In 2021 we:

• loved the doggies
• went on two trips
• worked every other second

 

The end.

No but for real 2021 was a year of actual exhaustion . Looking back it’s such a blur of working 60+ hour work weeks, while  simultaneously doing my best to take advantage of this downtime our world’s been given and focus on some personal growth. I’m trying to make this not sound all sound such a downer haha but TBH….I’m tired, emotionally and spiritually. Good news is that the season of wedding reschedules is over (hooray!), our other work obligations seem much more manageable and healthier heading into the new year. 2022 seems like it’ll finally be the end of the emotional rollercoaster whirlwind that was 2020 & 2021. A return to normalcy 🙂

But through the grind, were able to say goodbye to so many things that were holding us back or no longer serving us, mentally and physically. Things like credit cards, car payments, our trailer (goodbye home on wheels!), and are enjoying this new thing called a savings account. Yanno, making up in my 30s for what I did in my 20s. We’re SO thrilled to now be in a healthy position to buy a home this year, which we will begin the process next month. It took us forever to even figure out if we will be sticking to our Wisconsin roots or venturing off to the dreamy California, but we **finally** got some clarity (you’ll have to keep reading to find out!)

All the hard work in 2021 seems to be paying off. I can feel myself taking a deep sigh of relief. Some years are glamorous, and some years are those in-between, get in the zone and focus on your responsibilities type of years. After the past few glamorous years of travel, this year of staying put was SO necessary. And as someone who likes to always add adventure and new things and thrills, I’m very proud I finally put myself in check, and prioritized the hard things first.

Iceland

When we did have a break, we took full advantage! This year we finally crossed off our first international trip, to Iceland! To put mildly, it was INCREDIBLE. Hands down our favorite of all our travels thus far, and honestly there is too much I could say about Iceland to fit into this recap. So if you want the full breakdown, check out the 10 Days around Iceland blog where I dive into things like “Why Iceland?”, our packing list (did everything with no checked bags, also didn’t bring any of my professional cameras -eep! Can ya tell?). I include our 10-day Itinerary, why we choose to vancamp vs hotels, so many photos, and some of our most commonly asked questions. If you’re planning a trip to Iceland or have it on your list, definitely check it out. Otherwise here were some highlights of our trip!

Wedding Season

We returned to the height of our wedding season in July which brought us all over the state, from Milwaukee to Eau Claire to Up North. We even got to photograph a wedding just 10 minutes away from our house – so rare!

We always love a good road trip, and this year our drives to/from weddings became extra important. Our schedules were so busy in summer and fall that oftentimes the only time Alex and I could breathe and reconnect with one another was on these drives. 90’s jock jams anyone?

It’s already been two months since our last November wedding and I’m already missing the high and connection and purpose it brings. I know a lot of people won’t relate to this feeling, but as a wedding photographer, nothing beats arriving at the venue on a wedding day, walking in and greeting the beaming couple. We get to forget about our own lives and for that day, all our energy is refocused into capturing the JOY of another’s! No matter what is going on in our lives, weddings always feel like a mental release. There is truly no better energy to be a part of every weekend. This year, I think everyone was just so happy to finally reach this day and see extended family and long distance friends again, the energy was extra contagious!

Looking ahead, I am excited for a well-balanced 2022 season. I’ve found I truly love sticking to 10-15 weddings each summer because I can focus so much more on each couple with much more intention, so we continued with that mindset into 2022. We are now currently booking into 2023 and have some incredible venues and even a destination out to the East coast on the books! We are so excited to continue doing what we love and can’t wait to meet and work with all of you!

And of course, a very special thank you to all 2021 couples. It’s been quite the ride for some of you! We are so thankful to have been let into your special days, every couple blew us away with their kindness, grace, and warmth. I wish I could share so many details of each but this would get verrrrry long! So I’ll stick to just highlighting each couple 🙂 Cheers to another beautiful year of weddings! We all made it through the past two years of reschedules and everyone was happily married! Yay! Here’s a look back:

 

We also photographed some engagement sessions, lifestyle sessions, maternity photos, and a surprise proposal!

SWEET SUMMERTIME

In between weddings and editing, were so many backyard hangs. Grilling hamburgers, throwing the ball around in the yard, and getting out on the water as much as we could!

F I V E  Years Married!

We celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary in August by renting an airbnb in our favorite spot in all of Wisconsin. I almost don’t want to say cause it’s our secret spot!! If you’ve never been to the driftless area of Vernon County and you love rolling hills, you need to go! Ontario specifically holds a lot of meaning for us, so many memories of camping and Kickapoo River canoe trips! This is Amish country, so if you like having lots of things to do just be aware that this is more a place to seek out if you want some peace and quiet and nature. The rolling hills are so surprising, it reminds us of being in Tennessee. After a weekend of fully unplugging, it made us seriously want to live out on the country. We are always happier with less and less choices brings more peace and simplicity. We bought food at the only grocery store in town, and made all our meals. We watched the sun set and lightning storms and the sun rise. We hiked and kayaked and watched on top the hill the amish return home below us after a long day’s work. Cows moo’d and it never felt so…..soothing LOL. So typical Wisconsin, how could we ever leave this state?

 

2021 CULTURE

It wouldn’t be a 2021 year recap without mentioning alllll the other things that made up the year: NFT’s and Crypto becoming mainstream, Netflix shows like Squid Games & Bridgerton bringing in millions of views, conversations on mental health and normalizing therapy were at an all time high, the first same-sex dance couple were paired on Dancing with The Stars, Brittney is free!!, Chris Harrison exits Bachelor Franchise after defending racial insensitivity (as a long time Bachelor viewer this was HUGE), the realness of Cancel Culture, the Capital riot and Biden is president, continued polarization and The Social Dilemma documentary continuing to bring social media issues to light. The government finally confirms UFO’s are real and no one reacts lolol, burnt out workers, everyone (EVERYONE) is short staffed, workplaces reinventing the new workplace normal. The production and delivery of vaccines and boosters and reopening borders for travel, Jeff Bezos space flights begin, weather is more extreme and California is on fire….

Which leads me to our…

Cali Road Trip: From Vegas to Tahoe, Along Scenic Hwy 395

We just so happened to plan a trip through Cali along their current fire zone. It was a brilliant idea! To be fair, we had no idea when planning how badly the current fires would actually effect our trip. The month leading up, we knew there were some seriously bad fires just south of Lake Tahoe that did end up dying out thank goodness. There were still awful fires taking place further south in Sequoia National Park, but being that Cali is a large and long state, we truly didn’t think that we would be affected all the way up north. Turns out, when there is wind, we were way wrong.

California Fires are no joke, and although this trip was not quite at all what we had planned (for reasons I won’t mention like getting smoked out of Mammoth Lakes area where we planned to spend 3 days, poor visibility in Lake Tahoe, cancelling Yosemite due to air quality conditions – AGAIN lol some day we will get here, and lastly, having no good hiking air or visibility of the Sierra Nevada mountains the entire drive home – this was the main reason we chose this particular 395 highway road trip). For someone who is faint of heart and always thinks they’re going to die, this turned out to not be the best choice of location lol. If you’re trying to visit this California mountain area, it may be best to do so in June when fire season is less in full-swing.

After our first two nights in Vegas (one to sleep after a late flight, and 2nd night enjoying the night life), we were excited to hit the road. First up, Death Valley National Park just outside Vegas. We *finally checked this one off our bucket list* after being near this area so many times. If you are are on a road trip, and it’ll be faster to drive through it, definitely do it because although the connection in the park sucks, and the name of the place sounds frightening, it definitely offers some interesting landscape and views. Would it be a place I’d seek out more than a couple hours? Mmmm. Probably not. If you’re into photography definitely wait til sunrise or sunset. We traveled midday in the hot sun and the colors in Artist’s Palette definitely weren’t as vivid (normally it looks like pastel chalk covered the mountains).

As mentioned, there’s NO connection or radio stations whatsoever for four hours or more, so you’ll have to sing songs for like 4 hours, and then 4 hours more as you travel on the 395. This is a very desolate area so make sure your gas tank is full and you bring plenty of water in case of a breakdown. Especially at the end of the main road through the park, there is a lot of uphill climbing, and after spending 4 hours in one of the hottest places on earth, we definitely can understand why cars break down. There’s even a 15 minute section where they advise you to turn off air conditioning to avoid overheating. We took in the views and were very happy to make it out (alive) and with no car problems!

We drove along the gorgeous 395, with the Sierra Nevada mountain views waving to you along the left, and passed by the charming small towns. Stop in Lone Pine and check out the Alabama Hills if you have time. These rocks remind me of Joshua Tree and there are some picturesque views of Mt Whitney! We also highly recommend checking out some hiking around Big Pine, as seen in 2020’s Cali road trip. We were short on time so we kept going.

