Homer Alaska

I spent the day in Homer, Alaska. It was wonderful. I woke up and had a message and a facial. Maybe the best one I have ever had. Then, I spent the day hiking and sight seeing. I had an amazing day.

This is the Homer Spit.

This is the jacuzzi at the spa I am staying at. It is overlooking Kachemak Bay.

This is the view from the Jacuzzi facing Homer spit. See the swing on the left, that is where I read my book.

I miss Tater, so I thought I would take a picture of other people's dogs. Everyone seems to have a dog in Alaska.

Are these two birds kissing? :)

View of Kachemak Bay

View of all the boats docked in Homer.

This is Grewingk Glacier

Another view of Grewingk Glacier...

The bay again.

My first eagle sighting.

Eagle posing.

First seal sighting...

I think he sees me. I saw several seal's. They seem to play peak-a-boo with the tourist. They were cute.

Aydin, I bet you didn't know that volcanoes are not only in Hawaii. They are also in freezing cold places such as Alaska too. This is a view at sunset. The sun on the right, on the left is a volcano named Augustine. It was so pretty.

What a day!

I think I am too tired to go into how great my day was, but here are some pictures. I hope to go into detail on them later. But here are some sites I got to see today.

On the way to the Kenai Peninsula...

Ressurection park...

Inside the park, about a two-mile hike...

A tiny town called Hope, this was my favorite building in their city...

Either Mount Redoubt or Mt. Iliamna, don't know which right now...

Thunderbird Falls

Tim went with me to Thunderbird Falls, he took his little point and shoot, but was able to hike to a different spot than me, so he got a better picture of the falls. Isn't it pretty?

Can you find me?

Beautiful Day

I had a wonderful day today. I started out the day with going with Andy, who just got named publisher for Alaska magazine, to Flat top mountain. He is a great guy who has all kinds of neat stories from growing up in Alaska.

Then I went to lunch with the crew from the magazine and ate at a place called Mooses Tooth. It has yummy pizza. It was fun.

Then Tim and I went for a drive, first we stopped and took about a mile hike to thunderbird falls, which is between Chugiak and Wasilla. We hiked up to the waterfall. Took a shot from above...

Then hiked down to take a shot of the bottom of the waterfall. 

It was beautiful and I was really wanting to see a waterfall while I was here.

Then, we went to Wasilla, which is where Gov. Sarah Palin lives. We saw the tiny hospital she just had her baby in. It was a small town mostly filled with strip malls and fast food restaurants. However, we did find this pretty park, with a great view of the mountains.

Next I went to Tim's house for dinner, I had a wonderful time meeting his family. His was wife was really cool, and super nice. 

I'm very excited about my trip to Homer tomorrow. Can't wait!

Getting lost

I finally got my wish. It stopped raining, however, it stayed cloudy. Here are my pictures for the day...

This is my view from my hotel room, the south side of Anchorage...

After work, Tim, the editor of my magazine, told me about Kincaid Park, he said I was sure to see wildlife there. First I walked around for hours and got lost. But it was very pretty.

Then, I came upon my first wildlife friend. He chatted away at me. I don't think he liked me very much...

This was my second friend to come upon. He was sweet and posed for me a lot. I got a lot of great shots of him. Isn't he pretty?

This moose was the first of four I saw at Kincaid park. He looked both ways before crossing. What a smart boy!

I was told to never get between a moose and her baby, but I didn't think she would ever let me get this close.

Yummy...

Doesn't this moose remind you of Tater?

Good night Lillian and Aydin. I will be home soon.

P.S.

Lillian, I hope you are keeping up with training Tater.

Aydin, I hope your spore characters have evolved.

First Day in Alaska

Well, I finally made it to Alaska. That is quite a trip from Dallas. I'm exhausted. However, I did not just go to my room and sleep. Instead, I drove around and tried to find a non-chain place to eat. My son ended up getting very upset the night I left, so I promised him I would blog as soon as I could. So, I also drove around trying to find stuff to take pictures of. It was raining when I landed and has not stopped since I have been here. Apparently, it has been a very rainy summer here. So, I got what photos I could. I stopped at a really pretty park.

These pictures don't do the park justice, but you can see the mountain in the back.

I scared this poor duck away.

The ground is so lush here, this was everywhere you looked, pretty colors.

Aydin, I'd like to see you try to climb this tree...

I was tired from traveling, it was raining, and I didn't spend the time needed to get great photos, but Aydin I promised you I would post pictures, so this is what I got today.

I love you Lillian and Aydin. I will be home soon.

Vacation/Work

I have been so busy the last couple of weeks. I have not even had a moment to realize, I am going to Alaska in two days! I have had a couple of weeks worth crazy deadlines. You know, the kind when you look at it on a calendar, you think, "NO WAY!" Then, the weeks pass, and you get it all done, and you think, "Wow, I got all that done?" It feels pretty good, but now I have to focus on my trip. I will be in Anchorage for four days for work. I am staying another four days just for me. I am going to drive around and absorb as much of the scenery as possible. This will be the longest time I have been away from my family. I have had my husband come with me when we can or when it is a city he really wants to see. Although he would love to come to Alaska, it just didn't work out this time. I love my family, but I'm kind of excited to be alone. And to be alone in such beautiful county! I got a sweet deal on a spa-resort in Homer Alaska. I feel a little guilty to go all out, when I'm all alone, but I have worked my butt off the last couple of years and I totally deserve it (or at least that is what I keep telling myself.) Enough talk about Alaska, I will post photos while I am gone, so check back soon.

Three is a perfect number!

I hung out with my new business partners on Friday and we had a great time. I think I already said this, but I am so lucky to work with the coolest girls on the planet. We are all very different, which I think is great because we balance each other out. And three is a perfect number; decisions always get made because of the odd number. Anyhow, every time I see Melanie and Jana, I'm reminded how fun they are and how good they are at putting people at ease. Jana cracks me up laughing, and Melanie has never met a stranger, so we are always meeting new people. 

The other great thing about seeing them, is that my positive vibe about this great adventure is always confirmed. They are very creative and so into what they do. We can sit around for hours talking about every thing from silly fun girl things to our cameras, yes, we do have geeky camera talk that no one but photographers really want to hear about.

Bella Bee Photography is just starting out, but I just know we will be amazing. After shooting for other studios in the area, we finally get to shoot out own style, our own way. That makes me very happy. We will be having some promotions from Bella Bee very soon, so check back often.

Have a lovely Sunday evening. 

Tater, my Bull Terrier

Okay, so I have to admit, when my husband suggested getting a bull terrier, I told him I didn't think I could love a dog that looked like that. I know, that is not a very nice thing to say, but I grew up with the ever popular cocker spaniel. They have the puppy face every little girl dreams of. So, my husband kept talking them up and we finally went to a dog show. Once I saw an English Bull Terrier in real life, I was hooked. He is just a puppy, now 7 months old, so he does those normal puppy things that drive me insane, but I love him and he has been a great addition to the family. Here are a couple of pictures of the little trouble maker...

     

I know it was not very nice of me to take his picture with my wide angle lens, but I just couldn't help it. I don't think he would mind, he is a sweetheart and has a great sense of humor.

   

Pretty Baby

I had the pleasure of photographing an adorable baby girl this last weekend. Ella Kate is only one month old, and already has daddy wrapped around her little finger.