One of my favorite things is traveling. Especially with Eli. We used to go on a lot of road trips here in California, and spending time in the car talking about life and our dreams as well as listening to good music and making memories associated with those songs, and exploring new places has always been one of the best ways for us to connect!!
Every summer, we like to take a day trip to Tahoe since it’s less than 2 hours from us, and to Santa Cruz since it’s about 3 hours away. We really enjoy the time we spend to get away from home and to just focus on each other. Plus there is something about being by the ocean or in the Tahoe trees that clears my mind and refreshes my soul! I always come home feeling more inspired!!
This summer, between all the weddings I photographed and moving to our new house, I was afraid we wouldn’t have the opportunity to take either trip. We also knew that we have our big vacation later this year, so we thought we shouldn’t take the time or money to take a day trip. It was practically the end of summer and we finally had a free Saturday and realized that we did need a day away, so we decided we needed a break from unpacking and off to Tahoe we went!
We stopped at the store on the way to bring a picnic to the beach. It was super sunny and warm while we ate but as soon as we were ready to swim, the thunder clouds rolled in and it started raining! It was a nice summer rain though, not too much to make you have to run inside, and it reminded me of spending my college summers in Hawaii with my sister.
The rain finally stopped, but by then we had already left the beach. Â Even though we didn’t get to swim, we still explored Camp Richardson, Â walked the trails, and relished in the fact that we were surrounded by God’s creation. Eli found a LimeBike and rode it around while I took photos of what we saw! Â We also got ice cream, even though I was wearing a sweatshirt at this point, but it is a Camp Richardson tradition for us to get ice cream at the ice cream parlor. Rain or shine! Seriously ð
I had to remind myself that even though my âplansâ for the day didn’t quite go right, that we were still hanging out in Tahoe, as opposed to not even being there. I think it’s so easy in our fast paced world to get lost in the hustle and not give yourself the space for self care you need. Â So many of us are glued to our phones or driven by chasing the dream, that we forget to live in the moment, breathe, and remember why we are even here. Â I don’t want to look back at my life years from now and wonder why I didn’t take the time to spend with my loved ones or to take a day off to be in nature and appreciate the world around me. Life is so beautiful and so short! Â Sometimes you really need to take a moment to stop and smell the roses! Â Or in this case, the pine trees, wildflowers, and the rain!
I hope you enjoyed this little sneak peek into our trip! Â What was your favorite part of the summer? Â Did you go anywhere fun or relaxing? Leave a comment and tell me all about it! I’d love to hear about it ð
ps here is the only photo I got of the two of us while we were there. Â Sorry for the iPhone, Insta-Story pic, but at least we were able to capture the moment! Â Present over perfect ð
pps this post contains affiliate links, but all opinions are my own. I would never share about something that I truly didn’t love ð