In June my sister had her yearly dance recital and that always involves buying super expensive costumes that are only worn once. Usually the dance place has a photographer come out to take photos of the girls in the dance costumes, but the photographer backed out this year and there were no photos. So for the past three months my mom has been bugging me to take photos of my sister in her dance costumes and I pretty much had no inspiration (which meant very crappy photos) so I kept putting it off. Well, the past couple of weeks I came across a couple of AWESOME San Diego wedding photographer's blogs (Bobby Earle's and Orange Turtle Photography's) and became so so SO inspired! I pretty much had to drag my sister out to take photos because I was brimming with inspiration! So without further ado...

As usual, you can find more on my website under "Other" and then "Robyn!"

One more day until my second year of college starts. Oh boy...I am NOT excited. It was an excellent summer and I guess that's all I can ask for. I'm just crossing my fingers that I'll be able to get through all my photography assignments without exploding!

For those who are reading, I am terribly sorry for such the delay! The second day of the trip ended at a hotel with cruddy wi-fi and only had time to update my status on facebook. But here I am, at Cedar Point Yacht Club in Westport, CT with wi-fi, my laptop, and photos! So here is the post of day two...

First off, I forgot to say that I passed an alpaca farm yesterday in Utah that Mike Rowe (from “Dirty Jobs”) did a job at! I couldn’t figure out why it looked so familiar until I remembered the episode and it all clicked!

Once again, I am typing in the car only this time I am somewhere in Illinois! This drive was less boring than yesterday’s because there was much more vegetation. Last night we went though the most hellacious storm I have ever been in and just as I wished, Tony Schumacher’s semi passed us! We couldn’t wave because it was dark and completely stormy. Lightning was flashing everywhere and it rained so hard that we could barely see. Plus the west-bound lane had to use one of our lanes, so it was like driving down a two lane road at 70mph in the worst storm. It definitely woke us up!


The sunrise in Laramie, Wyoming at 5:40AM.

After a restless night’s sleep in Laramie, Wyoming, Dad and I left at 6:30AM (Mountain Time) in a chilly 48 degrees.


Wyoming’s hills had hundreds of these drift breakers. It kind of took away the beauty of the scenery, but oh well. The scenery was pretty nevertheless.


More wind turbines! Dad and I were hoping to race past the storm that was brewing.

I was absolutely exhausted, so about twenty minutes into the trip I quickly fell back to sleep. When I woke up about fifty minutes later we were in Nebraska! (I interrupt this service announcement with a HOLY CRAP!! A semi almost collided right into us while trying to change lanes. Obviously didn’t know we were there…that would have hurt really bad!)


I have to admit, Nebraska looked EXACTLY like Wyoming!

We stopped for breakfast at the nicest Mickey D’s I have ever been to! The architecture was super cool, the bathroom stall walls went all the way to the ground, and it was immaculately clean. It was a weird experience though because all twenty or so customers in the place were all ranchers…I’ve never seen a rancher in a Mickey D’s ever!


Unfortunately, the storm we were trying to outrace snuck around us. My Dad and I could only hope that it wasn’t as bad as the night before!


It wasn’t that bad. The rain only attacked us like there was no tomorrow only for a few minutes and then it just sprinkled for the rest of the hour. I now know why all the Mid-western states are so green though!

I took a few more naps and the rest of the time I either studied the maps or observed outside the window.


The Archway Museum in Nebraska. Mike Poltorak said that we absolutely had to stop and go through this museum, but we didn’t have the time. :( Supposedly this is where the Lewis and Clark trail, the Pony Express, Utah trail, and all the other country-changing trails crossed.


Once again, I fell asleep and when I woke up we were in Iowa!


Just like in Wyoming, there were TONS of wind turbines! Only this time there were really close to the road and we were able to see their massiveness.


Everyone wasn’t kidding; Iowa grows plenty of corn! But I was expecting to be bored out of my mind after seeing acres after acres of corn farms. Not the case!


