Stefanie's Maternity Sesh

You guys.  I'm sorry I've been so absent!  That "sneak peek" cliffhanger turned into a bit longer of a cliffhanger than I intended...

Anyway, Stefanie is a good friend of mine, and the cutest pregnant lady.  We played dress up and took some maternity photos a little while ago at her home and on the beach in Venice, and it was so much fun!  I can't wait to meet her baby girl, but until then, here are a few of my faves from our photo sesh.  Enjoy :)

On the Lake

Funny story.

Just after these were taken,

we realized that we couldn't see our houseboat anymore,

and were essentially lost on the lake,

with no phones,

no money,

hardly any gas,

and only one beer with which to barter.

And it was getting dark.

After a couple of laps around the lake,

a few rounds of spirited debate over just how fast a houseboat could possibly go,

and a half-hour stop-over at a random houseboat

wherein Brian consumed numerous fireball shots with our new-found friends

while the rest of us frantically dialed any phone number we could remember
on a borrowed cellphone

("taking one for the team," he claims),

we found our way home.

And promptly consumed approx. 20 lbs of ribs smothered in BBQ sauce

as consolation for the hour we spent thinking we might have to
sleep on a motor boat with no dinner,

and god forbid,

no beer.

Real Life:  Lake Shasta.

One for Wednesday

{Iceland}

Some Random Photos We Took on the Side of the Road in Iceland

We just couldn't miss the 15 minutes of quasi-sun.*

*It was still freezing.

**Note the euro-sneaks.  When in Rome....

The Blue Lagoon

Hope you all had a good Fourth!  I spent the day on the beach with friends and went to a wonderful wedding.  A great way to celebrate.  I've got a few more Iceland posts for you -- sorry it's been a little slow around here!  So here goes:  The Blue Lagoon.  A must see!

The Blue Lagoon is otherworldly.  It's a steaming, powder blue geothermal pool stretching across a desolate moonscape, rising up like something out of a sci-fi film as you drive along the otherwise deserted two-lane freeway.  We spent a morning here, and although it probably would have been a more pleasant experience if it hadn't been freezing and raining as we waded, that's the real Iceland for you.

Iceland: Driving the Golden Circle

The Golden Circle is the most touristed route in Iceland.

The drive starts in Reykjavik, and from there leads you to Thingvellir,

a National Park, and the site of Iceland's first parliament

(which includes a "law rock" from which the laws were proclaimed),

then up to Geysir, where, you got it, there are lots of geysers,

and on to Gulfoss, a massive, stunning waterfall.

Instead of taking a tour, we decided to drive ourselves,

mostly so I could make Brian pull over every time I wanted to take a photo of ponies.

Also so that we could stop at Fjorubordid in the coastal town of Stokkseyri

for what I had heard, and can now confirm,

is THE BEST lobster soup in the world.

Here's what the drive looked like from our view.

There was so much to take in; my eyes weren't big enough to see it all.

Just One More

 

Still stuck on the ponies.

Icelandic Ponies

I was going to do another 24-Hour post for Iceland today (like I did for Copenhagen and Stockholm), but then I got distracted by Icelandic ponies!  (Ok horses, whatever.)  All along our drive down the southern Icelandic coast, there were herds of beautiful Icelandic horses grazing and galloping.   It was breath-taking.

I managed to snap a million some photos where we could pull over, and they turned out to be my favorite images of the trip.  Here are the highlights (so many photos!) in digital first, then in film.

Film <3:












Gotta love those hairdos :)