ANGELA B. PAN

I thought it we were going to have an early spring? Like starting now. The weather in the DC area was so beautiful and warm last week. I was so ready to start pulling out my cute summer dresses and light jackets. Then it all turned over the weekend. I try my best not to complain in my personal life, but this is not good for many reasons. First of all, you’re messin’ with the flowers! The beautiful saucer magnolias blooms that I photographed last week, waiting for the peak, are all gone now. I’m pretty sure this cold weather will have a bad effect on the cherry blossoms as well but I hope not. Secondly, I think my body is confused. First it’s hot, then it’s cold then its hot again. I’m starting to feel the effects of the temperature change in my throat and head. Not fun.

So instead of going outside, I decided to sit in front of the computer and find an image that depicts how I feel. This one from Iceland describes it perfectly. It was along the main (and only) road from our drive in Reykjavík to Höfn. Along one of our million and one stops for horses, I came across this scene. The horses were the things that first attracted me to this image but then my favorite part is the huge cloud behind them. The road signs adds to my confusion of the weather but either way, I’m not liking the snow. Something so clean and neat perfectly shows what it’s really like on a road trip in Iceland.

I’m not sure if you can tell, but I’m not a big fan of being cold. Being in Iceland is different because it’s what’s expected, but not this see-saw rollercoaster of temperatures. End complaint. For now, mother nature.

One travel tip to Iceland. Bring lots of socks! Like way more than you need. I’m so glad I did.

In general, you should wear waterproof clothing from head to toe in Iceland. It was raining everyday but one day while we were there. The waterproof clothing really helped to keep me warm. But even if you’re lucky to have great weather on your trip, you’ll still get wet. The huge waterfalls have lots of cold water spray that will soak you, depending on how long you stand there. And if you’re like me, you’ll want to get close to the water on the black sand beaches to photograph the waves. The waves are so much bigger than you think they are. It kind of reminded me of Hawaii, but definietly not surf-able. Not fun when they come crashing down and into your shoes. So it didn’t even matter if I was wearing waterproof shoes, my socks still managed to get wet.

We spent a fair amount of time in Vik. One whole afternoon to visit two different sides of Reyjnisfjara with a little break in between for lunch. The first stop was a calmer side of the beach. We were the only ones there and the waves weren’t huge. I was also surprised by how soft the sand was. Just like regular sand but black. Thats where I was able to capture this long exposure with my Ice neutral density filter. But then after lunch when we went to the more commonly visited side. This was where the big waves are. I was running back and forth between the tides to try to capture the water. Eventually, the water won and my feet got soaked. They were so uncomfortably cold and wet. I had to dry off immediately in the car. So glad I brought extra socks 🙂

Just in case you were wondering, walking around in the freezing rain isn’t as fun as walking around in snow. I don’t know, its just not the same…

Since the weather was pretty crappy on Monday, I started playing this new game. Ride the metro for as long as you can tolerate, get off at a random stop, then walk around until you figure out where you are, then (thanks to my awesome sense of direction) find your way to a different metro stop, and go home. It’s a pretty fun game that you all should try!

One of my 2016 goals is to be more present. More mindful of everything I’m doing and take the time out to appreciate all the good times I’m experiencing. A lot of times I rush through things and at the end of the day I hardly remember what I did.

So when I was out making this image yesterday I was noticing the swirls in the icy water. Like I put my camera down and and really stood there to look at what interested me so much about this scene. I thought the patterns were so cool and can only assume it’s from wind. The circular motions and untouched ice was something like I had never seen at the tidal basin. What a beautiful footprint nature left.

Let the meltdown begin! After a week’s worth of snow I can officially say now that I’m ready for things to get back to normal.

Here are 3 things I was grateful for this week:

1. Snow day fun
2. Reminiscing on my fun in Chinatown in this video
3. Started watching a new show, Mr. Robot. Have you guys seen it? It’s sooo good so far. When does the second season come out?

This dang snow has been getting in my way for the past week!

Just joking. I love it. Sometimes…