An important part of this trip for us is the wealth of beauty that we will encounter along the way. We will be constantly trying to capture some of this beauty in our photography.
As the trip progresses we will have more and more images to share. See what we have to offer so far.
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The days leading up to the wedding were a flurry of activity and reunions. The tent went up and the hay bales were laid out. Family and friends arrived with many hugs and kisses and ready to begin the celebrations. Friday evening we shared a pot-luck Shabbat dinner with friends and family, followed by a rehearsal party on Saturday night. Sunday morning began with women gathered for Naomi's Bridal Blessing and the men gathering firewood for the late-night bonfire, as well as plenty of other last minute details.
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The big day was Sunday, May 29th, 2005. We had the good fortune of perfect weather ~ cool and shady. The festivities began around 3pm with pre-wedding cocktails and socialization. The Ketubah signing was at 4:30 on the front porch, the ceremony began at 5pm, followed by an evening of dinner, dancing, and excellent bluegrass music. There was also a late-night bonfire and a crew of friends who put up tents and kept the party up all night.
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The wedding didn't end on Sunday. Monday was spent visiting with friends and family before they departed. It was wonderful hanging out with folks we will not see until we return from our big trip.
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This trip has been a long time coming. Months of planning and preparing are finally culminating with the big day. We spent the last few days in Maryland finishing our packing and saying our last farewells to friends and family. Naomi's folks came up to visit for a few days to say goodbye and celebrate Anne Lynn's, Pam's, and Naomi's back-to-back birthdays. We followed that that visit up with the last night out with friends, heading to York, PA to Fischer's, a restaurant owned by our friends Jon and Heather. We spent that night eating, drinking, and saying farewells to some of our closest friends. The following morning, June 19th, we flew out of BWI to LA. We had an overnight layover in LA that we have the good fortune to spend with some awesome relatives, the Larson's.
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We have spent the past few weeks really getting into the relaxing side of this year long trip; spending the mornings hiking up to volcanic craters, exploring underground caves, and playing with giant green turtles. The afternoons provide hours of swimming in and snorkeling in the Pacific. Our nights have been spent in traditional Samoan beach fales.
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New Zealand has been calling us for ages and we are finally here. After a few fits and starts getting our van sorted, we are finally on our way from Auckland to the South Island and the legendary beauty of New Zealand's mountains and glaciers.
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Our first tramp in New Zealand is the Abel Tasman Trek on the North Coast of the South Island. While this track sees 30,000 overnight visitors a year, we were alone in our winter walk.
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As we head south, we finally see our first glimpse of the Southern Alps, New Zealand's famous mountain range. Our first real taste of the alpine scenery is in Arthur's Pass National Park at the northern tip of the Alps.
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Our next destination on our journey southward is the Westland National Park, home of two of NZ's largest glaciers, the Franz Josef and the Fox Glaciers.
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As we left Franz Josef, the weather forecast called for uncommonly good weather at Mt. Cook for the next day or so, so we hightailed onto Aoraki/Mt.Cook National Park. We made it in the nick of time, seeing the massive mountain for ten minutes before the weather went sour.
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Our first big walk in the Southern Alps was part of the Rees Dart Track. Found in Mt. Aspiring NP, this walk follows the Dart River to the Dart Glacier, crosses over an alpine pass to the Rees River and folllows this river to the end of the trail.
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While NZ is known for its endless beauty, there is one park that is considered by many to the be premier destination, Fiordland National Park. For us, this is the most anticipated part of our NZ experience.
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From Te Anua, there are few miles and even fewer towns before you reach the southern tip of the South Island. The last real city is Invacargill, a small industrial town that we spent a night in en route to the town of Bluff, the location of the ferry terminal to Stewart Island.
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From Bluff we began our way back up the coast to the ferry back to the North Island. After spending a month down here, we figured it was time to get a move on.
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Over the course of our travels, some images that we have seen really stand out as remarkable. We have collected these images here in our "Gallery".
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As our stay in New Zealand began to grow short, it was time to see a bit of the North Island.
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After two months of relaxed touring in New Zealand, we were thrilled to to be off to a new destination and especially one that has so much to offer.
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After a brief overnight back in Sydney, we hopped on a flight to the town of Hobart, capital city of Tasmania. Tassie is a small island/state off of the southern coast of Australia and most notoriously known for its Tasmanian Devils.
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The city of Cairns is known as the premier departure point for diving on the Great Barrier Reef and in turn is a tourist mecca.
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For the last leg of our Aussie experience, we head out to the center of the country.
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Bhutan was one of the expected highlights of the trip, and it exceeded our wildest expectations. It is a country dripping with beauty, history, culture and personality. It is the first place on our trip that we feel the need to return to soon.
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The last part of our time in Asia was spent in Thailand, revisiting old stomping grounds as well as exploring new ones. We focused on two main areas, the beaches of Krabi province in the south and the mountains and jungles of Chang Mai in the north.
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Our arrival in Chile greated us with the snow capped splendor of the Andes
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The Chilean Patagonia and Torres Del Paine in particular promise to be some of the highlights of our trip
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After an amazing time in Torres Del Paine, we were more than excited to get to Argentina and see the other side of the Andes in Argentinian Patagonia.
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Quite possibly the most anticipated part of our honeymonn, Antarctica is the most elusive, distant destination imaginable.
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Returning to Ushuaia from Antarctica was a bittersweet moment.
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Our much awaited foray into the land of the safari
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Bolivia is a unique experience, stunningly beautiful yet hard to see
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From the Namib Desert to Etosha National Park
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Our last week in SA was spent with our friends Ben and Melissa
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The Land of Possibilities (or maybe’s or someday’s or “if you are really lucky”)
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Birthplace of the Incan culture and home to Machu Picchu
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We bring the trip to a close with a fantastic trip to the Galapagos
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My first taste of the Sierra Nevadas was over five years ago during a stunning trip into the Yosemite high country. After too long of a wait, I make it back for a week with some of my best friends iin Kings Canyon National Park.
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The whole King family decided to spend the holdiays together; just not at home. Instead, we spent the week touring through the German Alps, visiting Christmas markets, and exploring old castles.
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We sneak in one last trip before Sierra is born
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Two weeks of work in Houston - why not spend the weekend in RMNP
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Sierra's first trip to her namesake for 10 days in Yosemite
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We grab two weeks of mountain time in Glacier, Waterton, Banff and Jasper
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13 days of the Sierra's on America's most beautiful trail
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We snuck up to NH for a few days of fall car camping
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Startintg off with a winter safety course and ending up with some solo winter backcountry time in Yosemite
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