Kyoto Style Sushi at Izuju | Kyoto, Japan

While in Kyoto, I ate one of the best meals of my life at Izuju. Izuju specializes in Kyoto-style sushi, which is a bit more creative than sushi that we're accustomed to. I'm not a huge fan of mackerel but Izuju made me a believer. They pickle the mackerel, which gives it this flavor that is incredibly delicious. For one of their signature rolls, Sabazushi, they fill the entire body of the fish with rice. I thought it might be too meaty or fishy, but it was so tasty and I wished that more sushi rolls were like that. The rest of the sushi was just as good and I was glad that we ordered a variety. The meal itself wasn't too expensive and worth the money. It was one of my top three meals for sure and one that I will never forget!

Muir Woods | San Francisco, California

Earlier this year, Markus and I were lucky enough to group a work trip with a mini vacation in San Francisco. Markus never visited California and this was something that need to be remedied quickly. Thankfully our friends Wendy and John lived in the Bay Area and were nice enough to let us stay with them.

We spent most of our time exploring the Bay Area and the surrounding cities. When we tired of the hustle and bustle of city life, we escaped for a few hours to visit Muir Woods. The park was absolutely stunning and the Sequoias were incredible. I've never seen anything like it and was grateful for the little interlude into the woods.

Fushimi Inari Taisha | Kyoto, Japan | 2 of 2

While Markus and I were hiking through Fushimi Inari Taisha, I distinctly remember feeling extremely calm and peaceful. Despite spending three hours hiking up a mountain on a hot August day, I had an amazing experience. I was spending the day at a beautiful shrine with my husband in Japan. How many times would I experience something like that again? We had a great time and spent most of the time discussing our pet project, The Lost Land of Yehey. Everything we saw inspired us and came up with some great ideas for our story.  I think that's my favorite part of traveling with Markus. Even though we're on vacation, we still continue to create new worlds and I wouldn't have it any other way!

Near Death Experiences | Tampa to Chicago Road Trip

Driving from Tampa to Chicago in a moving truck isn't necessarily my ideal road trip. It was even worse that we had to lug a car behind the truck too. A trip that should've taken about 18 hours turned into days. It was really slow moving and the we had a close call near Atlanta.

Markus and I were driving on I-95 when a car drove up next to us honking his horn. Markus and I assumed that the alarm on the car was going off. I motioned to the man that it was fine and I knew. He kept honking and look terrified. We both rolled down our windows and he said that we had to pull over. It was in that moment I knew there was something wrong. We pulled over on the side of the highway. As soon as we both got out of the truck, we smelled burning rubber. On the tow trolley, one of the tires was falling off. Markus and I looked at each other and freaked out. If that guy hadn't pulled us over, we could've had a terrible accident. It was pretty scary, but we were so grateful for that guy. If he didn't try to warn us, who knew would've happened. Thankfully the rest of the trip was uneventful and slow. I'm glad that was the only near death experience. I don't think I could've handled more than that. 

Hello giant Native American man.

Are you using the bathroom giant Native American man?

Did I miss 60B?

Visual evidence that we're close to Chicago.

Miyajima Shrine | Itsukushima, Japan

While Markus and I were planning our trip to Japan, we tried to think of all the places that we wanted to visit. As much as I like to think we can travel anywhere we want, the reality is we can't. We don't know if we'll ever be able to go to Japan again, so we packed our itinerary full of hotspots. Traveling within Japan is quite easy and most places are accessible by train.

One of the places that we had to see was the Miyajima Shrine, off the coast of Hiroshima. When you think of Japan or see photos of the beautiful country, there are three places that consistently appear, Tokyo, Mt. Fuji and Miyajima. We planned it so that we visited on our eight year wedding anniversary. Last year, we were at Chatsworth House in England. It's kinda crazy that we've spent the last couple holidays in exotic places. The shrine was absolutely beautiful and surreal. I had to pinch myself because it felt like a dream.

Miyajima Deer | Hiroshima, Japan

Man, it's been a while. I told myself when I got a job, I wouldn't stop posting, but look what happened. I can't believe that I haven't posted a thing on Japan. It was so lovely there and I took way too many photos. Hopefully, this will be the first of many posts!

One of my favorite places was Miyajima, a beautiful island off the coast of Hiroshima. We spent an entire day there. When we got off the ferry, we were welcomed by a blazing hot sun, a quaint little town and so many cute deer. I couldn't stop following them and kept getting in other people's photos. I felt bad, but how many times do you see deer in Japan?