Susan Solo – Photographer | Traveler | Adventurer

Tag: USA

Tourist at Home: National Geographic Museum

Yesterday Chris and I had planned to go snowboarding, but the forecast looked a little too cold for me so we visited the National Geographic Museum in D.C. instead. For some reason, we had never been, which is crazy considering we both love National Geographic. We attended the Women of Vision and A New Age of Exploration exhibits.

Both of the exhibits were wonderful. I love that quote above, by the way. I could have said the exact same words because it’s exactly how I feel. And I actually thought seeing the exhibits would make me bitterly jealous – I assumed being a Nat Geo photographer would be my dream job. But seeing some of the harrowing images and reading the accompanying stories made me wonder if I don’t quite have the stuffing to photograph some of the assignments. I can’t even think about some of the photos without tearing up – horrible situations in the world I wasn’t even aware of, and photos that will stay with me forever because they made such a lasting impression. Even the photos I’d love to take of beautiful wildlife, for example – I’m not sure I could hang out in a jungle for hours or days waiting for the perfect shot, all the while potentially being threatened by various parasites, blood-thirsty mosquitoes, animal attacks, native attacks, the elements, and so on. I have an enormous amount of respect for the photographers who complete these assignments in hazardous and/or heart-wrenching situations. I’d love to be a travel photographer, but a National Geographic photographer is an entirely different job.

Now, if for some reason I get a call from the publication wanting me to join them on a trek to Antarctica to photograph emperor penguins, I’m so there. That’s definitely a dream of mine, despite the risks of hypothermia, frostbite, blizzards, falling into a crevasse in the ice, or accidentally drifting away on a chunk of sea ice (apparently this happens). Photographing penguins in their natural habitat is at the very top of my must-do list, and I’m absolutely planning to do it someday! And yes, this is coming from the girl who didn’t want to snowboard because it was too cold, hence the reason we ended up in a toasty warm museum, but I’m stubbornly determined to go see those penguins.

February 9, 2014
Snowshoe 2014

I can’t even believe it’s February already! Chris and I went on out first trip of 2014 over the weekend – just a long weekend in Snowshoe, WV. We had great weather and conditions! And we love Snowshoe – the Village area is so fun with lots of good restaurants and shops. The first time we went in 2012, we stayed right in the heart of the Village. There was even a Starbucks on the first floor of our building, and we were steps away from everything. It was really (really really) noisy at night though, so the past two times we stayed at the far end of the resort where it’s definitely quieter at night. It’s still a ski-in-ski-out condo steps away from the lifts, but we did have to take a shuttle bus to get to most of the bars/restaurants.

The Village is super cute all lit up at night.

And yes, we skied again! Chris and I both wanted to give it a few times before deciding if we’ll take the plunge and buy our own ski equipment. We’re really enjoying it, so we’ll probably go ahead and do just that – rental boots are kind of icky if you think about it.

Check out my fancy moves! (Really, I was probably going at a snail’s pace here, so not that fancy at all.)

Annnnnnnd here’s the shot we always take. Someday we’ll have quite the collection of ski lift selfies!

February 4, 2014
Faire Du Ski

Happy holidays everyone! I can’t even believe we’re nearing the end of 2013. Chris and I just returned from a week in Colorado where we visited with my family for Christmas, and even though I brought my snowboard with me, I decided to try skiing instead. It was so fun! I wedge-turned my way around Eldora Mountain Resort on the green trails where I actually first learned to snowboard. This was only my second time skiing – the first time was in 1993, so let’s just say that doesn’t count. I never fell once, and getting off the lift on skis is so. much. easier! While I don’t plan to abandon my board at all, I think I’ll spend a few weekends in 2014 practicing on skis.

December 30, 2013
Mischief Managed!

I solemnly swear I was up to no good this past weekend! My very dear friend, Casey, and I met up in Florida for a weekend of fun at the Universal Studios parks. We planned to visit both of the Universal parks over two days, but we specifically wanted to see the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at the Islands of Adventure park since we’re really big Harry Potter ~~nerds~~ fans. I’ll be honest, my expectations of the park were pretty high…and the re-creation of Hogwarts and Hogsmeade absolutely exceeded my hopes! On Day One, we headed straight to Hogwarts within Islands of Adventure, and we never had to wait more than 20-30 minutes for anything with the exception of a log ride in another area of the park. The weather and the crowds were actually not too bad – getting to the park at opening helped. We explored and inspected every little inch of the Harry Potter world, and were so delighted with all of it. Here are a few of my favorite point-and-shoot photos from the weekend:

I couldn’t get over how amazing the castle looks, both inside and out. The Forbidden Journey ride (favorite!) is tucked within the walls of Hogwarts, and while you’re waiting in line for the ride, you’re treated to a tour of the castle’s hallways and rooms.

We also braved the Dragon Challenge coaster, a pretty thrilling steel inverted roller coaster.

Butterbeer is one of the best things I’ve ever tasted. Ever. It was so fun to have lunch at The Three Broomsticks, and to enjoy a butterbeer with our food just like in the books/movies. People keep asking me what it tastes like, but I almost don’t want to spoil it! It’s really fun to try it for the first time without knowing what to expect. And anyway, it’s sort of indescribable.

The little shops within Hogsmeade were (forgive the pun) magical. We really felt like we were in the story.

I really want to get on the Hogwarts Express and go to Hogwarts!

The castle at night is just breathtaking.

Day Two, we headed over to the Universal Studios park, where we had a nice, sunny morning that turned into a rainy afternoon. Thankfully we were able to ride all of the attractions, and our timing allowed us to miss all the rain showers.

Probably my favorite ride at Universal Studios side was the Rip Ride Rockit coaster. I absolutely LOVE thrill rides, especially huge roller coasters. The scarier the better. That lift is straight up! Really fun. We also had a great time becoming minions on the Despicable Me 3-D ride.

As a Simpsons fans, we loved exploring Springfield and having a Krusty Burger AT Krusty Burger!

But ~~probably~~ definitely the most impressive area out of both parks combined is the Hogwarts castle and the Forbidden Journey ride in the Harry Potter world. If you’re an HP fan, I highly highly highly recommend visiting! And having a butterbeer or two. (Or three.)

July 2, 2013
Skagway, Alaska

As I was cleaning up some folders and files on my hard drives, it occurred to me that I have so many images I haven’t blogged, especially from fun things like our travels. And since I’m daydreaming about when we’ll get to travel next (we have a few things in the works!) reminiscing about past adventures helps me to pass the time. So I’m going to revisit some of those trips and post more images, in no particular order starting with Alaska. One of our stops on the trip included the cutest mining town called Skagway. Perhaps the most popular tourist attraction in Skagway is to take a narrow gauge railroad to the Summit of the White Pass, but Chris and I had done so many excursions in the previous days that we decided just to do our own walking tour of the town. We’ll just have to go back someday!

June 4, 2013