County Kerry and Blarney, Ireland | Travel

Last night, Nathan and I had a viewing party of allll the photos from our trip to Ireland and Scotland. It was like reliving every moment. And it was like Christmas morning watching all those film scans being deposited on to my hard drive.

We originally started talking about hopping across the pond a couple years ago. We had about three different dates set but kept having to push it back for various reasons. I'm so grateful that we were able to make it happen … and we really ended up going at the perfect time. 1) The weather in Ireland was beyond perfect. I've been to Ireland before, and I fully expected gray skies and rain, but it was 70 degrees and sunny the whole time! A dream! 2) The Scottish independence vote happened while we were in Scotland. SO cool to witness! Those things, plus a whole bunch of others, made this a trip of a lifetime.

I have so many photos from our trip, I'm breaking it down into a few different parts. Up first is our time in Killarney, Dingle and Blarney.

We got off the plane and promptly started adventuring. We saw Muckross House and Killarney National Park with about four hours of sleep in the last 30 hours. Excitement of being in Ireland is the only thing that carried us through. :)

We were hardcore tourists in Ireland. Thank goodness for Nathan's newfound skill of driving on the left side of the road. We took our little rental car everywhere. And didn't get run off those narrow roads once!

Seeing Dingle Peninsula was one of our favorite things we did on the trip. It was beyond gorgeous, and the perfect weather made it that much more magical.

Then we stopped for tea and scones (and apple pie!) on the edge of a cliff. A cliff! This is my new dream: move to Ireland and open a cute little cafe with a million dollar view.

Traveling with a big camera is kinda interesting, especially when you ask strangers to take a photo of you. We've learned that they either a) get really wide eyed and nervous about touching the thing (let alone taking a picture) … and rightfully so! or b) get really excited to take a photo … or two … or three. A super nice lady took this photo of us, and then a few more that were blurry. How do you nicely stop someone from finishing off your roll of film?!

The Gap of Dunloe was AMAZING! I felt like I was in a Lord of the Rings movie. The light was sparkly! If you're every in Killarney, make sure to go early in the morning.

And then we made the obligatory trip to Blarney Castle. I kissed the stone when I was 17, but it was just as cool 12 years later. :)

Where we stayed: Burke's Mulbur House Where we ate: Cronins Restaurant, Teac Couminole Cafe, Paddy's Restaurant What we did: Visited Muckross House and Killarney National Park, strolled through downtown Killarney, took Slea Head Drive all the way around Dingle Peninsula (made stops at various beaches along the way), drove through the Gap of Dunloe (early in the morning!), visited Blarney Castle and walked the grounds

Mackinac Island | Travel

Since early last year, I had been saving the weekend of the Fourth of July for personal travel. It wasn't always easy to keep it free (I'm always so tempted to take every wedding that comes my way!), but it was totally worth it after the fact. Nathan and I spent the weekend in Mackinac Island with his family and had the best time!

Mackinac Island sits right in between the upper and lower peninsulas of Michigan in Lake Huron. And I just want to take a moment right now and say that Michigan is completely underrated. It is GORGEOUS, and those Pure Michigan commercials aren't lying. :) We had absolutely perfect weather (albeit a little chilly) while we were there … blue skies and blue water. It doesn't get better than that!

Except it does because the coolest thing about this island? No cars are allowed! Everyone travels by horse, bicycle or foot, and all the trash is collected and goods are delivered by horse and buggy. Cool, right? I kinda felt like we had stepped back in time. We bicycled around the entire island, which is 8 miles, twice. Renting bikes is definitely a must-do if you ever visit Mackinac. I'd also highly recommend a carriage tour of the island. There's so much history packed into that little place!

When we planned this trip, I decided that I was only going to shoot film while we were there. The fact that I barely have to edit my film images meant that I'd actually have my vacation photos ready to go as soon as they were developed. Usually my vacation photos sit on my hard drive for a few months until I have some time to go through them. No thank you! I wanted these images ASAP. I'm happy to report that this was the best decision, and I'll be doing this for all future trips!

Enjoy a peek of Mackinac Island through my film lens …

We stayed at the Island House--the oldest continuously operating hotel on the island. We decided that we had the best location on the island (not in the middle of all the hustle and bustle, but not too far), and aside from the one dirty sheet we found upon arrival (ha!), we'd definitely recommend this spot.

