This year so far has been filled with many wonderful trips to some gorgeous places. In July I got to celebrate my birthday at the Peppermill in Reno NV, then headed to Washington via First Class thanks to my bestie, to explore Seattle and it’s surrounding cities. Shortly after my birthday travels, my husband Steve and I took another beautiful trip over to Dillon Beach, CA.

When I first arrived in Seattle, my bestie, Kayla showed me all of the sights of Pike Place: the first Starbucks (an infinite line out the door at all times of the day), flower shops, the gum wall, fish markets, the pier, and so much more.

The next day we saw a plethora of wonderful places. We started the day off at Gas Works Park. The weather was perfection: sunny and 75. The park was alive with so many couples, families of all ages, and dogs of all shapes and sizes on land and water (paddle boarding with fur parents).

We then headed over to Chateau Ste Michelle in Woodinville for some fantastically good wine tasting. It was my first time trying their wine, and I must say, they didn’t disappoint; I found some new favorites I’ll be purchasing again soon.

To end the day, we headed to the Mukilteo Lighthouse for some golden hour portraits, complete with a mini doxie named Einstein, Albert Einstein.

The next day our pro travel guides/ best friends continued to show us more gorgeous locations. We headed to the forest where I had to wait to hear it’s name for the surprise beach at the end of the trail. Meadowdale Beach Park in Edmonds was this location and it was a wonderful surprise.

Our last sight to see was Snoqualmie Falls and it was the cherrie on top of the whole trip. When you mix a lush forest with waterfalls, you get one addictive cocktail. I couldn’t help but imagine photographing a dreamy elopement at the base of the falls on the shore. This place is definitely on my wishlist of photoshoots. I’m already dying to go back.

Part 2 - Dillon Beach & SF

One week after we returned from WA, we headed over to a beach house we rented with friends in Dillon Beach (one week later, we headed back for a magical engagement session I will blog about shortly ;) ). Though there aren’t pics of the beach itself, I took portraits of some very handsome corgis and one pretty lab mix. Just know if you bring your pup on a photoshoot with me, your fur baby is guaranteed a headshot. :D

The next day, I had a maternity session in San Francisco (you will see in another blog coming soon), so our expert chef/ friend made us a couple of steak sandwiches to take to the Conservatory of Flowers at the Golden Gate Park for a nice picnic. We spent the day relaxing before the romantic session at Ocean Beach and the Sutro Baths.