More from Iceland

 

Iceland

I finally got to take my second trip with EF and it did not disappoint.  Iceland is truly a stunning country and it should be on everyone's bucket list.  We did a walking tour of downtown Reykjavik, explored the Golden Circle, the black sand beach, impressive waterfalls, stood on the tectonic plate divide, took a dip in the Blue Lagoon and took a boat tour out to see the Northern Lights.  My roomie and I also rented scooters to ride around the city to catch out the local bar scene, found some delicious food and did a virtual helicopter tour of Iceland.  I absolutely loved this country and seeing what it has to offer.  I only have two small downsides, one being is seeing the Northern Lights on a boat.  I would recommend driving out of the city and seeing them on land.  One for photographic reasons.  It's hard to get good shots on an unstable boat.  And two, it might not be as cold.  My other downside was just not being there long enough.  I really did want an extra day or two to see more.  We only did the southern region of Iceland but it was still super incredible!  But I do feel this was a one and done location for me.  I do not have a huge desire to return but never say never.  Here are the photos and I have to say just the light alone in Iceland should be enough to make you want to go there because it's unlike anything I've ever seen.  Enjoy...

Seattle

The Boston of the west coast is what I now call Seattle.  Both my brother and I fell in love with Seattle. Unlike Portland, this is a city I really want to see again.  We definitely didn't get enough time here.  The vibe was extremely different here from what it was in Portland.  Very lively city with a lot to do.  I didn't see anything closed and didn't feel like an after war zone.  Again the weather was perfect and the food was great.  A highlight for me was renting the electric scooters in downtown to get around the city.  I know these have been around for awhile now and they are in most major cities now but this was the first time I have been able to use one and we had the best time with them.  Also our hotel was amazing.  We stayed just blocks from the waterfront and the market.  We did the typical touristy things like Pike Place Market, which is huge by the way, and the Space Needle.  I didn't know that one of the observation decks at the top revolves.  That was a nice surprise.  What wasn't a nice surprise was realizing how bad my fear of heights has gotten.  We also visited Kerry Park but Gas Works Park was by far the best.  This park is gorgeous and has the best views of the city and a must if you're in the area.  I could have done without seeing Kerry Park in my opinion.  My brother and I had dinner one night in the Capital Hill area which is apparently where the main nightlife of the city happens.  We did not get to explore that area as much as we would have liked so that's our first stop next time.  We also took the scooters down to Chinatown one day because they were having a food walk.  I honestly didn't fully understand the "walk" because it looked like a normal day but we went to a restaurant that had a line out the door so we figured must be good.  We ordered whatever the meal of the day was because we couldn't read anything else.  We also stopped by an Amazon Go store which I still do not understand how that store works.  Later that night we found a speakeasy style bar called Bathtub & Gin I believe.  This was a real treat.  Also a must see if you're in the downtown area.  Overall this trip ties with my 27th birthday trip that was the Northeast roadtrip and Canada as the second best trip I've ever taken.  The people were so incredibly friendly and made us not want to return to Florida.  I could even see myself moving out there for a while.  Also please forgive the amount of grain in the night shots as I did not have a tripod with me :( 

Cannon Beach and Astoria

One of the main things I wanted see while visiting the Pacific Northwest is the coast.  Having been to most of the coasts here in the States, this was the last area I hadn't seen before.  And I must say it did not disappoint.  We rented a car for the day to drive out to the coast from Portland then over to Seattle.  While driving out, the weather started to change as we got closer to the beach.  Driving through the mountains was beautiful and it went from 75 and sunny to in the 60s and very gray.  This made me more excited to photograph the area.  Our first stop was Cannon Beach which is where part of the Goonies was filmed.  The beach was gorgeous.  Then we drove over to the small town of Astoria which is also where some of the Goonies was filmed.  After walking around the town for a few, we drove over the state line and started heading towards Seattle.  Once we got closer to the city, the weather cleared and we returned the rental with one minute to spare.  I was super proud of this.  I was also able to use my pinhole cap for a few photos so enjoy...