travel log

Travel Log

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Pittsburgh, PA

Back in early December, the 3rd and 4th to be exact, Justin and I traveled down to Pittsburgh for his companies Christmas dinner. We stayed at the Sheraton in Station Square which had the most beautiful view of the Pittsburgh skyline. I could have sat and stared out the window for hours. Once night time fell, we dressed for dinner and hailed a taxi to take us up to where the restaurant was. The view from there looked out onto all of the city. Simply spectacular, though I did not bring my camera to the dinner. The next morning, we both had room service bring our breakfast, a first for us!, which was probably the best part of the trip. This trip was right before I started getting sick too, which I still am battling, but hope to be better soon. With out further ado, here are some images from our quick trip.

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Valley Forge

For the past few years my dad and I have been making a mini vacation out of his seminars for work. He usually goes to the Valley Forge one, to my delight, and we always have a great time. While he's at the seminars, I'll go to the King of Prussia Mall or go down to Valley Forge to walk around. This year, we had the Silver Beaver awards dinner while we were in Valley Forge, so we had to make a trip back up home and then back down in the same day. We always get out to eat once or twice on the trip. This year and last we went to Creed's Seafood and Steak. It has a great atmosphere with cozy seating and a menu to rival any big city. I usually get the Scottish Salmon. Our hotel has the best bistro in it, with booths that have tv's built into the walls. Breakfast and sometimes dinner are a must there. The nice thing about Valley Forge in the beginning of November are the leaves still being on the trees. Up in NEPA, most of the leaves are down and any that are still hanging on have lost their brilliance. I have so many memories of Valley Forge and the general area surrounding it, whether it be from these trips or when I lived there for a few months, this area will always have a special place in my heart.

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Washington DC October

I have to say, this most recent Washington DC trip was a real treat for me. I had a wonderful engagement shoot to do and straight afterwards left to travel down to DC Saturday night. This was the first time I traveled by myself into a big city and boy did it make me feel invigorated and alive! The only other time I traveled out of state by myself was to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, which is a completely different atmosphere. My relatives were gracious enough to let me stay in their condo again while I was visiting the city. Needless to say when I arrived I decided to have a nice glass of wine out on the deck and watch the night come alive on the city streets below. This is one of my favorite past times while in DC.

My dad was actually in Washington as well with the boy scouts on their Traveling Camporee. I met up with my friend Mike the next day and we walked into town to meet up with my dad and spend the day together. We visited the American History Museum, which I absolutely loved. So many memento's of Americana to see. To name a few, The Ruby Slippers, Archie Bunkers Chair, The First Ladies Gowns, Presidential History, Julia Child's kitchen, the list goes on. Afterwards Mike and I dropped my dad off and then had a lovely dinner before he had to leave. I decided that I wanted to see a movie, Dracula Untold, so we walked to the theater before he caught the next metro train.

Monday morning was all about relaxing on the deck with my tea and oatmeal. I was driving over to Arlington to meet up with my dad and visit. The last time I was in Arlington was 2005 and that was specifically to see the Kennedy grave site. This time we explored more of the cemetery, but of course spent the most time at the Kennedy grave. This was the last day of the camporee for my dad so he came back to the condo to stay an extra night. We got back and sat on the deck for a while and then went out to dinner at Del Frisco's in the City Center complex. Let me tell you, we both agreed we had never had a better meal in our lives. The steak was to die for. We had home made donuts and cappuccino after for dessert. The whole meal was exquisite. Not only that, but right out of the window was a beautiful DC lit up at night. That was one magical dinner to remember.

Tuesday we got some breakfast in China town and then walked down into DC taking pictures along the way of course. Our eventual destination was the Bureau of Engraving, a place my dad has always wanted to see. The next tour was about an hour away when we did get there, so we sat on a bench near the Washington Monument. It was a gorgeous day to be outside. Once we took the tour we made our way over to the boy scout monument, had lunch, and decided on visiting Ford's Theater since my dad had never been there. Once we got back to the condo, I showed my dad the roof top, and then said good-bye to my favorite city. This was certainly a trip for the record books. I had so much fun being able to catch up with Mike, explore DC with my dad, and also be on my own for a bit in the city.

