I’m finally doing it! I’m finally here! My main motivation for this was trying to develop a way to informally share my hobbies and travels with friends and family without “facebooking” it. Everyone I know doesn’t need to know everything I’m doing every minute of the day…that includes you Mom! ;-)

So, here I am. Who am I? Just someone who wanted a way to share what I see, to share my experiences through my eyes. I’m not always the best storyteller. I ramble, I backtrack, I digress, I talk fast, I leave out important information, or I divulge too much. But I’m a decent writer. And I can take a decent picture.

I came to a realization a couple of weeks ago of why I like taking pictures so much. I like it so much because I’m capturing a moment in time that will never happen again. Sure, I’ve woken up oh, 5 times at the buttcrack of dawn at the beach to watch the sunrise WHILE ON VACATION. So one would think a sunrise is a sun-rise. But no sunrise is ever the same. I usually get the same feeling of “Wow, I’m here, watching the earth wake up, and that’s pretty damn special,” but the landscape before me is ever changing.

I’m also capturing a moment in time that I can always reference and remember. I can “step into the memory” and can literally smell the seaweed, or feel the sand, taste the salt.

Capturing moments for me is important because I have a very vivid imagination. I sometimes wonder “did that really happen, or did I make that up?” Perfect example is Hawaii. I know I went when I was younger. We have some family pictures to prove it. But did I really touch a dolphin? Did I really see a diver come out of the water with an occtopus? Did my Dad REALLY strand us on an island when we went canoeing? Had I been the photography enthusiasts I am now when I was 6 or 7 (see, can’t even remember how old I was when we went!), then I would have those pictures to step into and go “oh ya, I remember that!”

Some might say if you spend your life looking through the lens then you’re missing out on the actual experience. I say Pshaw! I click, and I click, and I click some more to get THE perfect shot (when time permits), but then I put the camera down, breathe and soak it all in, so that I can remember every feeling and emotion from that instant.

I hope you enjoy reading and seeing my experiences as much as I enjoy living them. To get my feet wet, I’ll be posting some oldies – probably a condensed version of Italy, San Diego 2009 (in preparation for San Diego 2012!), and more recent trips like Savannah and Charleston. May even throw in a random waterfall or headstone from Richmond.

For now, hasta manana!