Documentary Family Photographer based in Ocean City, NJ

December 8, 2018

Fresh 48: Baby K

As a nurse with experience in women’s health (including labor and delivery), a love of birth and babies, and a mama of three with an A+ in baby swaddling, photographing brand new babies is a perfect blend of my experience as both a nurse and photographer. Interested in a hospital session after the birth of a baby? Click here to contact me for more information on Fresh 48 sessions!

This precious little love made her way into the world just two days before I got to meet her, hold her, and squeeze her mama with squeals of love and congratulations. Meet baby Kallan, the daughter of LeAnna, wedding and portrait photographer and owner of LeAnna Theresa Photography located out of Long Beach Island and South Jersey.

I met LeAnna in 7th grade, a girl with a stunning smile and a heart of gold. As we grew up, she had a front row seat to some terrible decision making on my part (I always remember her being way more level headed than me) and we have loads of memories that neither of us will share with the kids who now call us “mom.” Can I just say, these kinds of friendships are such a gift?? The friends who loved us before we were us, before we grew up and decided who we wanted to be, maybe before we even loved ourselves. I’m so thankful for her and the memories we are making today, including one of my favorite summer evenings of the year when we headed to the beach for a swim and took each others’ portraits, which included me getting rocked by a few waves with sand stuck in places I didn’t even know sand could go. I laughed until it hurt, a true gift of summer and friendship.

To say I was excited to meet this baby is an understatement, so when LeAnna invited me to come meet her while they were still in the hospital, I was thrilled. We talked babies, swaddles, nipples, and diapers (as in the ones for the mom, not the baby) and all the things women quickly discover after giving birth and how truly insane it all is, when you really stop to think about it.

Later that week when I emailed LeAnna her gallery, she sent me the sweetest note. As it turns out, she had packed her camera and baby headbands with every intention of photographing the baby herself, the overwhelming hours and days after giving birth made it impossible for her to do so. I’m so happy that I was able to capture these moments for LeAnna and her family, just the three of them in the hospital, a moment in time that will always be incredibly special to them, with images to reflect on the day when their baby was just two days old.

November 29, 2018

Road Trip: 13 Days in Poland + Germany (Part 2)

Rynek Główny, Kraków, Poland

Looking back on our trip through Poland, the one thing, above all others, that made our trip truly incredible are the Poles themselves. Not only are they kind and hospitable beyond expectation, they are joyful in the simple pleasures life has to offer. Their traditions, cuisine, art, and faith (I’ve never seen a more colorful cemetery as I did in Poland) are such beautiful expressions of who they are as a people. I loved this about Poland, and we were incredibly fortunate to have spent some of our time in the country with a great friend, Monika, and her family. After visiting Warsaw, we drove to her family’s home on a farm in the southern part of the country where the boys got a chance to play soccer with their friends and roast kielbasa over a fire pit, while Dave and I stuffed ourselves with plates full of amazing home cooked food (it’s hard to say “no thank you” when you don’t speak Polish, so we had the excuse to keep eating) and washed it down with home made moonshine. It was such a magical experience . . . even if our memory of it is a bit foggy.

Fifth Stop: Sandomierz and Stalowa Wola

To break up the drive, we stopped in Sandomierz, a small village on a lake where you can rent boats or head up the hill to the square where there are restaurants, shops, and a market in the center. We stopped and picked up some gifts to bring home with us, and it was here where we made a giant mistake (more on that later). We then traveled on to meet up with our friends for the night, and the next day, we set out for the mountains and were lucky enough to have our friend and her two boys join us.