More wind turbines!


Iowan horse butts!


We stopped in Casey, Iowa to get gas. Casey looked like it was quite a town decades ago, but not it is pretty deserted except for the gas station.


Unlike the sister photo of this photo, there is greenery!


My Dad and I laughed at this sign so hard!


Unlike Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, and most of Nebraska, the Iowa troopers were out in force! Fortunately, they found no reason to pull us over.

We have almost two hours until we reach our destination in Portage, Indiana. We saw miles of gorgeous scenery, the Iowa Speedway with all the semis and RVs piling in for this weekend’s match, ranchers, more wind turbines, crop-dusters, the world’s largest truck stop, and the Mississippi River. It was definitely a good day! Tomorrow we finally reach Norfolk, Connecticut!

Just to let you know, day one isn’t over. Right now my dad and I are on Interstate-80 in good ol’ Wyoming and we are miles away from entering an…interesting I guess I would call it…thunderstorm. There is lightning just flashing all around us and there is supposedly 50mph winds and golf-ball size hail. Great part about this is that our hotel in Laramie is right in the center of the storm. We’ll see if we make it without getting electrocuted, pounded, or flipped over. Guns N’ Roses is playing “Paradise City” which is quite suiting for this storm.

This morning we did not leave at 5 o’clock in the morning like I planned to and woke up at o’dark-thirty (aka 4AM) and instead left at 6:30AM. Our chariot made it through the Sierra Nevadas, which was our main worry. We drove through Reno, which was quite interesting. The last time I been through Reno was a few years ago and I was there to look at a Thoroughbred, so I didn’t pay too much attention to the scenery since my nose was stuck in the Pony Club handbook.


Reno!

And then we drove past Nevada. And there was nothing. Well, there was some shrubbery and hills, but other than that, nada. I did see some wild horses which I have never seen in my life and that was the last exciting thing in Nevada.


I have to say, even though Nevada is boring, it was quite photogenic!

The van isn’t very fuel efficient with a double decker trailer, boats packed with sailing gear, and the van loaded with bags and other sailing crap. So we had to take many gas stops. One was at a town in Nevada called “Lovelock!”


Lovelock, Nevada. I washed the van’s windshield, which was a first for me! It was a crappy sponge/squeegee because the squeegee left many many streaks. But that amused my dad and the bikers, so I guess it was worth it. The gas station was located in “Lover’s Lock Plaza.” Uh-huh…

Nevada kept going on and on and on and on. I didn’t mind observing, but goodness, it’s pretty plain!


I have to admit, the scenery did become pretty at times!


And my spurs go jingle jangle jingle as I go riding merrily along…


Nothing…nothing…nothing…CLOUDS!! Nevada had some pretty clouds. Thanks to the windshield for the vignetting.


A LOT of I-80 was under construction, so they blocked off one lane, which usually made dad very angry. Oh well. This happened in California, Nevada (shown here), Utah, and Wyoming.

Then came the most amazing sight, SALT FLATS!! That meant Utah was coming up!


Still in Nevada, but the white stuff over there are the salt flats and that meant Utah! That meant we were getting out of Nevada! I was practically bouncing out of my seat until a few minutes later…


…I realized that it was another hundred or more miles of nothingness.


The salt flats did capture my attention for quite a long time. I was fascinated of the mirages, how the salt flats created, looking at the distant mountains to figure how deep the old sea was, etc.

A nap and a few hours later we entered the great Salt Lake City. Which reminded me of Sacramento. Why?


TRAFFIC! This would probably be somewhere in SoCal with the traffic and mountains in the background.


I couldn’t lie though; Salt Lake City was pretty. Park City was even prettier with the mountains, lush meadows, Olympic ski runs, and uber expensive houses, strip malls, and schools. The middle school looked like an aero-space museum! Tons of glass and wood everywhere. And the horses and cows were in absolute heaven. Lush grass EVERYWHERE!

The rest of the trip was filled with the prettiest rock formations and clouds!


