Redefining beauty

There is something awe inspiring and beautiful about the world when seen from above.  I always fight for my spot next to the window in the plane, I will abstain from drinking if it means I won’t have to disturb the people I’m sharing a row with, this trip was no different.  I happily situated myself against the window my only carry on bag wedged beneath the seat in front of me.

The world above the clouds

Once the flight was under way I had my nose pressed to the glass. I never tire of the endless sea of clouds, the constant change in texture, light, and density a feast for my photographers eye.  Turbulence kept us all belted to our seats for the first hour.  I  consider myself an amateur connoisseur of inexpensive flights.  This one was one of my finest finds at less than half the price of a normal ticket but with the price cut came an outstandingly long line for the bathrooms.  In fact the minute the seatbelt light turned off the line stretched almost twenty rows deep, this line remained for the entirety of the six hour flight. I’m not sure what they were serving but it definitely took a toll on the patrons.
As exciting as the never ending bathroom line was I found much more intriguing things outside the plane.  The clouds mystified me, when they finally broke apart the landscape below was no less mesmerizing.  I tried to pick out what state I was in by the lay of the land, unfortunately no one has drawn state lines or color coded them the way my third grade map was.  Despite my geographical disorientation I still knew we were somewhere between the west and midwest as the fields were a vast checker board of colors, and those are the only things west of the east coast.  Each irrigation circle in contrast with the surrounding land.

 

We crossed from crop lands into the western mountains where the clouds took over.  When the earth was once again revealed it was the mountains of California.  They looked to be fabric draped across the land, sharp angles, knife edges with folds upon folds hiding mysteries within the shadows.  I am so excited to be searching out some of these mysteries and sharing them.

I

Drunk on sleep deprivation

There is a point in time where your body hits a state of drunken euphoria, when you are trying to function off a couple hours of sleep a night. I was at this point. Walking up stairs was safer at a crawl, I had a false sense of happiness which can only be attributed to my body working as hard as possible to keep me functioning on some same level. If you tell yourself enough times everything is in order it still won’t be.

I have been wrapped in a whirlwind of adventure over the past couple of weeks. I made it up another 4000 footer in the New Hampshire White mountains. Mt. Osceola was a fun hike which challenged me physically. The Rocky terrain kept me on high alert as I climbed, stepped, and scrambled my way up. In some ways I was thankful the trail held few distractions, there was no reason for me to stop and pull out my camera, the trail was bare of flowers, moss, or other macro opportunities.

Summit view from Mt. Osceola

This was an exciting day for Star, since she’d been left behind on my last hike. I even borrowed her boyfriend for the day and Tamarack was along for the adventure. The day became a training day for Star, it was all about trail manners, these included but not limited to, giving way on the trail, ignoring other dogs, not begging from other hikers, and learning to pose. The posing became a very serious situation both for Star and Tamarack. I don’t know if it is the fact that both dogs are absolutely adorable or if it is the dog packs they wear.

Pup-arazzi

Never can get them to both look at me

My days streamed one into another. Work was a constant reminder to the day of the week and the dwindling time before my trip.
Thursday came and it was time to hit the road. Hopped a bus to Boston where I met up with my travel companion, picked up the rental car and we were off. Two drivers one car and almost a thousand miles between us and our destination. Twenty hours later, meals on the road, string cheese wrapped in turkey, and too many “no public bathrooms” I was happy to find our motel.
The next days were full of friends and celebrations as I watched two good friends give their vows to each other. The wedding day was one of a kind. Running around Myrtle Beach looking for a white shirt for the groom, or ending the night with the bride tip toeing into the pool dress and all!
I can’t even start to describe the whirlwind of my trip so here are some pictures from the day.

Sealing the deal

Palm fronds

With another twenty hours on the road I land with my feet back in NH. I have less than twenty four hours to repack my bag and hop a plane to CA where I will see the red woods, revel in the beauty of the world and take time to reconnect with me.
I will do my best to post semi regularly with high quality photos from my phone.