Having grown weary of Seattle’s “June-uary,” we set out for a long weekend in sun-drenched Willamette Valley. Wine glasses in hand, we kicked back under the sun, played with light in our cameras, and happily bought cases of wine to stock the wine cellar (a.k.a. my laundry room!) for the summer. ‘Twas heavenly.

If you get a chance to head there yourself (and you should!), check out some of the wineries we visited:

Being only a couple hours away from a worldwide event like the OIympics, we couldn’t resist heading up to see for ourselves. I mean, the Olympics are something that happens in some exotic faraway land that you only watch from a distance on TV. But here they were in my backyard.

One of the US/Canada hockey games was happening that night, and when Canada scored a goal, the cheers rippled from inside the bars and into the overflowing streets filled with people straining to catch a glimpse of the action. The energy in the city was quite electric indeed!

One of my photos is being featured today on a fine art website! Go to wozofoto to take a look and purchase a print of your own.

I took this while I was in Miami last summer. We were hanging on by the waterfront when this sweet thundercloud started rolling in. It was quite a sight to behold!

If I mention I went to Vietnam last month then, at least in this country, I’ll get quite the quizzical look from most people. Words like “Hanoi” and “Saigon” cause people conjure up images of war and soldiers dying. In contrast, it now boasts a thriving tourist industry, giving foreigners a chance to see a very different Vietnam compared to 35 years ago.

Very exotic, and always an adventure, Vietnam is a place that will challenge and inspire. I must say, not too many Americans take them up on the offer, but the Vietnamese harbor no hard feelings, and you’ll bump elbows with many a French, German, Aussie, or Kiwi soul, plus get the chance to get your very own “Asian tatoo” from the hot muffler of a motorbike taxi (think blister, not ink)! Hint: a cold can of Coca Cola will do the trick as ice is hard to come by. Thank goodness I learned my lesson the first time I was there, but I did manage to drink loads of the sugar-not-corn-syrup version of “Coca,” as they say. Yum.

Earlier this month I went to Vegas for the annual Wedding & Portrait Photographers International (WPPI), the largest convention of its kind in the world. Outside of wandering around two gi-normous ballrooms full of tradeshow booths searching for the most beautiful products on the market to offer my clients (which I found- stay tuned!), my lovely supportive boyfriend and I strolled the (in)famous Vegas strip. After missing the Bellagio fountain multiple times by mere seconds, we finally managed to catch the show at one of my favorite times of day: the blue hour. Mmmmm. Throw in a faux Eiffel tower and Vegas doesn’t get better than this, unless a jackpot is jangling my tune, which it didn’t after dumping a whopping $7 in coins down the slots. Maybe next year I’ll be so lucky!

Just over two years ago now, I was returning from a six month trip ’round the world. Four continents, 14 countries, 39 cities, 52 different places to sleep, and 40,000 miles flown. I was recently looking through my photos from that trip and wishing the world was once again my backyard. Reminisce along with me and see if you can “name that country!”