Across The Pond

Here I am trying to backlog a few things that are sorely overdue to be posted.  This post contains pictures from my trips to England to visit my my girlfriend Kat and her family back in the winter of 2013. An exceptional country that I can not wait to return to and explore those places I had missed the first time around.

The butcher of Lacock

Obviously the right place to sit down for a cuppa.

Chilly morning Ladies?

Leicester

I love all the buildings. The air is so rich with history that it feels like there are stories under every stone.

The closest I have been to stonehenge and the center of the pagan world.

One hell of a lucky guy!

The first baby I have held. Not sure which one of us was more scared.

The Eatoughs were kind enough to represent our Chicagoan clan.

Not a tardis... but almost.

 

The Ancient Baths of Bath 

While on a stroll this perfect calm revealed itself

How many locks can you count?

The Houses of Parliament and Big Ben

 

This beautiful lady is the love of my life.

Cheese-tasting never gets old

What a line up!

"I am always ready to learn, Although I do not always like being taught"

~Sir Winston Churchill~

Photography Pays Off

After returning from New Zealand my focus has been towards the future. Towards the next step. However, every so often there is a moment that draws me back to that wonderful place.  I recently got word that the following photo I took has actually won a photo competition I entered in 2013.  It is only a small competition and most likely had few entries yet the acknowledgment remains very affirming for me.  This photo that I took in 2012 on my way up to Mt Cheeseman for the first time will be published in the 2014 edition of CHILL magazine (not out yet).

The Sun May Rise In The Eastern Skies

Road Trip East

2 people

2 Oceans

18 States

5 Timezones

31 Days

While attending college in Oregon I made my way across the USA 3 separate times from Chicago to Eugene, Oregon.  On each of these occasions I took different routes with different people however all of the trips had one thing in common.  All of them were westbound.

This last year after returning from New Zealand with my girlfriend Kat, I finally had the chance to travel east. From Hawaii to Oregon by plane and then 5 weeks of driving a meandering route were set to be one of the best road trips I've ever been on. The scale changes and what can be measured in hours in NZ is measured in days in the US.

No longer do you simply take the only road leading east. No, here you have to choose among the many options that will all take you to your destination. Thankfully for us we have so many amazing friends and family stretching across the country to balance our time on the road and to offset the budget that we can not afford to blow.

Pearl Harbor Hawaii

Santiam Pass Oregon

Caleb, Becca and Me in Boise

Montana

Wyoming

Wyoming

Chicago was our stop in between where we paused on our trip only to restart it again 5 months later and after the snow finally began to clear from this truly epic winter.  From there we made it all the way east to New York City. 

Chicago's Willis (Sears) Tower from the bottom...

...and from the top.

Revolution Brewery Chicago------ Highly Recommended!

My whole family together for the first time in 6 years!!

Beautiful beast at Starved Rock Illinois

New Zealand isn't the only place you can climb ice walls. Starved Rock Illinois

Illinois

Illinois

Great friends meet up in Chicago.

Female house Finch in the backyard.

Testing out the new car tent.

New York and the Atlantic Ocean.

Niagra Falls, Ontario

In honor of those who fell and to those who carry on,  May we never forget.

9/11 Memorial, One of the most moving places I have ever been.

The men in uniform

NYC

Kat Skiing Sugarbush Vermont

Snowy Owls invade the East Coast

Ferry across Lake Champlain on the way back to Chicago