Miami

two pools and a private beach? Sold.

Off to Miami tomorrow.
I havent felt so unprepared for a trip in a long time, and I dont really know what to expect.
In all my travels, America hasn't made the list, and I've never been to Florida.
My mom is going for work and they're putting her up at the super slick Gansevoort, so while shes working all day, I'm playing all day.
Or really, resting. The only must see on my list is the deco architecture, and while I know theres more to see, I really just don't have it in me.
R & R is the name of the game for Miami. 3 days there, 3 days in Key West, where a family friend will join us. For that part of the trip, I'll be on their train, and I'm very ok with that.
Essentially, I just dont want to think.
I've been sick for over a week, didn't rest the way I usually do, partied too hard at a birthday party over the weekend, and havent been able to go to the gym in over a week.
In other words, I'm wiped out.
5am at the airport tomorrow morning. Yikes.

One of the better things about warm weather climates is that fact that you can pack so much in a suitcase. Its quite nice.

I Spent The Past Weekend In Joshua Tree.

Leave It To The Japanese...

...to improve the water fountain.
Pretty badass.

Two for St. Lucia please.

Just wow.
Ive been wanting to take a Caribbean cruise in December for months. We need a vacation. And I need a vacation where the work is done for me. I've never really been anywhere tropical, save for Easter Island, and Hawaii when I was a kid. As much as Moroco and Indochina are on my list, for this vacation I just need pure relaxation.
 The past couple weeks Ive researched it more, narrowed it down to Holland America, which is beautiful, has astonishing service, and who Ive taken before on a cruise to Alaska. I was going to go to AAA tomorrow and talk about options, try to get a discount through them, and maybe make the first payment.
For me, I always question if I can afford something, and I dont ever say Im going to do something until its already in motion, or done.
Stevens the opposite.
Hippie friends always talk to me about the power of putting something out into the universe, and then having it come to you. Im a bit more skeptic. To me its exceptionally grating to hear someone always talk about grand plans, or things theyre going to do, when they never do them.
However, Im rethinking putting thoughts out in the universe.
I had plans to go to AAA tomorrow.
I needed $3,446.
And today, I got a check for $3,447.
Im in a state of shock. I usually get checks from one cent, to $200. To get one that could cover a whole 10 day vacation? I feel like I won the lotto. And for the exact dollar amount, practically? Now thats just madness. And for something I did two and a half years ago. Bonkers.
I feel goddamn ecstatic.
The next 4 months are going to be me fantasizing about riding horses in the ocean, swimming with sea turtles, riding catamarans, and zip-lining through the jungle.
I've seen the light at the end of the tunnel, and it looks like this:

Vintage Air Hostesses.

The good old days.

Cobh, Ireland

Mount Roraima

Mount Roraima is the highest of the Pakaraima mountain chain in South America. The 31 square kilometer summit area is defined by 400 meter tall cliffs on all sides and includes the borders of Brazil, Venezuela, and Guyana. The tabletop mountains of the Pakaraima’s are considered some of the oldest geological formations on Earth, dating back to some two billion years ago.

R.I.P Shrek The Sheep!

Shrek the New Zealand sheep, whose ability to avoid the shearers made him a national celebrity, has died.

Shrek came to prominence in 2004 after evading capture for six years by hiding in caves on the South Island.

The cunning Merino lost his giant 27kg (60lb) fleece in a televised shearing.

The 16-year-old sheep had a high-profile career. He met then Prime Minister Helen Clark, became the subject of several children's books and made regular charity appearances.

"Shrek's owner, John Perriam, of Bendigo Hill station, said the famous sheep had to be put down over the weekend because of age-related illnesses.

"He was just an ordinary sheep, went awol and hid, and when he was found he became the darling of the nation," Mr Perriam told local broadcaster TVNZ.

"He had an unbelievable personality. He loved children and he was really good with the elderly in retirement homes."

Shrek's giant fleece - enough to make 20 large men's suits - was auctioned off in 2004 for children's medical charities.

Josie Spillane of Cure Kids said over the years Shrek had raised more than $150,000 (£75,000) for the charity, which funded research into life-threatening illnesses.

"At the end of the day, it is the death of an iconic Kiwi. He just happens to be a sheep," she told the Southland Times.

Local reports said a memorial service would be held for Shrek at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Tekapo, and that his owner planned to place a bronze statue of the sheep in the local town.

Mr Perriam said that Shrek's legacy would continue."

While driving through New Zealand, Steven and I ended up in a teeny tiny small town claiming to be the home of "shrek the sheep". We walked through a little museum in a house, dedicated to Shrek, flipped through books about him, and it was clear that we were the only people who didnt know who he was.

My favorite fact about Shrek was that they flew this goddamn sheep onto a mammoth ICEBERG, in order to give his shearing the drama it deserved.

This really happened.

I love the kiwis. 

Moroccan Blue

Morocco is renowned for its colors, with its cities awash in vivid shades of red, purple, green and gold. But things are a little different in Chefchaoen, a town in the northwest nestled among the Rif Mountains. Take a stroll through Chefchaoen’s streets and you’ll be hard-pressed to find something that isn’t painted a particular shade of blue. 

Chefchaoen, founded in 1471, was once a refuge of Jews and converted Christians of Muslim heritage. They sought refuge in the safety of these mountains after the Spanish Reconquista in medieval times, a period in which Christian kingdoms retook Muslim-controlled areas of the Iberian peninsula. The town was painted the powder-blue of tekhelel, a natural dye made of shellfish. In the bible, Israelites are commanded to use this dye to color one of the threads of their prayer shawl. Though tekhelel is no longer available and the city’s population of Jews has diminished, the tradition has carried on through the centuries. Blue pigment is sold in pots and bags throughout the city, and residents faithfully refresh the paint on their homes, flower pots, balcony railings, doors and practically everywhere else in the community. Even the interiors of many of these buildings are painted blue.

 The pigments may vary in color now, ranging from periwinkle to aqua, but the effect is no less spectacular, providing a monochromatic stage from which every other color dazzles, particularly the merchandise hung on walls outside of markets and shops. 

Of course, Chefchaouen is known for more than just its unique paint job. The city offers handicrafts that aren’t available in other areas of Morocco, such as wool garments and blankets, and is also one of the main producers of cannabis in the nation. It is often sold in great abundance at stands alongside fruits and vegetables. On holidays Chefchaouen is filled with tourists, especially the Spanish. Perhaps they’re making up for lost time, as the city was closed to European visitors until 1920.

The Seven Tallest Summits In The World

Iceland Volcano

A seven year old girl carries a newborn baby lamb as an ash cloud creeps in after the eruption of Grimsvötn volcano in Iceland.

Long Exposure Aircraft Photos

I NEED to go here.

At the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island owned by Hilton Hotels, guests can spend the night 5 meters under the Indian Ocean in a private suite. The suite is encased in plexiglass and is accessible by descending a spiral staircase.
All you need is a loved one, and some mushrooms....actually, scratch that. I'd probably have a panic attack. 

Abandoned Soviet Monuments

‘During the 1960s and 70s, thousands of monuments commemorating the Second World War – called ‘Spomeniks’ – were built throughout the former Yugoslavia; striking monumental sculptures, with an angular geometry echoing the shapes of flowers, crystals, and macro-views of viruses or DNA. In the 1980s the Spomeniks still attracted millions of visitors from the Eastern bloc; today they are largely neglected and unknown, their symbolism lost and unwanted. Antwerp-based photographer Jan Kempenaers travelled the Balkans photographing these eerie objects, presented in this book as a powerful typological series. The beauty and mystery of the isolated, crumbling Spomeniks informs Kempenaer’s enquiry into memory, found beauty, and whether former monuments can function as pure sculpture.’
- Roma Publications

P.S. The salon got internet today! LIFE CHANGER!!