Stalowa Wola, Poland

Sixth Stop: Szczawnica

There are two mountain ranges in the south of Poland, the Pieniny Mountains and the Tatra Mountains. Zacopane, a popular mountain resort just a few hours from Kraków, is in the Tatra Mountains, while Szczawnica is in the Pieniny Mountains and bit farther off the beaten path than Zacopane. In fact, we were incredibly lucky to have Monika with us as a majority of the tourists were Poles themselves and we met very few people who spoke English. Aside from Szczawnica being the picture perfect setting for mountain views, I loved being among Poles enjoying their summer vacations. We stayed at Hotel Batory, which was a short uphill walk from the town center, a perfect location with amazing views. In the morning, we took the shuttle out of town toward the mountains for a hike, had a picnic lunch (bagged lunch bought at the hotel), and were able to take a traditional river raft back into town. The Dunajec River sits between Poland and Slovakia, a truly beautiful landscape carved between the mountains, and that wooden raft was a thankful place for us to sit after a loooonnngg hike (which was hard on the littles, but totally worth it in the end). For the sake of our extremely tired kids, we decided to eat at the hotel that night, which was a fantastic meal (one of the best of the trip). We sat outside and watched the sun set over the mountains with good company, good food, good wine, and happy kids . . . does life even get any better than that?

Eat: Hotel Batory

Stay: Hotel Batory

Do: Hike in the mountains, ride on a wooden raft on the Dunajec River, climb and zipline at Ablandia Ropes Course

Me on the left, Monika on the right

Seventh Stop: Kraków

Kraków, without a doubt, was my favorite city of all that we visited. We found our apartment on Airbnb in a great location for a truly reasonable price. As soon as we arrived, we headed toward the main square for dinner where there was a stage set up with dancers in traditional costumes and music that just filled the atmosphere. After dinner, we stopped at the market stalls in the square, where we returned the next day and bought a large handmade tapestry for our wall and a sheepskin rug, our only real purchases of Polish goods to bring home. We bought a few pieces of handmade pottery as gifts, but only small ones as they had to survive the trip home. I only wish I had bought some for myself! The next day, we visited Wawel Castle, though we were slightly unprepared and missed our opportunity to buy tickets for specific exhibits as the tours are extremely limited and need to be purchased ahead of time. But we used our trusty guidebook to learn about the buildings, the architecture and materials used to build them, as well as their use during the WWII Nazi occupation. The kids loved crawling through the “dragon’s den” underneath the castle and hearing about the Wawel dragon. We took a long route back to our apartment to visit Kazimierz, the former Jewish quarter of the city, and we visited the Remuh Synagogue and Old Cemetery. Most buildings here were rebuilt after the war, and following the destruction of the cemetery we visited, the broken headstones were repurposed as building materials for the walls surrounding the property, a somber reminder of the city’s history.

Kraków was such a perfect way to end our time in Poland, as it’s a great city to wander. Some of my favorite moments of our adventure together were just walking the streets and squares, and stopping to take it all in.

Eat: Miod Malina

Stay: Apartment in the Old Town

Do: Wawel Castle, wander in the square in Old Town, visit Kazimierz; lick the walls of the Salt Mine (if you’re like my kids, barf)

Auschwitz Birkenau Memorial

If you find yourself in Kraków, you should visit Auschwitz Birkenau Memorial and Museum, a place that must be experienced to be fully understood.

On our last full day in Poland, we booked a day tour of Auschwitz and the Salt Mine. I was fairly confident that my boys would be prepared to handle the experience of visiting the museums at Auschwitz and Birkenau, but I was unsure of how I would react to the emotional experience of being there, so I wanted to make sure they understood what they would see as well as why it was important to see it. And it was very important that we all see it, to pay honor to the victims of genocide and understand how many lives were destroyed by hate. It’s an overwhelming experience, to say the very least, but at the end of the tour, when the guide showed us the gas chambers that were destroyed by prisoners after a group of women were able to steal explosives, we were reminded of the people who were willing to fight, to the very end.

Children’s Camp, Birkenau Death Camp

Eighth Stop: Berlin.

We returned to the place where we began, and took the opportunity to visit the TV tower and take in the city one last time. We bought tickets ahead of time and just as we reached the top, the late afternoon glow over the city was just amazing, a perfect way to end our adventure.

