MAUI Dec. 8-15

I booked a flight to escape the mid-western cold with award miles!!! I have been to Oahu before, but never Maui, and I was so excited to explore, relax and recoup after the roller coaster that 2019 was.

Sunday, December 8 : Travel Day

Monday, December 9: Beach Day

I have trouble actually just relaxing and lounging on a beach for hours on end. I made myself do that for the morning and it was really nice. A nice guy named Justin offered to help me try to surf. I never stood up, but I caught a wave into shore a few times. Then I drove around to all these gorgeous look outs north from Lahaina.

Tuesday, December 10:

Early morning whale watch. We did see some whales, but the photos I got weren’t that great. Met a girl from my hostel and offered to take her with me while I drove up to the blow hole and actually go to some of the beaches I saw yesterday.

Wednesday, December 11:

EARLY early morning sunrise over the Haleakala crater. The tour bus picked me up at 2:10 in the morning. It was beautiful, but honestly I don’t know if I would pay to do it again. The temperature wasn’t too bad, but the wind made it really bad. Thank goodness the tour company gave us volcano blankets to use to keep the wind off of us. Even with my wool socks, jeans and a down puffy jacked and the volcano blanket I was SO cold. After the sunrise, which seemed to take FOREVER because I was freezing, the tour guide gave us hot tea to warm up. I got home and surprisingly didn’t nap. I decided more beach time was in order. Walked to a beach with my friend Vanesa and we snorkeled and saw a big sea turtle.

Thursday, December 12:

Today we drove the Road to Hana. Vanesa convinced me that I shouldn’t do the drive alone, and invited me to come along with her and some of her from the hostel. Two people drove and we stopped at many beautiful look outs along the way. I downloaded the Shaka app that narrates your drive based on your location. A coworker suggested it to me, and it was well worth the money. There are 620 curves on the road to Hana (one way). You know how little kids “drive” when they are pretending to drive a car? That is literally how I was driving on the road to Hana.

Here are the stops we made:

• Ho’okipa Beach Park

• Twin Falls - There hadn’t been much rain, so we only saw one.

• Keanae Peninsula

• Wai’anapanapa State Park

• Kaihalulu Beach

Then we drove the same way back partially in the dark. That was kind of scary, but everyone made it ok. I dropped Vanesa off at the airport, and then drove to Kihei where my condo is.

Friday, December 13:

Today I was so tired. I decided to do another beach day. But you know me! Can’t sit still long! So I went to 5 beaches.

• Wailia Beach

• Big Beach

• Little Beach - This is a nude beach. I hiked up from big beach saw a naked person and immediately turned around.

• Maluaka Beach

• Kamaole Beach I

Saturday, December 14:

Got up early to drive the opposite way on the Road to Hana to visit the 7 Sacred Pools or Ohe’o Gulch. It had rained the night before so swimming wasn’t allowed, which was a bummer. I was going to swim there. The waterfalls were muddy brown and gushing, not the calm flow of water that they’re supposed to be. I stopped and watched them a little bit. Then I hiked all the way up he Pipiwai Trail through the bamboo forest to Waimoku Falls until I couldn’t go anymore on the trail due to the stream.

I drove all the way back through Hana town on the twisty turny road until I got to Paia and then back down to Kihei. I visited Baldwin Beach to snap a few photos. The beaches on the north side of Maui had really rough waves and were really windy. I headed back down south of kihei and had a beach afternoon that most definitely involved a nap.

Sunday, December 15th:

Got up, packed up, walked down to buy some last minute souvenirs and a dragon fruit bowl - so good. And then drove to the airport to fly home :(

Germany and Switzerland

I spontaneously booked a flight to Europe a month ago, and decided to visit my friend in Germany, and then drive to Switzerland from Munich. It was a wonderful whirlwind trip that showed me I can still travel, even with dietary restrictions. I’m so thankful and grateful.

This trip wasn’t my typical well planned out, packed to the brim things to do every day trip. I barely had time to book places to stay, let alone things to do. Regardless, I had a wonderful time and got to see two of my friends Juliane, and Justine!

Below are some photos from my trip.

GERMANY:

Oktoberfest

Neues Rathaus

Marienplatz

Asam Church

English Gardens

Viktualienmarkt

Dachau

Olympia Park

Switzerland: Be prepared for an overwhelming amount of cloud/Lake Geneva photos. Insanely gorgeous.

Montreux

Lucerne

London:

I had less than a half day in London, and it was glorious even though it was rainy. I went to a new area that I’d never been to - Chelsea, and got to have dinner with my friend Justine I met in Morocco!

Glacier National Park

Over the week of July 4th, I had a photography assistant assignment in Montana. The photographer I was traveling with (who is also my friend) and I decided to extend our trip and head up to Glacier National Park. I was so excited to go and it did not disappoint. I would love to go back and spend more than a hand full of days there. It is seriously stunning ANYWHERE you go.

Here are a few photos from our time in Kalispel in the canola fields, and from our two days in Glacier.

