(8/12/11) Auburn and Muir Woods

Ah, the wide-eyed adventures of a girl exploring her new home. I must say, California is beautiful, even though it's not Florida! Every time I see mountains in the distance, I can't think of anything but how gorgeous they are. The way the sun shines through the wheat-colored grass stops me in my tracks. Every. Time.

I hope that never goes away, even if I live here for the rest of my life.

The next two installments of my adventures are a trip to Auburn and a seven-mile hike through Muir Woods near San Francisco. Enjoy!

On the way to Muir Woods, my mum, my friend Sarah and I took a wrong turn and got lost for about 30 minutes. It was frustrating at the time, but we wouldn't have been able to see the Pacific from Highway 1 otherwise. I must say, getting lost can definitely be a good thing:

Wow... foggy much?

First time I saw the Pacific:

Finally made it to Muir Woods:

Wish I could've captured how stunning this was, when the sun shone through the fog. Hm, maybe you'll have to visit the woods yourself!

Stinson Beach:

We did drive through San Francisco after the hike, but it was so ridiculously foggy and freezing that I didn't grab many photos. Even driving on the Golden Gate Bridge, all we could really see was fog -- this shot is heavily doctored just to be able to see anything!

The amazing contrast in temperature between San Francisco and Roseville is rather astounding! When we hopped in the car in San Francisco, it was 50 degrees. When we got out in Roseville, it was 80. Um, wow?

I'm sure to be posting a lot more photos from my exploratory adventures in California soon!

(8/12/11) Newborn: Adalyn Faith

I love doing newborn sessions; they're so relaxed! Can't believe how much fun this was... Little Adalyn is almost two weeks old and already has personality.

This was a bit of a short session so I'm not going to post as many photos as normal, but gosh I love these images.

Sweet little girl:

Proud big brother Keaton:

(8/7/11) Epic Roadtrip

Settling in to California is a bigger beast than I thought it would be, but not quite in the same ways. Meeting friends? I thought that would be ridiculously difficult. Heck, it *is* hard. But not as hard as I thought it would be, thankfully. My hypothesis is that since I've been exposed to rude strangers for eight years now, I didn't expect to meet any nice people at all.... Needless to say, I've been pleasantly surprised with the kindness of even complete strangers!

It's the other aspects of settling in that are irking me. Change of scenery, for one. I miss my palmetto forests, run through with quiet paths. I miss the smell of the hot sun on the ground covered in fragrant pine needles. I definitely miss my secret spot in the forest that no one knows about... except for me.

The trees here are beautiful, but everything seems so dusty and dry. Hopefully some day the yellow grass here will turn green!

Anyway, I said it was coming, and I am now making good on my promise - photos from the SoFla-to-NorCal roadtrip!

Our first stop was in New Orleans. Never having been there before, it was frustrating that we had to leave so early (we had to drive all the way to San Antonio that day), but it was a great stop anyway! I adore the character this town has. I wish I had time to capture it all in photos, but I guess that means you'll have to visit it yourself someday!

St. Louis Cathedral:

Louisiana.... So pretty:

Finally to Texas! And yes, out in the middle of nowhere:

Sandstorm and sun rays over the Arizona desert:

Raindrops on the windshield:

Finally to California! It took us four days to get to this sign.

Joshua Tree National Park:

More photos from my California adventures coming soon!

Preview from a hike in Auburn:

Preview from Highway 1 near San Francisco: