Beijing

Xi-an Corridor

 

I forgot I had a blog.
No, really.  I did.

I’ve stopped living out of a suitcase and traded in my aisle seat for a desk chair and honestly haven’t looked back.  And though I have stopped traveling for work, I have come to a place where travel is pleasurable again, and I no longer refer to my camera bag as my “albatross”. 

Forbidden City - View from our windows

My Dad (who I am VERY proud of, gotta say) had the honor over the last year of carving and finishing a fallen tree from Stanley Park- the Spirit Tree.  He not only finished the piece, but was sent on over to Beijing to install it and help set up the BC Pavillion just off of Tian’anmen Square.  Since my 30th birthday coincided with his trip, Anita and myself went to join him.

Most of our time was spent in the heart of Beijing, where Dad had been living and working for over two months.  Too many sights to list, but the most memorable and captivating was the Forbidden City- too much to see in one day, or probably even a week.  The Temple of Heaven was breathtaking, as was the Summer Palace.  The Great Wall was fun- although I would have liked to have spent more time there, and seen more than one spot.  Amazing to see the Wall, snaking through the mountains for as far as you can see- parts of it disintegrating, parts demolished, and other parts pristine.  So much history in one view.

The Great Wall

Tourists

After a week and a half of trekking through the city (interlaced with plenty of foot massages, ha) we hopped on an overnight train bound for Xi-an, home of the Terracotta Army.  The train reeked of cigarette smoke, which seemed to be traveling through the air-con system… Kinda nasty but made for some good goofy photos.

A plastic bag was preferable to the smell...

Xi-an was beautiful.  One day we hired a guide and visited the Big Goose Pagoda, a museum dedicated to preserving the remnants of an ancient civilization (can’t remember the name for the life of me) and finally, the Terracotta Army.  Nothing can really express what it’s like to stand in that first room- seeing them for the first time in their stoic poses.  Truly beautiful.  Absolutely overwhelming.

Terracotta Army

Temple Doorway

We headed back to Beijing, for just a few days to regroup, do some laundry and plan for our next excursion, this time to Chengde, a province further north of Beijing.  This time we had a guide and driver take us there, giving us bits of history and some good stories along the way.  We managed to see several temples- all of them beautiful and ancient, as well as the largest gold Buddha in the world- which was really big, and, well, gold.  Many of the temples didn’t allow photography inside but I did try to catch a few from outside the doorway. 

Buddha

Our last couple of days were spent back in Beijing, shopping and enjoying our favourite restaurants.  We had just started to feel at home in this new city and then it was time to come back.  I’m building an album of our travels, which will be up shortly.  Over 800 photos to edit, and not nearly enough time!

Bus - Tian-anmen Square

Life at home has been great in all the ways being on the road wasn’t- although I must say I miss little things like room service and never having to make my own bed (actually I guess that would only be true if I actually made my bed, ha).

More to come, when I do travel y’all will hear about it.
Till then!

The Retired Road Warrior…

Yes, it is true. This little road warrior has retired.

For some of you, this is probably coming as a bit of a surprise. I do need to say that this decision was not made in haste, rather I had quite some time to make up my mind on the matter. Being stranded at home for 7 weeks with no word on the next trip definitely encouraged me to move on a little sooner than I had been hoping!

The last 4 years of my life have been amazing- I wouldn’t trade a single day of it to be honest. Ok, well maybe a couple of those days I spent in Texass last year. I seriously loved my job- but it was simply time to move on.

In the last 4 years I’ve visited 18 countries and 25 states. I’ve seen some very beautiful places during my travels- and some that even feel like a second or third home. Before every trip was the anticipation of new things, new food, new people- and not a one came close to how good it felt to come home to this city each and every time.

Big hugs to everyone, it’s been a fun ride. I’ll post more now from home now that I’ve got my sh*t together

Almost home…

Tomorrow I head home!  A little sooner than expected, but kinda nice.  I have a bit of a cold, and being sick on the road sucks big time.  It will be nice to recover in my own bed, lol.

I hope all is well with you all out there!
adele
xox

Fun Times at the Port of Miami

So, I was flown from Alabama to meet a fellow photog, Ema, down in Orlando to shoot a couple of cruise ships.  For the most part our trip was fun- lots of good wine in the sunshine and wandering around South Beach.  Our first shoot went very well, despite not having a contact when we arrived (they eventually found someone to help us out).

The second shoot nearly didn’t happen.

We arrive at the port at 9am, as normal.  At first we’re directed to a port security booth, which is also normal.  We are then informed that we need a special ‘day pass’ to cross this security point, and without it we’re not getting anywhere near the ship.  This is the first we’ve heard of a day pass, and already we’re losing time.  The cruise and port employees all insist that we go to the Port ID office.  So we do.  This is a little taste of how it went:

9:35  We arrive at the Port ID office, give them our info, and camp out.

9:40  We start calling the office people back home (who are all 3 hours behind).

 
9:50

 
10:00

10:30

 
10:45

 
11:00

11:27

12:05 PM- we finally get onboard the ship, which is quickly filling with guests. (this is one of the locations we couldn’t shoot)

3:45 PM- white sand, sunshine, and not a friggin care in the world…

At the end of the day, we managed to shoot 7 out of 10 locations with barely more than an hour onboard.  Yes, I’m tootin’ my own horn here, but we rock!

Now, back to Alabama! 

