To celebrate my 21st birthday, I was blessed enough to travel to California with my wonderful parents and my beautiful best friend, Kendall. We drank lots of wine while strolling through the magical vineyards, laughed until we cried (98% of the time), became olive oil experts, headed to the coast & San Fran, and even soared above the vineyards in a hot air balloon. Napa, you were one for the books.
Spontaneously packed up the Jeep and drove 7 hours North with my childhood best-friend, Kaylee. To start off our adventures, we explored the colorful, Earthy town of Asheville. It’s always refreshing to get lost in a different city.
Hours later we checked into our Airbnb- a modernized, glass house in the midst of thick forestry. The views were delightful, the sounds were peaceful. We fell asleep listening to crickets and awoke to birds chirping, greeting one another.
A notable part of this trip was our eating habits. Kaylee is a vegan and has been for quite some time now. I was willing to commit to this, not only to make life a bit easier for her, but to embrace a healthy, natural lifestyle while we connected with the Earth. We stopped at a local farmers market and stocked up on tons of fruits, veggies and proteins to help us make it through the trip.
The Blue Ridge Parkway/ Pisgah National Forest. My oh my, how I felt alive here. I can’t put into words the state of mind both Kaylee and I were in. However, it’s safe to say we were happy, blissful and at ease. We felt so connected with ourselves and the Earth. Around every corner was a beautiful adventure, and Earth patiently waiting to be explored. We encountered lush nature, ethereal views and breath-taking waterfalls. With no cellphone service and the great outdoors surrounding us, we used our experience to inspire us- to get back in touch with ourselves while leading a wholesome life of simplicity and spontaneous adventures.
A special thanks to Kaylee Davis, for being such a wonderful friend to me for more than a decade. This trip wouldn’t have been the same without you. I’m so grateful to have met you and to still have your beautiful soul be apart of my life. I love ya endlessly.
Decided to welcome summer by adventuring to some of Florida’s natural springs.
I was accompanied by the very lovely Lia Maree Hardy.
San Juan, Puerto Rico:
St. Thomas:
Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis:
Antigua:
Saint Lucia:
Barbados:
Ventured to Savannah, Georgia with an old friend.
Strolled along the streets of Saint Augustine
Found myself in awe of the views in Panama City Beach
And embraced even the gloomiest of days.
In life you meet people who were destined to be apart of your life for some specific reason. I’ve encountered quite a few of those people- Dustin Harewood being one of them. Harewood is my Art Professor and has pushed be to grow artistically in ways I could never imagine. I’m producing work that far exceeds any artistic abilities I thought I had. On top of that, he’s such a heavy supporter of the local art community, particularly with young people.
Upon the reveal of his art show, he came to me in hopes of capturing these monumental moments. With no hesitation, I agreed. I was happy to, not only capture parts of this night for him, but to be apart of it all. To me, it was such an honor.
If you’d like to check out more of his work, here’s his website:
https://www.dustinharewood.com/
(cold) but so incredibly charming, as per usual.
spent this trip with someone who will forever remain near and dear to my heart.
