Chattanooga Hike Trip

March 25, 2021 in Adventure

Ooohwheeee it felt good to get out and hit the trails again! I hadn’t been able to get out on any kind of elevation since leaving Hawai’i in December and I was missing it in a big way!

There’s a couple, Kristen and Kyle, that I’ve known for over 15 years now and they just moved to Chattanooga last year who I’ve been dying to visit! Now that the weather is finally a bit more bearable for a tropical bird such as myself, I was super psyched to make my way over there and spend a few days exploring that cute town and the local hikes on Signal Mountain.

One thing that’s really nice about Tennessee is that spring comes on in a big way around here. The winter does make things quite grey, but that only makes the greens growing in even brighter and more delightful to behold. Now I really can’t wait for the cherry blossom trees in April!

Signal Mountain is covered in trails and in three hours we didn’t even do half of them. Just another excuse to come back to Chattanooga! I think I’m going to look into campout spots too because it’s getting to be perfect Vaughn the Adventure Van weather for sure!

I’ll always have a piece of my heart on Pele’s ridge’s on O’ahu, but I am extremely grateful to be living in an area where I can finally begin to realize my dream career as a full time artist that is also flush with outdoor adventure areas.

As pretty as it is out here, you better watch out…there’s all kinda weirdos creeping around these trails!

3.25.2021

Visit to Circle B Bar Nature Preserve, FL

June 17, 2020 in Adventure, Inspiration

When I read ‘lots of wildlife' in the reviews, I honestly did not think much of it… but WOW was I wrong! I got so much closer to huge dinosaurs in the form of herons, cranes, and gators than I could have ever imagined!!

What an awesome up-close animal crossing experience! These cranes were not concerned about our presence at all!

Do you see that camo gator hiding out in plain sight in the pic above? We also got to see a heron tousling with his “sushi” dinner before getting spooked by a really big alligator splash just behind him.

And how about this Florescent Swamp Chicken (possibly not the scientific name) pecking here and there?! I wish the brightness of her face would have come through the photo more - it was like traffic cone orange!

There were literally huge wetland birds in every direction, mostly oblivious to our passing by. Circle B Bar is over 1,200 acres of nature preserve with about 10 miles of trails throughout with both hikers and families enjoying all this pristine coastline, so the animals at this point feel very safe and carry on their normal activities as if we weren’t even there. So fascinating!

I was literally speechless with just how many HUUGE gators there were just a foot or so below the grassy pathway. We even saw and heard them leaping out of the water at prey, sometimes within fifteen feet of us! Yikes!!

All in all, a fabulous day with my adventure buddy Baila!

Oh, and in case you’re wondering… I do believe I’ve made a personal breakthrough and will be carrying a parasol with me from now on on flatland hikes because this Bird is officially over getting sunburned, ya dig??? ;)

6.17.2020

First Time Plein Air Painting!

April 10, 2019 in Adventure, Aloha, Artist Diary, Inspiration, Gouache

I had a truly magical journey into the jungle with my sister artist Zee this weekend., followed by relaxing and playing with some paints I brought along in a clearing by the head of the hike.

I cannot believe this was actually both of our first times painting from nature. We enjoyed an absolutely gorgeous hike through the jungle admiring a variety of ferns, listening to birds calling back and forth right over our heads (which you can hear in the vid below!), and gasping over the brightest greens you can imagine.

We are super excited to do more artsy adventures together and I can’t wait to practice more live plant painting with my gouache paints!

Now enjoy some incredible jungle bird calls:

4.10.2019

Traveling to Walla Walla

April 03, 2019 in Adventure, Artist Diary

Had such an amazing time in quaint Walla Walla, as well as roadtripping to Spokane, WA for a fantastic Dale Chihuly + other glassmakers exhibit, and a surprise Cody Trepanier show of his monumental Arctic paintings that looked so frigid you could almost get a chill in the gallery.