Nasville Nights

Last week, a few of us managed to meet up in Nashville.  For all the silliness, head to my friend Ken’s blog.  He’s got some great photos up of Filipe and him wandering around Nashville, and a nice little tale about our fun filled time there. 

http://travelingcanuck.wordpress.com/

I have to say- I really can’t help but smile everytime I think of Ken singing every word to every song and the bunch of us dancing like maniacs and spilling beer all over the place.  It was a wonderful, messy, refreshing- and exhausting- night that I would do over in a heartbeat.

And now, off I go to Florida- I have 2 days of shooting with Ema, and then one day off all to myself to enjoy the sun.

much love,
adele

Alabama!

So, last night I had dinner with Filipe- a friend and colleague who’s shooting up in Knoxville.  We were within a few hours of each other, and met up in Chattanooga, TN for some beer and ribs.  Here’s Filipe enjoying his baby back rib platter, haha.

Filipe, always such a sport!

I always feel more at home on the road when I have the chance to see a friendly face.  The night before, I had some Mexican with Dean in a little town I have forgotten the name of-  Here’s Dean finishing his beverage.  He told me afterwards that this is the worst photo of me he thinks he’s ever seen.  I think he might be right. 

When he went to the bathroom I took a picture of his weirdo key chain- it’s a rubber chicken.  Kinda gross, but oddly facinating.

And tonight I am in a little town, too far away to meet up with anyone, and kind of enjoying the solitude.  I think tonight will be one of HBO and take out

A lovely day with Peter and Fernand

While I was home this last time, I had a wonderful trip over to the island to see the family and to visit with our friends Peter and Fernand.  It just so happened that I made it home at the right time- Saturday was Fernand’s birthday (I think 84??) and Dad, Anita, and myself prepared a special feast for two of our favourite people.

We started off with champagne and lunch, followed by some flourless chocolate cake that I am getting quite good at making- and we were treated to a poetry reading by Peter!  It was truly a delightful day, one I will always remember fondly.  Thank you both so much for a beautiful afternoon!

On the Sunday night it was Oscars- we headed over to some friend’s for a night of wine and appies.  I thought we could rock-star it up and Dad and Anita let me make them both up- I have to say my Dad looks pretty good with a little eyeliner! haha.  Here’s Arthur, James, and my Dad, Kenny giving the world (or me actually) the Esquimalt wave.  haha, good freakin times!

What a great weekend. 

I know, I know! I’m a terrible blogger…

Kids running on the beach in Barbados
What I’d give to be back there…

Yeah I know it’s been sporadic to say the least.  But I’m still here, I swear!  

The last few weeks have been a bit of a roller coaster ride- I had one hell of a flu that kept me cooped up in my apartment for a whole week, spent as much time as I could with friends and family, and found myself once again single. 

Now I’m back on the road, again.  Ken, Liddy and I had two nights in Houston- went down to shoot a cruise ship in Galveston.  Two lovely evenings with two great people.  I have my fingers and toes crossed that I can meet up with some other photogs during the rest of this trip! Now I’m in Alabama, which unsurprisingly is a whole lot like Mississippi.  The only thing that’s different is the rental car which is bigger and more obnoxious than my last one.  I have a feeling I could take on that Ikea chair in this one, in fact probably a whole couch come to think of it.

There have been some severe storms and tornados here in Alabama this last week.  Very close to the area I happen to be in- so far 18 people have been killed.  Fingers crossed that I don’t come face to face with any of it!

Guilty as Charged!

Yes, I know I’ve been boring this last month. 

I have had some fun times, with some good friends.  Being in the south is an interesting experience- the people, food, and culture are very different from a lot of other places I’ve visited in the US.  There’s no such thing as rushing here, and everybody loves Jesus.  

An Adventure to Remember:  My Ikea Nemesis 

So here I am, just driving down the highway minding my own business.  I’m going the speed limit since there is dense traffic, but everyone’s still moving at 65 mph.  I have just crossed a big ass bridge from Tennessee to Arkansas, where I’m meeting up with friend and fellow photog, Liddy.  There is a massive transport truck direcly to my right, and in front of me a van of some sort.  Of course, no shoulder to my left- just an unattractive cement guardrail.  Out of nowhere, I see the van in front of me swerve maniacly in front of the transport truck- and I find myself face to face with a goddam, motherf*cking IKEA chair in the middle of my lane.  The photo above is pretty much exactly what it looked like.

I know you can all guess what happened next.  I slammed on the breaks, but still hit that sucker at nearly full speed.  I did manage to stay straight, not involving any other cars in my little ‘accident’.  Needless to say, I was a little shaky.  At first I wasn’t sure if any damage had been done to my rental car- but I pulled over to check it out anyway.  The left blinker shattered, and there was a little bit of bumper damage. 

I managed to make it to Liddy, and we had a nice dinner.  Quite possibly the BEST ribs I have ever eaten.  They were amazing.  One thing they sure know how to do down south is bbq.  Then, on the way home, it starts snowing!  A bit of a surprise to the locals, but it sure was pretty.

So, it was an interesting night, for sure! ha.  Luckily Hertz didn’t seem too concerned, and let me swap out my car- when I got back from BARBADOS which will be the next entry. 

Yes, I’m still here!

I have to admit, there hasn’t been a whole lot to write about this trip.  I’m currently in Starkville, MS.  To put it in perspective, it’s approx. one hour from Tupelo, the birthplace of Elvis Presley. 

It’s funny what boredom inspires one to do.  Today I dyed my hair really really dark.  I think I like it, but I might cry when I see it tomorrow in the daylight.  I just realized how pale I truly am.  Here’s a before and after:

Pretty different.  I keep startling myself in the mirror.  Ha.