These are from the Hawthorne & Laurelhurst neighborhoods, with a bit of Downtown’s Ankeny street and the Burnside Bridge for good measure.  The bicycle is a Ghost Bike… erected in memory of a cyclist who was killed or hit near that street corner.

At the close of this Thanksgiving day, I want to give thanks for a few things that have come to mean a lot to me over the last few months…

As this is one of my first big holidays away from my immediate family, I would like to give thanks for the multiple invites to Thanksgiving dinner that I received, ensuring I wouldn’t be spending it alone with a Hungry-Man turkey TV dinner and a Redbox movie.

For my friends and family who have continued to show support and love through grand gestures and small sentiments, even though I moved 1100 miles away… thank you.

I am thankful for hope and continued optimism and opportunities where I least expect to find them.

I am thankful for closing doors, final chapters, and resolution… for without you, I would never be able to look forward to the future.

I am thankful to be realizing my dreams… to be living in a place I love and am excited to wake up to every morning.

And finally, for those of you in my life who make my heart beat a little faster… and those of you who are good for my soul…. I thank you.

Hope you and yours enjoyed a wonderful holiday!  xoxo

The itinerary included London – Edinburgh – Inverness – Liverpool – Bath – London, before heading home to the States.  We traveled via plane, train, and automobile (logging over 700 miles on the poor rental car).  I tried as much local fare as possible and visited more than my fair share of pubs & taverns (hence all the bar shots… ).  I walked until my feet hurt and then walked some more.  As an additional challenge, I knew I would be moving around a lot and carrying all my gear, so I brought only one camera and less than 20 rolls of film.  It was truly an amazing time.