In case you’re wondering what our grand mistake in Sandomierz happened to be, it was leaving behind one of the boys’ day packs that was holding some souvenirs, Jackson’s Olympus camera, and our brand new GoPro. Worse than losing the items themselves was the memory cards that were inside the cameras containing images and video that hadn’t yet been uploaded. A good 24 hours had passed (and we were hundreds of kilometers away) before we even knew it was missing. It turns out, Sawyer had put it down in front of a food cart when his hands were full with a hot dog in one hand and ice cream in another (ah, the things kids get away with on vacation). Monika helped us make some phone calls and we had little hope of ever seeing any of the items again, but a few days later, we got a phone call that it had been turned in, everything in it exactly the way it had been left. We wrote thank you notes to Mrs. Marzena, the good samaritan/food cart operator who turned in our bag, and sent them with Monika (the true hero of this story!) who picked it up for us before returning to the US a few weeks later. It’s a small example of the kindness we were shown as visitors to Poland, a place I would recommend anyone to visit. It’s truly a special place that captured a piece of my heart.

November 18, 2018

Road Trip: 13 Days in Poland + Germany (Part 1)

Medievel city of Toruń, Poland

Back when we had zero dollars, student debt, and a new baby, Dave and I would day dream out loud about all the places we wanted visit one day. One of those places for him was Poland, the place where his great grandparents were born, the source of pride for his heritage, celebrated by grandparents who had a love for all things Polish, including pierogis and polka.

Though Polish only in name, it’s an identity I wear proudly after visiting this incredible place and getting to know its people. In homeschool, Carter did a unit on Poland two years ago, and after reading, researching, and on the advice of a friend who was raised in Poland, we knew we wanted to see as much of the country as time would allow, and so we got to know Poland in the most amazing way possible, on a ten day road trip.

Our adventure on the road began in Berlin, Germany . . . in a giant van. Not what we were expecting, especially given that it was manual transmission (which I can’t operate . . . and this wasn’t the time to learn). So, as Dave reacquainted himself with a stick shift, we bucked along the streets of Berlin (stalling only a few times), and once we parked that beast, the real fun began.

With all the research and planning, there are certain elements to family travel that you can’t predict. But as Dave reminds me often, “luck favors the prepared” so I tend to go overboard with preparation. In this instance, we brought as little belongings as possible. Though we brought five carry ons total, two were for heavier clothing for our stop in Iceland, so between Germany and Poland we lived out of two carry on suitcases of clothing, a smaller carry on suitcase with toiletries, and backpacks with cameras/valuables (adults) and games/entertainment (kids). Each backpack had a travel pillow attached and a reusable water bottle tucked in the side, and that’s how we rolled through eight different places where we rested our heads. Packing the back of the van resembled a game of Tetris, and by the second stop, Jackson and I had it down to a science. I do love a challenge.

First Stop: Berlin, Germany

We spent the weekend in Berlin exploring the city and stayed at Lulu Guldsmedden. Though I had read mixed reviews about the hotel, this place was perfect for our family in that we could all stay in one hotel room with a loft for the boys. We arrived on Friday and planned to have a fun dinner at Neni and hang out near the 25Hours Hotel. As we walked to the restaurant, we could see the animals below in the zoo, so of course the boys talked non-stop about going back. Dinner was amazing, and the 25Hours Hotel had this really fun, laid back vibe. On Saturday, we did a morning walking tour starting at the Brandenburg Gate and afterward, met up with a Berlin based documentary photographer Jess Haverkamp of My Family in Photos. Hands down, this was one of my favorite of the entire 18 days, as Jess captured our family as we are while visiting the Pergamon museum, playing “toilet” miniature golf at Tempelhof Field, and visiting Carter’s favorite place in the whole wide world, the Playmobil store. Berlin is a city unlike any other I’ve ever visited and I’m so glad that we started and ended here.

Stay: Lulu Guldsmedden or 25 Hours Hotel

Eat: NENI

Do: Pergamon Museum and the Playmobil store (Carter’s #1 travel recommendation!)

Second Stop: Toruń, Poland

We arrived late and checked into Hotel Gromada, and as we were walking to check in, people were everywhere walking through the streets and we heard live music playing loudly in the main square. I loved Toruń, and the fact that it was a small and easy to navigate city made it a perfect first night in Poland. We stopped at one of the restaurants in the main square for a dinner of pierogis and Polish beer, which was one of my favorite meals of the whole trip. Our kids were happy, the food was delicious, the atmosphere was magical, and for all of those things to line up gets as close as we’re getting to perfection.