Somewhere outside of Prairie City, Utah. I can finally imagine the old seas covering the US now. Finally!

Last weekend there was a drag race in Sonoma and all the drag-racing semi’s carrying the vehicles and equipment were going back up to Indiana to prepare for the next race in Minnesota. One of the semis we passed was Tony Schumacher’s who got second and was sponsored by the US Army. We passed by his semi and his semi passed us. This went on all through Nevada and most of Utah until we lost him going to Salt Lake City. Well, when we got into Wyoming guess what we saw?


Our driving buddy!


When they passed us after we passed them, both guys waved and smiled. So we played the leap-frog game until we started going up the hill. Then they fell back and I think that is the last time we will ever see them. It was so cool and fun though!


Only in Wyoming… :D The city was NOT called “Pyro City”! There were just four firework places all at the same exit!


Also in Wyoming was a huge wind-turbine farm! They were huge! I remember watching Mike Rowe from “Dirty Jobs” do a job cleaning a turbine and I never realized how big they were until he stood on the top of one of them.


The plateau the wind-turbine farm was sitting one.


The coolest cloud on the trip with the sun behind it in gorgeous Wyoming.

Wyoming has the coolest rock formations EVER! I couldn’t stop staring at them!


Ugh, they were gorgeous! To the left were three riders trail riding and I was completely green with envy. Who wouldn’t want to trail ride next to and inbetween these formations?!


Look at all those layers! And you can see where the old sea’s water line was which is SO cool!


Okay, I am done with rock formation geekiness. Promise. I cross my heart, hope to die, and will poke a finger in my eye!


A calm Wyoming evening. * snorts * Yeah right…

So that is day one. Tomorrow I am expecting lots of corn as we go through Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, and stop for the night in Indiana. I’m off to go and watch the lightning storm now! Oh, we just crossed the Continental Divide! 7000 feet in elevation…kind of like Huntington!

Sandy days

I can't remember the last time I have ever been to a beach in Southern California. I do remember my English teachers ranting to never start an essay with "I", but I honestly do not care because 1) this isn't an essay and 2) I like to be a rebel. I guess this is a mild rebellion because I could rebel in bigger things. Like...I have no clue. I guess I should start rebelling more often. You know, make life more difficult than it already is is my passion. *snorts*

Anyways.

The farthest south I have ever been in the last few years or so was in Santa Cruz. I think. But I still consider Santa Cruz in Northern California even though it has a Spanish name. The majority of the beaches I have gone to were in Oregon and the contrast between Oregon beaches and Southern California beaches is shocking. First of all, the water isn't freezing to the point that you're crying in pain because it feels like baby piranhas are attacking your feet in Southern California. Second of all, there aren't redwoods covering the hills in Southern California. Third of all, there isn't any driftwood scattered across the beach because there aren't any redwoods covering the hills in Southern California. But I like seeing the redwoods because it's better than thousands of houses and honestly, if you stand in the imaginary piranha infested waters, your feet do get numb and it's quite enjoyable. You just have to get through the pain.

So to our great dismay on our first day in San Diego, we got a taste of what a Southern California beach was like. Although it was warmer than it was in Oregon, I was still hopping up and down in the water, waiting for the pain to come, and when it didn't, I started laughing. The houses that lined the walkway a few dozen yards behind us were gorgeous and very modern, but none were covered in cedar planks like in Oregon. As usual, men ran up and down with their shirts off and people of both genders bicycled and skated to their destinations. Since we were on the surfer side of the beach, the sandy oasis was pretty much deserted except for the surfers and the occasional person wanting to get away from the congested non-surfer side.

This was of course perfect for photo-taking of Robyn. Many of you remember my epic photograph of Robyn jumping at Cannon Beach and why it was epic, I still do not know. But I asked Robyn to perform the epic jump for me at San Diego and at first, she refused. She kept shouting that she would get wet, but after a few jumps, it didn't really matter anymore.