Frozen on the first day of winter in Wisconsin.

Frozen on the first day of winter in Wisconsin. 

This Christmas season, I am spending time with my parents family in Milwaukee:)  It has been a long time since I seen many of my aunts, uncles and cousins. It has been even longer since I spent Christmas with them. So this year, I was excited to find out that we will be in Milwaukee for Christmas!  

I am staying with my aunt and uncle that live in Holy Hill and when I woke up the morning of the 21st I was happy to see a frozen country side. I quickly got dressed, ate breakfast and headed out to capture the beautiful scenery before it all melted away. Here are some photos from my few hours out in the cold. They are from Holy Hill, and Hartford Wisconsin. Enjoy! 

I came across a school, and took photos of the soccer field. 

Then I found a soccer ball near one of the goal posts. It was placed perfectly for taking photos. 

After visiting the school yard, I wandered to the Hartford Cemetery where I met another photographer taking photos. We had a nice chat about photography and went on our ways. It is always great to meet other photographers while you are out shooting:)

On my way back to my aunt and uncles I came across a tree with bells hanging from it. I thought this looked really neat with the frozen snow on it. It is amazing what you find just walking around taking photos:) It became my Holiday wishes photo! 

As I was driving past this little farm, I noticed some photographic potential and shot these photos. 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!! 

Saratoga Springs, New York

Saratoga Springs, New York

 After visiting Niagara Falls, I made my way to the Saratoga Springs area in New York. One of my good friends from high school lives there with her family. I stayed with them for a few days and we did some sightseeing. 

The temperature outside was in the high 90s. It was so hot and humid. But that did not stop us from exploring the historical city!

For the past few years, I have been working as a nurses aide for a family in my home town. They visit Disney every year. For the past two years I went with them. They stay at the Saratoga Springs resort. Prior to staying with them at Disney, I had no idea what the significance of the town of Saratoga Springs was. I only knew about the Saratoga Battle during the American Revolution. Since I was going to be in the area, I did a little research on this historical city. 

Our first stop was Congress Park. 

Congress Park

 

A cute little duck walking to meet up with its mother.

My friends daughter and son running after the ducks.

The natural mineral spring water that comes from the ground in Saratoga Springs is believed to have healing powers. There are 17 springs in the town of Saratoga Springs. No two springs taste the same. I drank from two different ones, and they both did not taste the greatest. There was a strong mineral taste to both. This photo is of a spring in Congress park. 

Skye and Landen walking near a fountain in the park. 

Yaddo Gardens

After walking through Congress Park, we ventured to Yaddo Gardens. The 400 acre estate was turned into an artists retreat for the owners wife after their four children had died in the 1900s. It is still used as a place for artists to come and be creative. The public can enjoy the gardens on the estate. It was beautiful!

The mansion on the estate where artists can stay.

The Battle of Saratoga - American Revolution

Being a fan of history, especially early American History I was very excited to explore the Saratoga Battle Site. Last winter I taught 8th grade Social Studies, and we discussed this battle field. So it was really great to see it in person!

An old farm house that was used in the America Revolution. The farm house is about 30% original and the rest was restored. 

A replica of a cannon that was used in the battle of Saratoga

Today there is not much left of the battlefields, just open fields.

Saratoga Springs Race Track

Today, Saratoga Springs is known for its race track. I left town on a Wednesday, and on Friday the first race of the season started. I missed it by 2 days:( Hopefully one day I can go back to see a race. 

The photos below are from an empty race track. I can only imagine the excitement that goes on during the races! 

Cape Cod - Massachusetts

Cape Cod. Massachusetts. 

When you hear the words Cape Cod, what do you think of? Maybe you think of, summer, beautiful beaches, the ocean, and gorgeous lighthouses? It sounds like the perfect place to take photographs!

 I had always imagined Cape Cod would be all those things and more. I seen the place on TV, and in the media. It was this beautiful place that I have always wanted to visit! I even bought a photography book to help me find all the best places to take photos. One of these days, I will learn that what I envision and what is real are two very different things.

Maybe buying a photography book and following a famous photographer's path to all their favorite picture perfect locations works for some people...Not me. I got lost finding the first location I had highlighted. This led me to get really frustrated and upset. Which is not a good combo when you are driving and your best friend is with you stuck for hours while you are in search of places to capture the essence of Cape Cod. I give my friend a lot of credit for dealing with me and my crazy obsession with photography. After that trip, I was no longer aloud to drive with her, mostly because I get lost and I pull over right away without warning to take photos.

These are a few photos of where I got lost, and then I realized that nothing ever turns out the way you plan.

So after getting lost and frustrated, my friend helped me calm down and we ditched the photo book. We just ditched the photo book. We did our own thing and went exploring! 

Our second stop of the day was in Chatham, a beach near the Chatham Lighthouse. 

This is how I pictured the Cape Cod beaches:)

It was  beautiful day to be on the beach! The water was still a little cold, so we did not go in..just walked on the beach and took photos. 

My friend Amanda enjoying Cape Cod! 

The Chatham Lighthouse that is now an active Coast Guard station. 

The sun was setting. So beautiful! 

The words spelled Cape. 

My friend Amanda found a seashell. The lighthouse in the background. 

While we were there, we counted 5 photographers taking photos of families. I guess this is the place to be:) 

A fishing boat! 

As the sun was setting, we made our way back to our hotel. We felt a little rebellious so we drove into a private housing area and took a few photos on the beach.

I had both of my cameras, so I taught my friend how to use one of them. Here are a few photos she took of me. Photos by Amanda Palmer. 

After we left the beach, I pulled over to snap this photo of where we had been. It was a pretty view!! 

The next morning, it was raining. That did not stop us from exploring more. Amanda was in charge of where went this time. She picked South Cape Beach State Park. Here are some photos from our rainy adventure! 

While walking on the beach, we found a horseshoe crab. 

After getting soaked from our walk on the beach, we followed the road to Woods Hole. 

There we found the Nobska Point lighthouse! 

On our way back to my friends house in New Hampshire, I pulled over to take some of these photos. 

That was our Cape Cod adventure! Hope you enjoyed looking at the photos!