It's Time to Say Good-Bye

It's time to say "good-bye" to this blog because next Tuesday the new blog and website will launch. It's been almost two years since I started with blogger, but change is inevitable and it's time for me to embrace it.

This picture couldn't be more perfect for this post. It's fall in New Zealand and you can see the leaves changing colors. There's just enough green left to show you how drastic the replacement of color really is.

Here I witnessed autumn for the first time. Sure I've seen fall before, but nothing like this, nothing that made me stop and appreciate what my eyes were telling me. Maybe my age is finally revealing some of the wisdom that I have gained in the past few years or maybe I'm a sucker for the power of nature, but one thing is for sure: I will never overlook the season between summer and winter.

A Nut Orchard Vacaville, CA ~ Picture of the Week

I've spent some time in Vacaville, CA now that my in-laws live there, but I had no idea what I was missing out on. I went wandering one afternoon and this is what I found. I think I walked about 100 steps to find this nut orchard. Who knew it would be that easy to find light worth dying for?

On the Way to Arthur's Pass

Before I get to the meat of this post I would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year! We are all blessed to be here experiencing 2010, so let's live it like nobody is watching!

Also I want to be sure you know the details of our picture of the week. It's pretty simple, but a little explanation goes a long way. Last year Brian and I lived in Singapore and Cambridge, United Kingdom. We put VanHatten Photography on the back burner and Brian's career took the reins. And even though we went abroad for work, we took every travel opportunity we could muster.

Now we are back at home in San Diego and we have gigabytes of pictures to show you, so we came up with VP Tuesday, which is VanHatten Photography's picture of the week. Every Tuesday I will post a picture from our experience abroad. We are open to suggestions and comments so please let us know what you think.

Now onto the meat of this post.

Brian and I had the pleasure of being guests at a wedding this past Saturday and it was such a vibrant reminder of all the great adventures we've had since we got married! It also stimulated conversation about traveling, which is something Brian and I hold dear to our hearts. So in perfect form New Zealand became a topic of many stories that night, mainly because it is so hard for us not to talk about it.

One of the most difficult things to conquer when you travel through New Zealand is the urge to stop driving and look around. Everything is so breathtakingly magnificent that you want to stop every 20 minutes, and at that pace you will never reach your destination. So our advice is plan your trip well! Talk to people who have been there and listen to what they have to say.

This picture was taken at Lake Pearson on our way to Arthur's Pass; it was one of several stops along the 73, also know as The West Coast Road.

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Kepler Track, South Island of New Zealand

If you find yourself on the South Island of New Zealand, this track is a must do! It may be 60 kilometers long, but it is worth every step.

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England's Countryside Swept Me off My Feet

People have asked me what I liked most about living in England and for a while I thought it was because London's fashion was accessible in less than 60 minutes. Then I thought it was because I could fly from Stansted to anywhere in Europe at bargain prices. But all along the countryside had won me over and it was never far from my doorstep.

The grass never departed from its magnificent green color. Signs of England's history appeared around every bend. Rain regenerated the land weekly. Time became an endless commodity. And getting lost never felt so good. These were the things that swept me off my feet.

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New Zealand Chapter 2 ~ Personal

Thank you for being so patient with me these last few weeks. I am at least a month behind, but I have an endless supply of pictures for you. Here are a few things in the pipeline: yoga in Singapore, Cambridge, London, Istanbul and Scotland. It's been a busy month, but every moment has been well worth the 30,000 miles of air travel and 1,000 miles of rail travel.

To all the tour guides of the world, I have a new found respect for you. I don't know how you fight crowds and visit the same places every day.

Here is Christchurch, New Zealand.

New Zealand Chapter 1 ~ April 7-21, 2009 ~ Personal

The last month has been such a whirlwind. I feel like I have been on a plane more than on the ground and I am not sure which time zone to follow. It may be tough to sleep upright, but the sacrifice has been well worth it.

In between packing our temporary home in Singapore and moving to Cambridge, England, Brian and I managed to skip away to the illustrious South Island of New Zealand. It has been on our list of places to visit for ages and finally it was our turn to see it's magnificence.

I am deathly afraid of heights so climbing the Franz Joesph Glacier was a heart-pounding experience. But heights were the least of my thoughts. Deep crevasses, melting ice and near vertical slopes conquered my every thought as I continued to climb. "Why did I elect to hike on a glacier? Were pictures worth the risk of falling into a crevasse? Would I survive if I fell into a crevasse? Wow, the ice seems to be melting awfully fast! Maybe I can turn around and wait for everyone at the bottom."

At the end of the climb my fears became triumphs and I walked back to the bus with a myriad of stunning pictures. Now, there was only one fear left to defeat: bungee jumping.