Mother and baby capuchin monkeys
Damas, Costa Rica
August 3, 2010
Here’s the final set of our photos from Costa Rica. On our last day of the trip, we took a boat tour through a mangrove forest near the town of Damas. The tour gave us a close-up view of snakes, birds, and lots of monkeys. One of the monkeys even jumped on our boat!
White-faced capuchin monkey
Manuel Antonio National Park
Quepos, Costa Rica
August 1, 2010
Last Sunday Mike and I spent the day at Manuel Antonio National Park in Costa Rica. The park is famous for its gorgeous beaches and abundant wildlife. Of course I loved the monkeys! We saw capuchins and squirrel monkeys, as well as iguanas, raccoons, and lots of other animals.
Rainforest waterfall
Quepos, Costa Rica
July 31, 2010
Last weekend Mike and I spent an afternoon hiking through Rainmaker Park, a series of trails and rope bridges through the rain forest. It was one of my favorite days of the trip, and certainly a great one for beautiful photo opportunities.
6-week-old and 3-month-old baby marmoset monkeys
The Blue Banyan Inn
Quepos, Costa Rica
August 3, 2010
Mike and I just got home from a week on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. July 30th was our fifth anniversary, so we decided to take a vacation/babymoon to celebrate. We wanted to go someplace warm and tropical, and completely different from our normal daily routine. Mike wanted a beach, and I wanted monkeys. So Costa Rica it was!
We stayed at a miniature resort called the Blue Banyan Inn, near the town of Quepos and Manuel Antonio National Park. The Blue Banyan is a bed-and-breakfast owned by an American-Canadian couple named Jim and Barbara. The Inn has just four cottages, a pool, and a restaurant where they served a delicious breakfast each morning. It’s quite a bit out of town, nestled in the rolling hills of the rainforest. The only sounds were those of the birds, insects, and frogs. The peaceful tranquility was divine, especially during a rare break from my busiest time of year.
One of the greatest aspects of the Blue Banyan Inn is that is also the site of an animal sanctuary operated by a non-profit organization called Kids Saving the Rainforest. Barbara and Jim and the volunteers take care of 22 marmoset monkeys at the sanctuary, including these four orphaned babies. Every morning they would bring the four babies to the hotel, and let me keep an eye on them as they prepared breakfast. These baby monkeys were absolutely adorable, and one of my favorite parts of the whole trip.I’ll be posting our Costa Rica photos in four sets, starting with these photos of our hotel and the monkey sanctuary. Stay tuned for more!
Ali and Howard
St. Audries Park
West Quantoxhead, Somerset, England
May 24, 2010
This was a particularly special wedding for us. Mike’s lifelong best friend, Howard, got married in England to his lovely bride, Ali. Howard and Mike have been friends since they were three years old, and Howard was the best man in our wedding. Last week Mike had the honor of being one of the two best men in Howard’s wedding. I photographed it, and my friend David Pearce traveled from Kent to help me. Thank you, David!
Howard and Ali, we are so happy for you! You couldn’t have had a more beautiful venue or a more a perfect day. Thanks for asking us to play such important parts in your wedding! It means a lot to us.
Edinburgh Castle, Scotland
December, 2009
The second half of my Edinburgh photos are my night shots. Anyone who has read my blog knows that I love twilight skies, so I was excited to walk around the city at night with my Canon 5DMkII and a 35mm f1.4 lens. The combination of a high ISO camera and a huge aperture enabled me to take these photos without a tripod, even in really dark locations. Mike was so kind to walk around in the cold with me while I had some fun.
Edinburgh, Scotland
December, 2009
Earlier this week, Mike and I spent a day in Edinburgh. Mike went to grad school there at the University of Edinburgh, and he wanted to show me around the city that he loved. It’s a labyrinth of narrow paths and hilly streets with spectacular medieval architecture. We spent our time walking around, enjoying the views, and sampling the pubs.
Here’s a random collection of photos from Edinburgh and the surrounding areas. I usually blog chronologically, but these pictures are in no particular order. Check back tomorrow for photos of Edinburgh in the nighttime!
Carol singing in the village green
Easton, Somerset, England
December, 2009< Merry Christmas from Mike's family's village in England! We're having a great Christmas here with his parents, brother, and sister-in-law. This afternoon we're enjoying our new toys, eating chocolate, and relaxing in the sunny, mild weather. I hope your Christmas is great, too.
I’m so grateful for you, my friends! Your friendship, support, and cheery comments brighten my life. I wish health and happiness for you and your loved ones today and always.
Tomorrow I’ll post photos from Edinburgh!
Easton, Somerset
December 18, 2009
Mike and I are in England right now, visiting his parents for Christmas. Today we had beautifully sunny weather, so I spent the afternoon walking around Easton, the village where Mike grew up. It’s a small town of only a couple hundred people, near the city of Wells in southwest England. I walked around today and took pictures of all the cool-looking old stuff in the village. Of course the people here are just as contemporary as everyone else, but I’m American and therefore I love English old stuff. After six years of visiting England together, Mike is learning to accept that about me. 
Mexico City
January, 2009
With all the travel I’ve done in the last three weeks, I still haven’t had a chance to post most of the photos. I went to Mexico City for the first week of January with Mike, my parents, my brother Paul, and my brother’s family.
As I mentioned earlier, the trip didn’t turn out quite the way we’d hoped, because almost all of us came down with a flu that had swept through our family reunion the week before. Most of our plans got canceled during our week in Mexico, including an outing to the Saturday market, a private tour of the pyramids, and Mike’s birthday weekend in Cancun.
Despite all the sickness and cancellations, we still had a fantastic time with my family. It’s rare that all of us spend time together like this, so I loved even the quiet moments of reading books with the kids.
We didn’t get to see much of the city from beyond our car, but I did get a chance to do some drive-by shooting.
