Awwwww

I recently took some engagement pictures for my friends who are getting married this August. We went into the Old Port and walked around on a semi-gray (perfect for picture-taking!) day. They were so much fun and you can just see how much they love each other. So cute.

Their dog, Argus, also made an appearance and he was a riot, his tongue hanging out in most shots.

Heat!!!

It's been a long holiday weekend and I'm not ready for it to end. The weather has actually been nice - sunny, warm... kinda like summer! Sitting on my bed with the windows open I almost feel like I'm back at the ashram in Varanasi. I think I somehow upped my heat tolerance there, because I say bring it on! Which is good, since I'll be going to Senegal next year, and the weather where I'm going was 108 last week. Yeah, baby. Dry heat, though, which will be better. Don't get me wrong, I'm probably gonna fry, but strangely I'm looking forward to experiencing the climate there. I realized that I've wanted to go to Africa for about 20 years now, so it's about time! One thing that I've found absolutely shocking, however, are the prices of flights within the continent, like basically the same as a round-trip from the U.S. there. There are alternate modes of transportation, of course, but overland travel there is a serious time commitment, not to mention having to dodge places you might want to avoid. So hmm... I'll have to plan any travel there wisely.

I leave for Mexico in a month as well, so it's going to be a busy summer. From Mexico I'll be flying to Phoenix for training for this program in Africa, then back to Maine to pack and prepare. Gearing up!!

Random people photo from Venice Beach in LA. I liked the lighting with the sun setting in the distance. That and I thought these guys had a cool look.

Viva California!

Four days in California... total awesomeness. Having lived in San Fran for a while, I'm kind of partial to Northern California, but SoCal, when done right, can be pretty amazing as well. Day 1 - Magic Mountain. I hadn't been on a roller coaster in years and years, and these roller coasters are no joke. Upside down, getting whipped around, feet dangling... insane. But in that fun kind of way. Day 2 - A chill day exploring in the 'burbs and then dinner with my old roommate from San Fran in Manhattan Beach, which is simply gorgeous. Day 3 - Venice Beach (a.k.a. Muscle Beach) and then Santa Monica Pier and the Ferris Wheel. Day 4 - Horseback riding followed by a big plate of authentic Mexican food. Doesn't get much better.

I decided to practice taking people pictures at Venice Beach because it's known for its craziness there. It seemed like a pretty quiet day, but there was still a lot for the eye to see. What's amazing is the number of "pot doctors" along the strip. Go in and give them any reason why you need a prescription and they'll make it happen, "free gift" and all. Crazy. Muscle Beach itself was pretty slow, but we did find a big skate park which lent itself to some good shots, and of course the usual interesting street performers.


Roller-blading guitar-playing man. All day long...


I wish the skater were in focus, but I like how the arc of his hair frames the people in the background.


I just loved this guy's look.


Cute little skater kid who kept getting stuck in the pit and had to ask for help to get out. He will be awesome one day.

The beach! Beautiful.

An experiment

So I'm sitting in the Portland Jetport right now and thought hmm, I wonder if I can update my blog from my Kindle. Turns out I can! How cool is this? My flight should take off in about an hour. In the meantime I can people-watch and revel in this pending trip euphoria. Seriously, there are a lot of cool feelings in life, but few give me the natural high I get from traveling. I'm not sure if this is a problem or not. As long as I can keep exploring el mundo, I guess it isn't! OK, back to my pre-flight activities. This is cool, but the mini keyboard is not. :)

Change of season

Maine is trying really hard to find her Spring this year. It's crazy, we'll have a 60 degree day followed by a 35 degree day. I think we all prefer the former at this point. Today started out rainy and gray, and then turned quite lovely. I went for a walk on Mackworth Island with my friend Shayna, who is coming with me to Mexico this summer. The air smelled fresh and when the wind wasn't blowing it felt almost there. That said I'm still looking forward to being in LA where it's supposed to be in the 60s every day this week. Will I get to the beach? Not sure, but you can bet I'll be wearing my sandals!

Back in love

... with my Nikon. I went to Portland Headlight today and rather than taking pictures of the lighthouse, I instead got a couple nice shots of some seagulls. I'm suddenly more interested in photographing living things, rather than inanimate objects. I have a personal goal of taking better people pictures this year because those are always the ones I enjoy looking at most.

I wonder what this bird is thinking as he stands on his rock looking out at the ocean...

I couldn't tell that these birds were snuggling until I looked at them through my zoom. So cute.

Gearing up

I recently busted out my trusty old Nikon to take some pics. I've gotten lazy with having this little point-and-shoot on me all the time, but it just doesn't really compare. That said, the pics below were taken on it. Nevertheless, I'm starting to get reacquainted with my travel camera as I am planning some upcoming travels! I'll be heading out to LA this month (that's Los Angeles, not Lewiston-Auburn for the Mainers reading this). Going to visit a not-so-old but very dear friend and catching up with another at the same time. It will be nice to get a change of scene as I've pretty much been in Maine for about a year now. Yikes. Time does fly.

Summer will bring with it a trip to Mexico, my first ever if you don't count Tijuana and Cozumel, which I don't. And the Fall, if I'm lucky, will take me to Africa. Fingers crossed! In the meantime, I've been getting my own vicarious travel fix through the blog of a friend of a friend, who frequently travels to Tibet: http://evdecleyre.wordpress.com/

Another friend recently returned from India and a brief stopover in Lebanon. Her blog was also fabulous: http://newarktomumbainonstop.blogspot.com/.

So here are a few recent pics from the great state of Maine... great despite the fact that we have an unfortunate choice of governor in office now.

This reminded me of my blogger friend Elspeth, who takes tons of pictures of hearts in nature. Here is her blog: http://www.nowiswowtoo.blogspot.com/.

Gabe, my parents' dog.

Paris needs no introduction.