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Peddlers Village

One thing my dad and I love to do is take little weekend trips. On a recent adventure, we traveled down to Peddlers Village near Philadelphia for a day filled with sunshine, shopping, and fun. This quaint  little village of shops really delights with beautiful scenery throughout, great restaurants, and little knick knack stores filled with treasures. Did I mention there is a cheese shop and a winery there? Well, indeed there is, plus a bakery, ice cream shop, two famous restaurants, coffee shops, a Bavarian nut shop, and so much more. I love to just walk around and take in all of the landscaping done throughout the village. Incredibly beautiful to wander around. I always get some seasonal items for the up coming holidays to decorate my home with and never leave without visiting the Pendleton store across the street. That my friends is some quality shopping right there.

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Rehoboth Beach, Delaware

The Pine and Brine

To say I'm a little nostalgic about Rehoboth Beach would be putting it mildly. My family has been vacationing here for over 20 years. I have so many wonderful memories that I cherish deeply. The quaint little town is only 1 mile long by 1 mile wide and has the nickname "pine and brine" due to the forestry area at the Grear and Silver lakes with the ocean only 1 block away. It has the best of both worlds. Plentiful are the amount of restaurants and shops carrying anything your heart desires. I truly have always considered Rehoboth a home away from home. My dad and I got up every morning at 5:45 am to capture the sunrise so you'll see plenty of beautifully inspiring images. We always took a photo together with the wonderful sky as the backdrop. Below is a gallery of our most recent trip during the first week of September. The weather was scorching and the bath water temperature of the ocean felt great. You'll see classic beach images, both lakes and their surroundings, our favorite restaurants we visited, sunrise photos, nighttime images, and a tour of the Dogfish Head brewery located in Milton, Delaware.

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Washington D.C.

What an absolutely fabulous time Justin and I had in Washington D.C. over the Labor Day weekend. My relatives own a condo in the newly built City Center complex, which they were gracious enough to let us use for our trip. My main goal for this D.C. adventure was to explore Georgetown and see the various places where J.F.K. had lived, went to church, and grabbed a bite to eat. The weather was spectacular, only adding to the excitement of being in the city. Below are some photos documenting the trip.

  • The first one shows the view of the city center complex from the roof top
  • Next Justin and I relaxing on the balcony listening to the city below us.
  • Now in Georgetown, the first JFK house we saw was 3260 N Street, the yellow home, where JFK rented and ran for Senate, also meeting Jackie while living here.
  • The most famous of all the JFK Georgetown houses, 3307 N Street, the red brick with green shutters, where Jackie and he lived from 1957-61, most importantly during the 1960 presidential election.
  • Holy Trinity Church where the Kennedy's often worshiped throughout their stay in Georgetown
  • The inside of Martin's Tavern. The rumble booth where JFK would sit every Sunday morning for his brunch while reading the newspaper. The next photos show the proposal booth where supposedly Jack proposed to Jackie, though reports differ on that story. Perhaps he presented the ring to her here.
  • The yellow house with the blue shutters, 3271 P Street, where wedding plans were made after John proposed to Jackie.
  • The grey house with the black door, 2808 P Street, where JFK developed his presidential campaign after releasing his book Profiles in Courage.
  • Next are some various rooftop photos at sunset at City Center.
  • The following day on Saturday, Justin and I met up with our good friends Mike and Joe, and explored parts of the city. We went to Ford's Theater, where I had always wanted to visit, and saw some historical scenes of where Lincoln was assassinated. The bed photo, located across the street in the Peterson house, is where Lincoln actually died.
  • We saw this breathtaking church, St. Patrick's Parish, on our walk around town.
  • Our new leader, Mr. Justin.
  • After bidding Mike and Joe goodbye, we met up with Justin's aunt Mona in DuPont Circle. Here are rooftop photos from her condo. Visible are parts of DuPont Circle, D.C., and Virginia.
  • Enjoying a glass of wine on the balcony on our last night in the city.
  • Finally, on our last day before heading to my relatives for lunch, Justin and I took a moment to have a photo of us together.