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Looking Back: Visiting Kona, Hawaii in January 2018

Pololu Valley, Hawaii.
Pololu Valley, HI

One of my favorite recent vacations has to be visiting Kona, Hawaii in early 2018. As part of my “Looking Back” blog series, this entry may turn out to be one of my most in-depth reviews of a trip to date. So I’ll be approaching this vacation review a little differently. Instead of one all-encompassing overview, I’ll be splitting the days off into individual entries, as the majority of my time was spent hiking at different locations around the Big Island. Over the next few days, I’ll be adding new entries about my hiking (and snorkeling) memories from Kona and the surrounding area!

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Looking Back: Visiting New Orleans, LA in December 2017

New Orleans, Louisiana.
New Orleans, Louisiana.

One of the reasons I’m able to travel as often as I do is thanks to my husband’s career. He’s a space physicist (cool, right?) and gets to go to a handful of meetings around the globe most years. Depending on where he’s going and my work schedule, I will frequently tag along. In December specifically, he usually goes to a large conference held at various locations in the states. 2017 had us visiting New Orleans – quite possibly one of the best work trips yet. (And if all goes well, we’ll be back there in 2021, too!)

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Hiking to Penitentiary Hollow at Lake Mineral Wells State Park, Texas

Penitentiary Hollow at Lake Mineral Wells State Park, Texas.
Penitentiary Hollow at Lake Mineral Wells State Park, Texas.

My birthday was a few days ago, so I went hiking to Penitentiary Hollow at Lake Mineral Wells State Park in Mineral Wells, Texas. Now that’s a socially-distant way to celebrate! Penitentiary Hollow can be accessed directly by car, or by hiking the Red Waterfront Trail. Of course I chose the trail, and the views did not disappoint!

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Hiking the Spillway Trail at Cleburne State Park, TX

The Spillway at Cleburne State Park in Cleburne, TX.
Hiking the Spillway Trail at Cleburne State Park in Cleburne, TX.

Cleburne State Park is an hour from where I live, making it just close enough for a day trip and just far enough to help scratch the travel itch. I decided to go hiking the Spillway Trail at Cleburne State Park yesterday to enjoy the continuing good weather here in Texas. The trail itself is short but with a nice elevation climb, offering some spectacular views of the spillway.

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Hiking Benbrook Lake in Crowley, TX.

Stacked limestone rocks on the shore of Benbrook Lake in Crowley, TX.
Stacked limestone rocks on the shore of Benbrook Lake in Texas.

I decided to head out a bit farther from home for the day and went hiking at Benbrook Lake in Crowley, TX, this week. This reservoir is under the jurisdiction of the Army Corp of Engineers, and home to several small parks, boat ramps, and trails. At this time of year, many of the facilities are closed, but I enjoyed having the majority of the shoreline to myself on this warm, autumn day. The geology of the shoreline is visually interesting, and gives a hiker a different terrain compared to other trails in the area. And…did I mention the fossils?

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Looking Back: Visiting Eastern State Penitentiary in October 2016

The iconic barber chair at Eastern State Penitentiary, Philadelphia, PA.
The iconic barber chair at Eastern State Penitentiary, Philadelphia, PA.

In October of 2016, my employer sent me to Philadelphia for three weeks on a task force mission for one of our properties. I spend the majority of my time on the road for work at work, but occasionally I’ll get a rare day off. While in Philly, I spent one of those days visiting Eastern State Penitentiary. This prison-turned-museum is perfect for urban explorers – especially this close to Halloween!

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Halloween Room Mural

Halloween miniature layout in front of mural.
Halloween Room

As mentioned in my last blog post about the Halloween Wall mural I had the pleasure of painting in 2018, I bring you the main event: the Halloween Room mural! This project entailed doing a continuous mural on all four walls to be the background of a Halloween-themed layout. The client was looking for a silhouette-style twilight mural with bright purples and blues, bordering between realistic and fantastical.

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Halloween Mural

Halloween wall mural and door treatment.
Halloween Mural

The backstory:
The couple that hired me for this mural has an extensive Halloween-themed layout they set out in their house. Each year, the neighborhood kids come by and enjoy the layout during trick-or-treating. Moving forward, the homeowners decided they wanted to avoid the trouble of setting it up and tearing it down each year. Instead, they decided to make part of their garage a dedicated room for a permanent installation. I provided this Halloween mural on the outer wall before entering the inner room. (I also provided the mural in the entirety of the layout room, but more on that later.) Read on for a brief look into my process in creating this Halloween mural.

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