an upstate new york thanksgiving

Paid a visit to the beautiful Ithaca, New York

Happy Thanksgiving!

valley visit

A weekend of music and mountains

And, view sans moi.

And, back to a different type of view, but still beautiful

midwest adventuring

After some boating and Chicago hot dogs, what better way to spend the afternoon than lounging around Lincoln Park in the sunshine with a coffee...

A rainy Wednesday at a favorite green space

The best gypsy jazz in the world

And, a weekend north for some Wisconsin nature

"Welcome"

adventure sail

Muting the city on a Tuesday evening

genoa city

Had a wonderful weekend celebrating friends Justin and Max's wedding at Genoa City, Wisconsin. Who knew Wisconsin was so beautiful!

The Northwest Herald generations!

spice island

Up at dawn my last morning in Zanzibar to take advantage of the beach before catching an afternoon flight back to Arusha. Beautiful morning light, and the beach was all ours.

Octopus

Starfish!

Lone boat

Took a spice farm tour to learn about what was grown locally - basically every spice you could think of! Cloves, cinnamon, pepper and nutmeg being some of the more common. Rain came as we were driving and these Swahili girls were walking home from school. Most of Zanzibar's population is entirely Muslim.

Stopping to buy some African apples from this cutie

My friendly spice farm tour guide, who, like most people asked, "Is Trump really that close to being President?" and yearns to come to America for a better life.

Caught a flight back to Arusha via Dar Es Salaam for a night with friends before beginning our 36 hour journey back home. Asante sana, Tanzania! You were amazing.

indian ocean snorkeling

What else to do on a Monday morning in Zanzibar, besides a boat trip to an exotic island for some snorkeling?

A herd (?) flock (?) of dolphins!

Post-snorkel happiness

Sunset happy hour crew before a dinner under the stars on the beach...

zanzibar paradise

After an early morning cab ride to the airport (arranged through a friend of a friend) I made it to Nungwi beach in Zanzibar, off the coast of East Africa. Zanzibar is one of those magical places that is so beautiful it will make you cry - definitely one of the most stunning places on the planet!