Toruń is known for two things: being the birthplace of Nicolaus Copernicus and gingerbread. It’s also one of the only cities spared from the destruction of World War II, which means that the way it stands today is very close to how it’s been for centuries. While we were there, we wandered the city, climbed the tower in the main square, and stopped for gingerbread sweets before heading down the road to Malbork Castle.

Eat: Gingerbread at one of the many bakeries

Stay: Hotel Gromada

Do: Climb the tower of the Old Town Hall for views over the medieval city

On the road, we stopped for the morning and lunch at Malbork Castle, a 13th century castle built by the Teutonic Nights as well as a UNESCO World Heritage Center. The castle was badly damaged during WWII, and underwent a major restoration project. It’s an absolutely beautiful place.

Third Stop: Gdańsk

On the short drive from Malbork to Gdańsk, we made a quick proposition to the boys: to swim in the Baltic or no? Of course it was a yes. Before we got to our apartment, we stopped at Stogi beach, parked along the street and walked a short trail before finding ourselves at the shore of the Baltic Sea. Sawyer, of course, was the first one in. Just a week before, he dipped his feet in the waters on the Atlantic coast of Iceland. Ten days before, he was swimming in the Atlantic at home. In that moment, the world felt a bit smaller and more connected in a magical way, and I was grateful to see the beaches of Poland. During our time in Gdańsk, the city was celebrating St. Dominic’s Fair, an open air market that began in 1260 and still continues to this day. It’s the largest open air trade market in Europe and we happened to catch the last few days of the fair. The city was busy, lit up at night, and beautiful. Take advantage of the views from the water with a boat ride, it’s truly beautiful by night.

Eat: Correze, a 15 minute walk from our apartment with amazing food

Stay: An apartment facing Mariacka Street (here is where we stayed)

Do: Check out St. Dominic’s Fair and St. Mary’s Basilica, where you can climb to the top of the tower with views over the city of Gdańsk, or view the city by boat with POLSail.

Fourth Stop: Warsaw

The day we arrived in Warsaw was the centennial celebration of the Independence of Poland, complete with a military parade and citywide celebration. And a logistical nightmare for getting to our hotel and parking our monstrosity of a van. What seemed like a nightmare turned into one of the best experiences of the trip. Because we had to find parking outside of the old town, we were able to park near the site of the Warsaw Ghetto, and followed our guidebook for a walking tour of the history of the ghetto, the Warsaw Uprising, and the Polin Museum of Jewish History. It was surreal to walk in the places we had read so much about and the museum was incredible (I would recommend it a thousand times over). There is so much information about the rich history of Jews in Eastern Europe with interactive exhibits and beautiful artifacts. Though the darkness of the Holocaust could be felt, the focus on the culture, community, and resilience of the Jewish people is the overall message of the museum.

After the crowds cleared from the parade, we parked outside of Old Town and headed to our hotel, rolling our suitcases down cobblestone streets. And up several flights of steps. Until we got to the main desk and realized that our rooms were in another building. So we dragged our stuff about a half mile farther, up more and more steps, until we got to our rooms and nearly collapsed. This is where not knowing the language and misunderstanding conversations over the phone requires patience, because crabby kids, crowds, and a lot of sweating on that trek nearly pushed me over the edge. But again, some things are worth the effort, and our rooms were beautiful, in a perfect location, with open windows and an airy summer breeze on a busy street in what felt like the most perfectly Polish setting.

Eat: At an outdoor restaurant on Castle Square

Stay: Castle Inn

Do: Polin Museum of the History of Polish Jews

25Hours Hotel, Berlin

U-Bahn Station, Berlin

Pariser Platz

Gendarmenmarkt Square, Berlin

Gendarmenmarkt, Berlin

Toruń, Poland

Malbork Castle

Stogi Beach, Poland

St. Domenic’s Fair, Gdańsk, Poland

Gdańsk, Poland

Gdańsk, Poland, by boat at night

Gdańsk, Poland

Polin Museum of the History of Polish Jews, Warsaw, Poland

Castle Square, Warsaw, Poland

Old Town, Warsaw, Poland

October 3, 2018

Three Day Stopover in Iceland: Part 2

In my previous post, I explained a lot about why we wanted to stop in Iceland on our way to Germany and Poland, but now I want to explain how we did it, and with as little luggage as possible.