Cambodia

I recently took a trip to Cambodia , a place that has been on my bucket list for over five years. It entirely exceeded my expectations due to the wonderful people there and I think it came at just the right point in my travel timeline. Cambodia is a special place with so much history, and tragedy in its not so distant past. Despite the heaviness, Cambodians have banned together and chosen a path of peace instead of vengeance, something that is so admirable and rare in the current climate of the world. I learned a lot on this trip, and gained a new perspective on life. I hope it sticks with me for quite some time.

I’ll break down my schedule for you below.

November 30-December 2 -

Travel Days. Kansas City, to Dallas, to Los Angeles, to Hong Kong, to Phnom Penh, to Siem Reap.

Thank goodness I bought a SIM card for my phone in Phnom Penh because my pre-arranged taxi didn’t pick me up at the Siem Reap airport, so I used the Cambodian equivalent of Uber - Grab - to get a taxi to my hotel. I also met some really lovely girls who invited me to a cocktail making class with them for one of their birthdays. We also roamed through the night markets and found a bite to eat.

December 3 -

Today was full of temples and delicious food.

• Angkor Wat

• Pre Rup

• Ta Prom

• Bayon

December 4 -

• Angkor Centre for Conservation of Biodiversity

• Hike through the jungle, and carvings into waterfalls

• Banteay Srei

• Phare Cambodian Circus

• Night Markets

December 5 -

• Tuk tuk to the Floating Villages of Tonle Sap

• Fly to Sihanoukville

December 6 -

• Ferry to Koh Rong

• Beach for the afternoon

December 7 -

• Boat tour of Koh Rong

• Dinner with new friends at an amazing Italian Restaurant

December 8 -

• Ferry to Sihanoukville, then fly to Phnom Penh

• Meet Globekick Crew

December 9 -

• Royal Palace

• National Museum

• Central Market

• Dinner cruise on the Mekong

December 10 -

• Killing Fields

• S21 Prison

• Drive to Sen Monorom in Mondulkiri

December 11 -

• Elephant Valley Project - Seriously such an amazing organization. Not only do they help working elephants retire to live out the rest of their life as naturally as possible, but they provide jobs and healthcare for people in the village, and provide education for some in the village. This place is a little piece of heaven on earth. If you can - visit their camps, (there is one in Thailand too!) or just donate any little bit you can spare. It is put to such good use. I cannot advocate more for this place. #letthemroamfree

• See elephants bathe in the morning and afternoon

Photo Credit: Tracy Catlin

December 12 -

• Volunteer in the morning to build a bridge

• Elephant baths

December 13 -

• Volunteer in the AM - almost finished the bridge!

• Final Elephant hang time - more baths!

December 14 -

• Drive from Sen Monorom to Phnom Penh - 6 hours.

• Visit the Russian Markets

• Farewell dinner with Globekick

December 15 to 16-

• Fly back to the states: Phnom Penh to Hong Kong, to Los Angeles, to Chicago to Kansas City.

• Let the jet lag commence.

PANAMA

I recently traveled to Panama with a group called Globekick. It was a wonderful experience and I met some really awesome people and did some things I never even thought possible, like living on a private island for 3 days. It was an amazing experience I will never forget!

My friend LeighAnna, (who I met in Australia) and I flew into Panama City a few days early to just relax a bit. We stayed at an all inclusive resort, which I had never done before.  We stayed at Playa Bonita Dreams. I would recommend staying there for a few days, but I would have gone stir-crazy if we had been there for a week or more. After that we met up with our Globekick group, spent a few nights in Casco Viejo, and then headed to the San Blas Islands. Below is a breakdown of my day by day sights with some visuals.

I didn't take as many photos as I would have liked to due to the salt, sand and sea and being afraid it would damage my camera and phone. I did buy a fake go pro, and it wasn't the quality I was expecting.

August 17 and 18 - Playa Bonita

• All inclusive resort
• Pool time and lots of food

August 19 - Casco Viejo

• Met up with our tour group at Magnolia Inn
• Wandered around Casco Viejo
• Tour of Casco Viejo
• Group Dinner

August 20 -

• Rainforest Hike
• Panama Canal
• Authentic Panamanian Dinner

Here is a very poor time lapse I took of a lock draining, and a boat going through the Panama Canal. I obviously don't have a steady hand and would have done better with a  little tripod, or mount.

August 21 - To the San Blas

• 4x4s through the jungle for 2 hours to the Guna Port
• 1 hour boat ride to Tortuga Island
• 30 min boat ride to Cocoabandera - home for the next couple days
• Lobster dinner

August 22 -

• Visited the local Guna village where we learned a lot about their culture**
• Pelican Island with a lot of starfish
• Obstacle course on beach

**I bought a fake go pro and used it to take photos while we visited the local village. I'm not happy with the image quality or the fish eye lense on my faux pro, but it is what it is.

August 23 - Last Island day

• Goodbye to Island
• Visited more popular island Perro Chico where you can snorkel a ship wreck
• Hostel in Marbella

August 24 -

• Mola shopping
• Mask shopping
• Back to room early to get ready for dinner and drinks in Casco Viejo

August 25 -

• Hang around hostel until airport shuttle

This whole experience was different that I expected but it was a wonderful experience none the less. I met a lot of great people, and can't wait for my next Globekick adventure!