vacation

Adventure In England: Part Two

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Time for the second set of photos from our trip to England this summer! The first set of images below are from Sunday of our first weekend there. We completed yet another hike to a pub, this time starting at Castle Drogo and hiking to Fingle Bridge Inn for a simple lunch and some beers. The landscape on this hike was drastically different from the previous day; instead of vast, rolling hills and ocean views, we were treated to dense forests and lushly green landscapes. 

After Sunday, we took a slight break from going to pubs every night and had some lazier nights in with our friends that we were staying with (which was much needed and appreciated). After a few nights of that, we were off to exploring again and walked to the Turf Hotel which is right in Exeter. Once again, it was a drastically different type of walk and landscape than some of our previous adventures, but no less beautiful than any of the rest. 

At this point our time in Exeter, unfortunately, was winding down, leaving us with only a few more days to explore. Two of those evenings were spent, at least partially, in Exmouth. The first trip there was quite brief, but we did stumble on a local neighborhood party where the streets were decorated and there was a stage with music. We weren't there long, but it sure was a pretty little sight!

The next day we were luckily back to Exmouth for most of the day and were able to make time for the first item on my list of things to do in England: fish and chips on the beach. Unfortunately, it started to rain slightly right after we picked up or fish and chips, putting a slight damper on things. We made the best of it, however, and the rain cleared up rather quickly, allowing me to walk barefoot in the sand and get some photos of the beach. 

Next up: Images from the next portion of our adventure, which brought us up to Windermere!

Adventure In England: Part One

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This post is long, long overdue (as most of them have been, I suppose). But as the saying goes, "better late than never," so here we are!

This past July Scott and I went to England for roughly three weeks, with the bulk of our trip being spent in the Exeter area (with plenty of trips to the surrounding towns). We are lucky enough to have friends in Exeter who are extremely hospitable and allowed us to stay with them for most of our stay. Staying with friends not only made the trip more affordable but also provided us with some amazing views and experiences, as we were right in the heart of the city and got "tours" from the locals. The two photos below were taken our first night there, and needless to say it was an amazing introduction to Exeter.

Our second night in England was just as amazing, if not more so. After a home cooked meal, we drove to Topsham to get drinks at a pub called The Passage House Inn. Walking through the narrow streets was such a treat for me, and I quickly fell in love with the architecture of the area. The golden evening light certainly helped with the romantic feel of it all. We were treated to perfect weather that night, allowing us to sit outside and be treated to a fully spectacular sunset over the River Exe. 

Our first weekend in England was also all too perfect. On Saturday we went on a hike that was nothing short of stunning. We started on the coast in Wembury, continued through some rolling farms (all the while with views of Wembury Bay), crossed the River Yealm in a water taxi, and ended at The Ship Inn in Noss Mayo. The color of the water there was an unreal turquoise; it was absolutely unexpected for England. We ate a simple, fresh lunch outside at The Ship Inn while watching the tide come in. It was truly a magical day. 

Next up: Shockingly, part two of our England trip! Featuring the second part of our epic first weekend, though with drastically different scenery, and loads more as well. 

Spring In Ouray

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I've been anxious to share these images since the day I returned from this trip, but unfortunately I just recently was able to get around to finishing the edits. Back in March some friends and I took an adult spring break of sorts to Ouray, Colorado. Ouray has become a very special place to me; I have never left that area without images that I'm proud of, and this trip was no different. We had planned on spending the entire trip ice climbing, but due to warm temperatures the ice was a bit limited. Despite the weather we managed to do a good amount of climbing, and had an incredible time soaking up that pure mountain air.

The first day started out with warm weather, and a forecast of rain in the afternoon, which had us all a bit disappointed. We first hopped on the Kids' Wall (which is a shorter, easier section of ice, out of the actual canyon where the rest of the climbs are), since most of our group had never ice climbed before. After climbing a while, allowing people to get the hang of the process, we decided to switch it up and head down to the canyon to get on some of the more difficult ice.  

As we were walking down, dark clouds started rolling in; we were expecting that the rain was on its way, and therefore the climbing would likely soon be over for the day. To our surprise, however, the temperature dropped just enough and we were quickly surrounded by big, fluffy snowflakes. It was one of the most amazing scenes I have experienced. 

Day two was warmer yet, with much more sun. We headed a bit higher into the mountains, with the hopes of finding cooler temperatures and better ice conditions. Unfortunately that wasn't the case, so we were limited on what we could climb and how long we could climb it. The guys decided to try their hand at some dry tooling (climbing with ice tools on rock) once the ice was no longer safe to climb because of the heat and sun, and I happily snapped away as they climbed. We ended that day back out our rental with some guitar playing on the deck while we enjoyed the views. 

And with that, I am finally finished with all winter images! I can now get on to slightly more recent images that are more applicable for the current season! As always, thank you for taking the time to stop by, and don't forget to subscribe on the left, and share via the links below!