For 18 days and two different climates, we packed 5 moderate sized carry ons, total. Yes, you read that correctly. Two carry ons for winter clothes (Iceland) two carry ons for summer clothing, and small one for toiletries. Inside, we packed two small duffels to pack with goods for souvenirs and we ditched almost all of our toiletries that weren’t necessary on the way home. Each person wore a backpack with one spare change of clothes and a bathing suit (no unpacking suit cases for the Blue Lagoon upon arrival). For the two days we spent hiking on beaches and near waterfalls, this is what we wore:

-Dry fit tights and long sleeves for base layer

-Heavier pants layer (like sweats, wore only by kids)

-Rain pants

-Chambray shirt

-Down sweater (Patagonia)

-Rain jacket

-Beanie hats

-Smart wool socks

-Rubber boots (hiking boots for Dave)

Everyone who wanted to stay dry, stayed dry . . . except Carter, who had an unfortunate run in with a wave when he tried to release a fish back into the sea. No good deed goes unpunished, am I right?? As you will see from the photos, people stripped layers as the day warmed up, but the cold mornings demanded the full list above.

Day 2:

08:00 Seljalandsfoss. The iconic waterfall that you can walk behind (and the reason for wearing rain gear). It’s magnificent.

09:00 Skógafoss. Most Instagrammed waterfall on earth!!!!!! I made that up, but I would put money on it. If you go at the right time, you can even see a rainbow . . . or a double rainbow! In the summer season, the land beyond the top of the stairs is accessible and you can hike along the river that feeds the waterfall. It’s just breathtaking (the photo of Jackson above was taken at the top of the waterfall here).

10:00 Sólheimajökull. Driving east on Route 1, there is a small turn off toward the glacier. From here, you can do guided glacier walks, which we did back in 2015. When researching our stops, we originally eliminated this one, because Sawyer’s feet are too small to use the crampons, so he wouldn’t have been able to walk along the glacier. But, it was perfect, because even if we didn’t walk ON the glacier, we got close enough to see it and were able to climb under one part that was marked, and the boys were awestruck when they got to run their fingers along the surface of it.

11:30 Vík í Mýrdal. We parked at the tourist stop for bathroom breaks and access to the black sand beach here. It was a gorgeous day, we walked along the beach and it was warm enough to shed some layers and Sawyer even put his feet in the water. We hiked to the end of the beach and back, grabbed a snack and moved on to . . .

13:00 Reynisfjara Beach. This was by far the most crowded place we visited, parking was a bit of a challenge. In 2015, when we visited the cafe at the top of the hill, we ate lamb soup and the servers spoke only Icelandic. Not the case this time, as it was packed with tourists, but still delicious and worth the stop. The basalt columns on the beach are wondrous creations, and it’s impossible not to be awestruck by their size and shape. Unfortunately, this was the spot where Carter was met by a wave, and nearly lost his mind while we were dumping water out of his shoes and ringing his socks out. This is where being “flexible” comes into play (aka letting your kid run shoeless in a rocky field). At this point, the weather was warm and these kids were stripping clothing left and right, so no different than at home but definitely more embarrassing.

16:00 Dyrhólaey. There is a hill with the lighthouse on top that looks down toward a naturally formed stone arch in the middle of the sea. It’s pretty amazing. The afternoon light was beautiful here, and if it weren’t for two very unhappy, tired people (one shoeless), I could have stayed here for hours!

Seljalandsfoss

Skógafoss

Sólheimajökull

Vík í Mýrdal

Reynisfjara

Dyrhólaey . . . perhaps we pushed too hard??

We headed back to our Airbnb, had snacks for dinner (that’s how we vacation, with cheese and meats, and crackers!!), Carter worked on updating his YouTube, we wandered around the farm, and hung out with our Icelandic cats, Snulli and Bolli. And Sawyer ran around the yard nude like he was on the cover of that Sigur Ros album with Gobbeldigook (tbh, I played Sigur Ros nonstop in the car while we drove in Iceland, so maybe it was my fault).

