Day Trip and a New App

We haven't had much rain around here this season. So when we had a storm move through here earlier this week, I was a bit excited that one of my favorite day trip locations might actually have received a bit of snow. I was hoping there was enough snow to be able to take my iPhone and my DSLR along to capture some incredible photos.

So with a couple of friends and their children, we made the drive to Yosemite yesterday. We took along layers of clothing, expecting it to be a bit on the chilly side and possibly see some snow on the valley floor.

Unfortunately, the snow that fell on Tuesday had no chance of lasting with our warm spring temperatures. Even though we didn't see any snow in Yosemite Valley, the tops of the towering granite mountains had enough snow to add just a bit of a reminder that it really is still early spring.

On our way out of the park, we did stop at one of my favorite spots to take a photo:

Before photo, straight from my iPhone with no edits and no filters

Before photo, straight from my iPhone with no edits and no filters

Once I arrived back home, I took a bit of time to edit this photo with a new photo editing app:

After photo, edit done with Enlight

After photo, edit done with Enlight

What app did I use? I have been experimenting with Enlight. Not sure how I found out about this app, but I am loving all of the features of this app. Now, I am not usually one to pay for an app, but because I love photography, I decided the price was worth it.

On the Enlight blog and their Facebook page, they are starting to share some tutorials on how to use some of the features contained in the app to help you create some incredible images.

If you give Enlight a shot, be sure to tag me in one of your photos on Instagram. I would love to see what you create!

 

 

17 Mile Drive

Do you have a least favorite season? Mine is winter.

Contrary to popular belief, the sun is not always shining in California. Especially in the Central California Valley in winter.

a typical foggy California winter morning

We have quite a few foggy days here, and sometimes a week can go by without us seeing blue skies and sunshine.

Because I love getting a healthy dose of natural vitamin D (aka. sunshine!) on a regular basis, I knew, after a week of hardly seeing any sunshine, I needed to find some, somewhere!

So last weekend, my gracious husband decided to put some projects on hold and treat me to a day out on the California coast. We decided to try to find a deli (we found an amazing one!), pick up some sandwiches for lunch, and head over to 17 Mile Drive along the Pacific coastline.

It was an incredibly gorgeous day!

beach along 17 mile drive
the lone cypress tree along 17 mile drive
Pacific Ocean off 17 mile drive

Once we finished driving (and stopping at many spots!) along 17 Mile Drive, we headed down to Point Lobos to do a little walking around before dinner.

view from our hike at Point Lobos

It truly amazes me how many beautiful spots there are in California! 

Where do you like to go for day trips in your area?

An Unplanned Summer Day Trip

My husband decided to take the day off today, so we got Kelsey up a little earlier than usual and made our way to this location:

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No, we didn’t travel to Philadelphia. We went to the Jelly Belly Factory! We have been there quite a few times, but it is still a fun destination with a free tour and a free bag of Jelly Bellys at the end of the tour.

Then we headed here for lunch:

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We don’t have a Chick-fil-a very close to our home, so we made sure to stop here for lunch today. Their chicken sandwiches are so good and I just love their fries.

Before heading home we stopped here (Barnes & Nobles):

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The closest book store to us is over 30 minutes away. My one big unrealistic dream would be to have a room with floor to ceiling bookshelves completely filled with books. Maybe one day! The only thing we bought here was a Sherlock Holmes book for Kelsey. If I had unlimited funds, I would have bought a lot of books today!

Question for you: Where do you like to go on day trips?