I See Pink When I Turn Out The Light

Well, well. This is a big week, my friends. Mardi Gras, Ash Wednesday and Valentine's Day. I bet most of y'all didn't even think about the first two holidays. Oh well! Is it really a big week? No. But Lent is one of my favorite traditions I have ever taken part in, so I'm excited. If you're taking part in Lent as well let me know what you're doing for your ... Lent-ing? (it sounds like a good word to me)

In celebration of the more famous, or infamous depending how you look at it, I have collected a bunch of images from my Outside board on Pinterest for . . . TRAVEL TUESDAY! With a Valentine's theme.

Enjoy!

Strawberry Shortcake - Bentonite Hills, Capitol Reef National Park, Utah. Photo: Joshua Cripps via Flickr

Pinned from: Fly Me There, by Junxx

Pinned from: Cabin Fever, by Barbara Smalley

The Mourne Mountains, Newcastle, Co Down by mcilrathf on Flickr

Monet's Gardens at Giverny by snap713 on Flickr

Pinned from: An Infusion of Lavender by Bonnie Jackson

by Steve McCurry

Pinned from: Adorable by Heather Mettra

Mystical Stairs, Blue Ridge Mountains, North Carolina; Pinned from Destinations by Jammie Friday

For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move. – Robert Louis Stevenson

The Thrill of Movement and Location

It's Travel Tuesday! I am actually really excited about this because I haven't posted about traveling or places I want to go since the summer when I posted my images from my 2 road trips ( found here, here and here) and when I wrote about wanting to see Ireland (here).

Lately my life has been all about "the next step"; with applying to graduate schools and even just dreaming about where I would like to live, I have gotten a little too caught up in living in the future more than once in the past weeks.

I would like to show you why, though. I am listing for you schools to which I am applying, and what travel aspect I look forward to for each destination.

First up:

The University of Texas


Austin City Limits: the longest running live music television program. Austin is the Live Music Capitol of the world, and I would love every second of it. Not to mention that The University is known for having one of the most beautiful campuses in [at least] the country.


Washington State University


First of all, the city of Pullman is nestled in a thick of trees and mountains. Second of all, there are sites like these all around: this is the Palouse River Canyon.



Oregon University


Another city within a forest within the mountains. Eugene, Oregon is surrounded by sights! And some of the most celebrated National Parks are within driving distance, like Mt Rainier, and Olympic, as well as a longer drive to Yosemite. Not to mention that it's only 2 hours up to Portland.

Willamette National Forest, directly east of Eugene. Actually, you should just see all the beautiful pictures from this amazing forest: check out the Google image search here.

The University of Colorado


Are you seeing a trend yet? I really would love to live in the forest with instant mountain access. I would choose the mountains over the beach any day. Boulder is a beautiful city, in a beautiful state. Plus, Colorado is known for its arts community as an ENTIRE STATE. Wow. Plus, Boulder is located right on the boarder of one of my favorite spots I visited over the summer: Rocky Mountain National Park.

This is Odessa Lake, right in the middle of this mystical national park.

The School of the Art Institute of Chicago


SAIC. Talk about a school known for its arts. Chicago is a booming city itself, but the School of the Art Institute of Chicago definitely has a top reputation in the country. Honestly, if I got in to this school . . . I would feel extremely overwhelmed.


East Tennessee State University


This is not the last university within a forest within the mountains, but it is in my absolute favorite mountains I have visited thus far. I love the Blue Ridge, the Smokies, the Appalachians ... whatever you want to call them. They are beautiful and magical.



Bald River Falls, found in the neighboring Cherokee National Forest.

Burren College of Art


Ireland. Need I say more? Burren is a land of rock on the western coast of Ireland. Ballyvaghan, Ireland is located across an inlet from Galway. I get goose bumps thinking about this place. No really. I have them right now.


Burren National Park.


Where would you vote to live? I sort of hope I only get in to one school so I don't have to decide between all these amazing programs and places.

Don't do it for anything but the love of movement and location, Or the battle is lost. - Movement and Location, The Punch Brothers

6 Things I Want To Do

I have come up with a list of 6 things I want to do, hopefully in the next 5 years, that are either insane things that most people would never dream of or life long wishes of mine. I plan to add considerably to this list.

I think goals are like dreams: if you don't put them down on paper within 5 min, they'll be gone to you forever.

6. Own a Horse
   This has been a hope of mine since I was 9. Most girls love horses and collect all the little figurines and stuffed animals. I was obsessed. I learned everything there was to know about the breeds, how to take care of one, the terminology . . . everything. There wasn't anyone who knew me that didn't believe I was on track to become an equine veterinarian. However, it turns out that my love for drawing horses was a bit stronger than my love for taking care of sick ones. Still, though, there is no animal like a horse. If you think dogs are a man's best friend, think again.

   

   my dream horse: Shadowfax

5. Tag a City
   When I think about leaving my mark in art, this isn't exactly what I mean, but there is something about breaking the rules and making art that go hand in hand. I would love to go out a couple different nights in some city and make graffiti. I don't think this will happen in Findlay, but I definitely have kept an eye open for good spots.

4. Travel Across America
   This is more of a recent thought. I am thinking that hiking it would be for me, but a small part of me wants to get a motorcycle and do it (I have Motorcycle Diaries to thank for that). I really don't know what I would hope to accomplish by it, but the idea of all the people I would meet along the way, all of the places I would see, and all of the experiences I would have . . . it's enough to make me want to pack right now.

   

   a possible route

3. Hike the Appalachian
   I can't explain all of why I want to do this. All I can really say is that I love the mountains, I love hiking, and the idea of what it means to make that hike.

   

   
   

2. Go to Ireland

I wrote a whole post about this: Oh, Ireland. This may have to be the second to last of the 6 that I complete (right before number 1), because I'm not sure I could come back. This goal is so important to me that if someone handed me a plane ticket today I would go. Today.

1. Open My Own Business
   What my business will be isn't completely settled, although I have my ideas. I watch every road for a good building. I watch marketing, packaging, and branding trends. I think of what name I would give my business. The layout of the store. What kind of people I would hire. How I would get all the work done. Who I could hire trustworthy enough to allow me to still travel. I constantly go over the details. I do think I will end up doing something with either furniture design or art showing. This would be my baby.

Quote on dreams: A dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world. - Oscar Wilde

Oh, Ireland

Do you ever dream of going to a place your entire life? I'm not talking about dreaming about the beach all winter long, I mean a place you long to go because you just know that personally it means something to you on a deeper level to connect to the air, the ground, the people there. Not a place where you want to go relax or shop. Somewhere you would go and try every food, every beer, see every National Park, see every city, talk to everyone your path crossed.

For me, that dream is Ireland. I came close when I lived in England for 2 years, but even if I had visited then I would still want to go now. No other place seems to matter as much to me. It would be amazing to visit Norway, Alaska, Argentina, Spain . . . anywhere in the world. But no matter how badly I would like to see somewhere else, I would turn it all down for Ireland.

Where is your dream?

Here are pictures I have collected on my Pinterest board Outside. Check out these and more on my profile.

The Dark Hedges in Antrim, Ireland

Cliffs of Moher, Ireland

Giant's Causeway by Jim Richardson

Ben Bulben, County Sligo, Ireland

Skellig Michael, Ireland

cork county, ireland... where my family's from

cork county, ireland       

One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things. – Henry Miller