DAY 3

We spent the entire day with a guide on a super jeep tour from Midgard Adventure (we found them through wiiceland.com, a fantastic resource!). Our guide, Disco, was THE BEST. He took us across rivers in the jeep, we hiked to waterfalls (a few sites from Game of Thrones filming), picnicked at Þórsmörk, hiked to the top of a hill that looked all across the landscape, toward waterfalls, the sea, and inland toward the glacier. On the way back, we stopped at Þórsmörk Volcano Huts and another waterfall. It was once of the most incredible days of my life, the beauty of Iceland just takes my breath away and I was so lucky to experience it with my family, all five of us.

Þórsmörk

Water so pure you can drink from the streams . . .

Þórsmörk Volcano Huts

More Caves . . .

Despite all the planning, people were wet. On purpose. Good thing our Airbnb came with a dryer?

The next morning, we left at 3am to catch our flight to Berlin, which was a complete 180 degree turn from being out in the cold, quiet countryside to being in a warm city. It’s wild to go from one to the other. Stay tuned for our trip through Germany + Poland . . . and thank you for following along!

September 30, 2018

Three Day Stopover in Iceland: Part 1

We did it. We took this circus on a European tour. Yes, it was a lot of work. Yes, it was a lot of planning. And yes, it was worth every penny and every ounce of sweat we poured into this epic family adventure. Family travel is never easy, and never EVER an actual “vacation” in the sense of relaxation and getting away from stress. It’s basically taking all of your stress, packing it in bags, putting it on an airplane, and piling on some extra stress onto your back once you arrive. Also, there’s jet lag. Although we travel a lot as a family of five, it feels foolish for me to offer any advice, since drama seems to inevitably find us wherever we might go (like on our trip to Colorado when the first hour at the airport involved a mass exodus via Philadelphia for the Super Bowl and the first hour of the flight involved my husband having to put an IV in a fellow passenger who lost consciousness, setting the tone for the entire week!?!), but the three things I find to be most helpful are 1. Pack smart 2. Be flexible 3. Always ALWAYS have more snacks than you’ll ever need.

We didn’t get to travel quite as much as we had wished before having kids, so we made a pact to see and explore as much of this beautiful planet as possible with our kids while raising them. And honestly, on days earlier this summer when all four of the males with whom I share a home were driving me insane, I’d think I’ll love them more when we’re in another country. It sounds a little crazy, and maybe not totally true, but I’d much rather do laundry and parenting and meals in a different location, on an adventure, having fun. Even though the responsibility and work travels with you, there’s just something amazing about experiencing a place, it’s beauty, and it’s culture together as a family.

I married a man with a 50% Polish family tree and I also have an incredible friend who was born and raised in Poland who offered to help us plan, so we’ve been talking about this trip for the better part of five years. When we decided that this was the year, we looked at all of our options for the best way to explore the country and finally landed at the conclusion that for us, the best way would be to fly into Berlin, Germany and drive in a circuitous route through Poland, flying back home from Berlin. And when we looked at airlines, we decided to add one more country: Iceland.

Dave and I spent our 10 year anniversary in Iceland back in 2015, and I fell so HARD for this place, a wanderlust obsession that I still feel tugging at my soul. I freaking love Iceland and everything about it. So I nearly exploded with joy at the thought of returning with our sons, literally a dream come true. Two major upsides to traveling through Iceland on a stopover are the cost savings through Icelandair and a chance for us to adjust to the time difference on the way to mainland Europe.

After we returned, I was flooded with messages from people asking about Iceland and whether or not it would fit their family’s needs and budget. While I would never, ever deter someone from going, here are some logistical truths: 1. It can be expensive. The cost of gas and car rentals is a lot higher than other places, as well as the cost of food. We used a grocery store and had a kitchen, but for three days and simple groceries, it was at least 2-3 times what we spend at home. 2. It can be physically challenging. Being prepared can definitely make this part easier (rain and wind gear, especially) and if you’re expecting the varying weather patterns and rocky/slippery hiking trails, maybe it’s not so difficult. But for little ones (especially 5 and under), getting to those hidden away places is definitely going to be a challenge. 3. The tourist boom is changing the country. It’s harder and harder to find accommodations and we encountered way more visitors this time than our previous trip. Planning ahead is absolutely necessary to get what you need/want and planning activities to avoid the busiest times are the way to go to have a better experience.