While the Grand Hotel was not in our budget, we did venture up the hill to snap a couple photos. This place is MASSIVE and has a huge porch (I think the longest in the country if I'm not mistaken!).

Ahhh, Pure Michigan.

These were our horses for our carriage ride. The one in the middle is Travis, and I remember that because the carriage driver kept telling him to "step it up!" Evidently he's the slacker of the bunch.

Where we stayed: Island House Where we ate: Carriage House, Pancake House, Island Slice Pizzeria, Chuckwagon, The Gate House, JoAnn's Fudge (about three times … this was definitely the best fudge on the island; we did thorough testing!) What we did: Rented bicycles, took a carriage tour, toured Fort Mackinac, visited Little Stone Church

101 in 1001: #64 Visit Hocking Hills.

I can't believe I haven't shared our trip to Hocking Hills last fall! Maybe it's because I was sick the whole time and have blocked it from my memory. Ha! Let me back up ...

I've wanted to visit Hocking Hills since I heard of the Glenlaurel, this quaint little Scottish inn in the heart of Hocking Hills. I had this bright idea to book a fall weekend visit for Nathan's 30th birthday (I know. Awesome idea, right??). That also just happened to be the weekend after my last 2013 wedding, so it was extra celebratory. I literally booked months in advance because the Glenlaurel is popular and so is Hocking Hills in the fall.

The drive in was gorgeous. The sun was drifting in and out through the colorful leaves, and we were so excited to be getting away for a couple days after a super busy wedding season. As we turned into the Glenlaurel property, we admired the Scottish links golf course on site and oohed and aahed over the beautiful carriage house that greeted us.

I would highly recommend the Glenlaurel to anyone traveling to Hocking Hills! The lodging is made up of cabins, cottages and crofts (a smaller version of a cottage and what we booked for our stay) that are equally as quaint as the carriage house and manor house. The property is really big, and we immediately took advantage of the grounds and set off on a hike just after we arrived. (Turns out that was a good idea because it was unfortunately rainy for the rest of our trip.)

For dinner our first night we booked the Glenlaurel's traditional six-course meal, which is served just after a happy hour (where Nathan partook in one of his first Scotches!), call to dinner and Scottish poetry reading. We really NEVER treat ourselves to a dinner like that, and it was so fun to experience it all.

And then … I think running myself ragged during wedding season caught up to me and I just felt terrible the rest of the weekend (it was definitely NOT the food, I might add! The food was awesome!). That, coupled with the rain, created a trip I was definitely not envisioning, but we still got some beautiful photos out of that weekend! I'd love to go back and experience the Glenlaurel all over again. When it's not raining. And when I can properly enjoy the amazing breakfasts that come with each stay. :)

Thank goodness Nathan brought his point-and-shoot camera. We may not have any photos at all if Nathan hadn't made a point to document the trip!

Here's the Carriage House.

And here's our croft! How cute is it?? Bagpipe music was being piped through the speakers as we walked in. It totally got us in the mood for our Scotland trip this fall (have I mentioned we're going to Scotland this fall?!).

The day we left it cleared up enough to visit Old Man's Cave at the state park, which is definitely worth a visit if you're in the area!

And I will end with this Where's Waldo?-style photo of Nathan. :D

Steamboat Springs, Colorado | Travel

I've been nesting away this long, long winter. That's my excuse for lack of blog posts lately! It's not that I don't have anything to say, it's more that I've been spending my time under a blanket, watching (all of) the Olympics with a warm cat next to me. :) But I'm breaking my hibernation to bring you … more snow! Specifically our winter vacation in Steamboat Springs, Colo.

Nathan's family LOVES to ski. And I? Well, I'm learning. (In case you missed it last year, here's how I look on two wooden sticks flying down a hill. I swear I FEEL like I'm flying.) This year was definitely a step in the right direction. I only freaked out once and was a little more confident in my abilities. Let's just say that the green hills are my best friends. Nathan's dream is for me to ski the blues with him. I told him maybe in three years. ;)

Besides the fact that I'm not a great skier, I'm so grateful to have the opportunity to travel and see all the beauty out west. The day we arrived in Colorado, we checked out the natural hot springs at Strawberry Park. It was such a crazy sensation to walk around in a swim suit in 25 degree weather and then get in a pool that's more than 100 degrees.

Every day that I skied (a total of two!) we had AMAZING weather.

I was very glad I decided to sit the third day out because it was a blizzard on the slopes!

Nathan and his dad are pros though and loved the powder from the falling snow.