After many international trips, some well planned out and some very last minute I have a pretty thorough pre departure list. I always run through checklist if I am going anywhere outside the USA or Europe, just to be sure as missing any of these steps can create major headaches! And some of the steps later in the list make traveling simply a lot more fun! Happy travels!

My visit to Squirrel Island last year was a brief one, but all the sweeter for the limited time. Spending summer weekends on this island outside of time, with dear friends who have become chosen family, sharing in their traditions over the years, has become one of my own. And the memories are deeply precious. Now we all remember a few of us already gone, the memories are that much dearer.

There are places whose beauty defy photography, which can be frustrating, as a photographer. Or you can relax into the immersive impossible beauty and occasionally shoot from the hip, embracing the novelty of an experience which cannot fully be captured or conveyed. And so instead you simply are present.

There is something quintessentially American about roadtripping, particularly when it is across the west. Throw in a good blizzard to clear the roads and flush out the wildlife and you have yourself an adventure.

As a frequent traveler, whether local or international, I always have a weekend bag packed and know what goes into my international bags, work and vacation – though I’m not sure when I last had one of those. Needless to say my camera bag is always at the ready, like sports gear, when you come home, you reset, so I will skip that one.

I don’t believe in buying things on the road when you have the items at home, so here are some critical things from years of experience. And in many countries you cannot get things you might consider essential or as on Sundays in Zurich when you have a bad cold, you cannot find goods so best to always be prepared. Of course shop local if you can, but I have some links as well if you cannot.

When a road appears passable on google maps only half of the day, and is "subject to extreme tidal conditions," meaning underwater, you have to drop everything and head to this road! 

So Mia and I headed straight for the road to Minister’s Island, in Saint Andrews by the Sea, New Brunswick. 

When we crossed from Lubec, Maine onto Campobello Island, New Brunswick we discovered that it was Canadian Thanksgiving Day, although I had not realized when I decided to head to the island and Canada for the day.  There was something so apt about this, and it is beautiful the way life speaks up when you let go and listen.

On a Sunday afternoon last October, I packed up my rescue pup and about month of camping gear in the trusty Volvo and headed to Northeastern Maine, or in local terms, as far Downeast as one can go. So far in fact that we lost all phone signal and this was the goal. The road, my pup, nature, time, and freedom to just be.