiful things from red sandstone of Uluru to the aqua depths of Halong Bay. I’ve climbed the ancient ruins of Borobudur, explored Angkor Wat and kayaked through Milford Sound. I’ve experienced more epic beauty than I could possibly list here.

And yet, there is still something so magnetic about the North Shore of Lake Superior that calls to me when I am away and pulls at me when I am on my way back.

My Elemental

Of the four elements, I’ve always been drawn to water the most. I grew up on the north shore of Lake Superior and have always felt a strong affinity towards its powerful presence and beautify.

As I’ve grown, my wanders have taken me around the globe and everywhere I’ve gone I’ve discovered spectacular and captivating water features; from the vastness of the Oceans and the Great Lakes to the rushing rivers. I’m drawn to them and seek them out.

When it comes to mesmerizing aqua depths I’m not sure any place quite compares to New Zealand, where the glaciers and volcanic earth spring life to waters of every shade of blue and green imaginable. One area of striking beauty is the Blue Pools of Haast which are  fed by the most incredibly blue river I have ever seen. My sister and I stumbled upon this gem during our drive through Haast from Franz Joseph to Wanaka. The hike was just a 15 minute stroll away from the main highway.

Absolutely Breathtaking

 

---

---

Today’s post was inspired by this week’s photo challenge: Elemental

All We Have is Moments

Several years ago, I met up with my sister in Montreal for Easter. We were both going through a hard time. Our father was very ill and we’d both spent a lot of our recent free weekends jetting back and forth between our homes and Thunder Bay to spend time with him.

But on this weekend we decided we needed to take a moment to look after ourselves instead, take a step away from our reality and enjoy a few carefree days of happy sister-time amidst the heavy darkness that was starting to engulfing our lives.

This photo was snapped in Old Montreal and represents how fleeting moments can be and how nothing in this world is permanent. For an instant these bubbles graced us with their presence and then pop they were gone forever.

That is why it is so important to always find the joy nestled within the little things; for that is all that we have in life – a million moments strung together to make a whole.

This post was inspired by this week’s Weekly Photo Challenge: Evanescent

Itchy Travel Feet

For me, wanderlust is both the longing and the need to go on an adventure to explore a new place, and it is something I have been afflicted with my entire life.

Warning: Side effects of this affliction may include: open mindedness, self reliance, unsatisfaction with the 9-5, and empty bank accounts

If travel was a person she would be the supporting actor to my life’s play. She’s taught me so much and has played such a key role in shaping me into the person that I am today.

Live Your Dreams

I am a dreamer.

I am an explorer.

I am a climber.

Ever since I was a little girl I have been drawn to high places. It didn’t really matter what – trees, boulders, cliffs – they all called my name, daring me to climb up and behold the wonders that they were saving for me at their summits. And while my illusions of invincibility slowly crumbled away with my youth, this magnetic need to get to the top has never wavered.

I stumbled across this eye-catching feature during an afternoon hike on South Molle Island in Australia. All it took was one look and I knew I had to get to the top. So, I kicked off my flipflops and got to it.

Today’s post was inspired by this week’s Photo Challenge by The Daily Post:
Atop

An Unexpected Find

On the road to Lake St Claire, Tasmania we found this little guy.

We were barreling down the highway when my friend Scott yelled “stop the car!” We did, and walked back along the side of the road where I got to meet my very first (and only) wild echidna! To this day, I honestly have no idea how Scott managed to spot him from the car.

What a cutie!

For those of you who don’t know, echidnas are members of the very exclusive monotreme club: an eccentric subclass of mammals that lay eggs instead of giving birth to their babies. The only other member still around today is the duck billed platypus and both of these cool little weirdos can be found in Tasmania. Ever since I was little I’ve loved these two creatures (I likely learned about them on Bill Nye) and while I had hoped to meet them both during my adventure around the island I’ll settle for this one close encounter.

Today’s drive down memory lane was inspired by this week’s Photo Challenge by The Daily Post: The Road Taken

Defying the Odds

This celebratory photo was taken at the exciting moment serendipity decided to intervened and point us in the right direction!

When Kaitlin and I left our hostel that day in Prague we thought we had a map. Turns out, we didn’t! But we didn’t let that stop us on our mission to find the Prague Train Station (Hlavni Nadrazi). We picked a random direction and set out, relying on some sleuthing and our gut intuition, knowing the odds were against us.

You can imagine our delight when we stumbled upon this sign!

This post was inspired by this weeks photo challenge: Against the Odds