Things to consider and read before you go:

I read two books by Alda Sigmundsdóttir, one called Little Book of Tourists in Iceland and one called Icelandic Folk Legends. The land where we stayed had been farmed since the year 847 (yes, you read that correctly, 847) and was the location of the famous Icelandic saga, Njáls saga. It’s pretty incredible to be standing on the soil of such history and our kids loved learning about it, and we actually kept the Icelandic Folk Legends book with us on our hikes and read it in the car while traveling from spot to spot. A great book to read with kids, though less focused on Iceland in particular, the D’Aulaires’ Book of Nordic Myths is a beautifully illustrated children’s book that teaches Norse mythology and the legends that shaped Norse culture.

All of the natural sights in Iceland are free to visit and some are located on private property. I get it that we all want amazing photos and experiences, but it’s best to be respectful of the rules and the landowners who graciously allow visitors. We saw a lot of people doing dumb, disrespectful stuff, all in the name of the ‘Gram. Be a nice tourist, follow the rules, leave only footprints, but leave them in the right places. The land is so fragile and changing everyday as a result of a warming planet, which is all the more reason to visit but also to travel ethically.

Here is our itinerary for three days in Iceland:

DAY 1

06:30 Land in Keflavik.

07:30 Blue Lagoon. The Blue Lagoon is awesome. It feels a little like the Disney World of Iceland, as there are only tourists and it’s nothing like the traditional pools the Icelanders use (head to the public pools in downtown Reykjavík for an authentic experience), but it’s still a beautiful, fun place. And, by far, the best place to burn off jet lag. Tip for photographs: I went to get my camera after swimming with my family for a while, but I wasn’t allowed back near the pool once I had my clothing back on. If given the option to do it over, I would have grabbed my camera and gone back in the water (carefully) with it. I was able to get some shots from the cafe area, but my images would have been better from the entrance area.

Drive to downtown Reykjavík.

11:30 Pastries at Brauð & Co., Reykjavík. Omg, I’m still thinking about them. They are without a doubt one of the best things I ate in all three weeks. Worth the calories!

12:00 Hallgrímskirkja Church, Reykjavík. This is the famous church in Reykjavík whose bell tower looks down on the city’s colorful roof tops all the way to the bay. We visited while the organist was playing, truly an experience to behold.

13:00 Sæmundur Gastro Pub at Kex Hostel. This place is so perfectly eclectic and charming and the food is amazing. We grabbed drinks here on our first visit to Iceland, so it seemed appropriate to revisit . . . with kids during the day.

15:00 Check into Airbnb in Hvolsvöllur. You guys. This was the most AMAZING place I could possibly imagine. Close to all the beautiful wonders in South Iceland, on a freaking HORSE FARM, black sand beaches just a few miles down the country road, horses and sheep in the back yard, two adorable cats who became our pets during the visit, fields for kids to roam, and the Westman Islands in the distance. We pulled up and moved our bags in and it was a “pinch me, is this actually real??” moment in my life. I’d like to point out that the cost of accommodations is much less than you’d expect, especially for three bedrooms, a full kitchen, and laundry facilities.

17:00 Check out black sand beaches. Two kids slept off jet lag in the Airbnb while we ventured down to the beach. And quite honestly, this is the beauty of Iceland. When I contacted our host about a question I had, he told me that they only put a lock on the door when they started renting out the house, as it’s a requirement for Airbnb (one for which I’m grateful, but also, it says a lot about the crime rates in Iceland). Icelanders are extremely polite, helpful, wonderful people who have always treated us with kindness as visitors.

By the end of the day, I was so ready to flop into a comfy bed (and quiet honestly, these were the comfiest Airbnb beds on the gosh darn planet) but our napping boys awoke and so we rallied for some card games before bed, add that to the 11pm sun, and this seemed like the longest day in the history of days. But it was amazing. Stay tuned for Part 2!

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