As we were finally approaching our first main location, Mammoth Lakes, we realized the mountains were looking really hazy. We kept traveling up the mountain, and the light between the trees was so eerie as the sun was setting. Almost like a heavy glowing fog in between the trees. I wish I would have stepped out for a picture. When we got to the top of the hill at our resort, the air was now thick and gray. No one was there except for one parked car, a complete ghost town. Out of curiosity, we covered our mouths from the smoke filled air and walked into the lodge entrance (half expecting it to be closed). The front desk man was busy answering calls on whether or not they were closing due to fires, and assuring people that he wasn’t sure, (LOL), and as far as he knows, they’re open. I wanted to leave due to my gut instinct, but we had spent $$ on this nicer resort lodge so we checked into our room, thinking maybe we’re just from Wisconsin and this is Cali-normal.

After 15 minutes kicking our feet up in bed, we realized our noses and eyes were actually stinging. Okay….probbbbably not healthy lol. So we looked up the air quality online and saw the chart below. We were at 172 – the highest on the chart for the entire area of California and definitely not healthy, and nothing freaks me out more than not being able to breathe. It was too late to fully leave the Mammoth Lakes area, I certainly didn’t want to drive in the mountains in the dark to reach Tahoe. But at the very least, we decided to go back down the mountain where the air quality was much less intense and I felt I could sleep the night.

 

The next morning, we lucked out with the air being good enough to get a morning view of Convict Lake followed by a little hot springs soak. There are so many hot springs in this area we would have loved to explore them all! We continued up to Lake Tahoe where we were optimistic air would be clearer. I forgot how beautiful the drive into Tahoe is, it felt so good to be back especially after the place almost burned a month prior. We checked into our hotel and decided to listen to some live music and grab a bite to eat at our favorite Base Camp pizza. The musician felt connected to Alex’s dancing enthusiasm lolol and after the show, he came up to talk to us.

We got into talking about the area and how we were considering moving here. And he basically told us how terrible the fires and evacuation process has been on him. He laughed and said rather seriously, we should sit tight in Wisco cause soon everyone will be relocating to us in the midwest. I left this conversation realizing this dream of living in California, would always stay a dream. The entire past couple years since visiting California for the first time, I dreamed of moving out here. And during quarantine when everyone was relocating and able to work from home, we actually were truly considering it. So much so that this vacation was actually half us deciding where (which mountain towns) we might want to live. There’s just not a ton of mountain hiking in Wisconsin LOL, and being such lovers of hiking and mountains it made sense to move to them. But it finally all clicked after this conversation from this local.

As beautiful as my California dream was, my gut instinct was telling me this is not where we want to invest or be right now, or even long term. I came to the realization I could not live in a place that I didn’t feel safe majority of the time. I’d much rather live where the clean air and water is. After months and months of long talks and agony over wanting to make up our minds, the smoke ironically gave me clarity. Wisconsin now felt more appealing than ever. We can always just visit Cali on vacays and it’ll be all the more reason to appreciate the mountain hikes when we are able!

So our mountain trip through Cali Hwy 395 filled with alpine lakes hikes and hot spring soaks suddenly was cut very short and turned into us bumming around Vegas not knowing what to do for the last 5 days of our trip (ps: turns out, one night on the Vegas strip is **definitely enough**). But it felt good to finally have this clarity and peace of mind so in a way this trip served a huge purpose. And we were still so happy to get some time away and in the mountains. We got to explore new hot springs along the 395 and revisited some our favorite Vegas hikes. I think we’re ready to hang up the Cali towel for a little while, but eventually we’d love to come back for a second try when there is less fire risk and check off more hot springs & hiking trails we had initially planned!

Closing out the Year

The rest of October/November was spent in a work/editing haze, wrapping up the wedding season and sending off so many galleries. Putting in the most hours ever worked **in my life** juggling meeting demands at my other job. But in early November we got lucky with beautiful weather for a much needed girls overnight getaway in the Dells. Spa, shopping, restaurants, hiking. A perfect 24 hour escape!

 

At last, December. It’s actually so funny to compare this year in review to last year’s, the effort given in Christmas 2020 was AT AN ALL TIME HIGH lol. Instead, this year I spent my time in recovery mode, focusing on personal projects that I love, like sending out client gifts, and finally going through our vacay photos and putting together our Iceland blog. We had a great time getting together with the full immediate fam this year in-person thanks to no positive COVID tests. I got dressed up for something other than a wedding for the first time all year, and spent New Year’s Eve grocery shopping with Alex for the perfect cheeses in preparation to stay in to watch the ball drop over a steak dinner and charcuterie board 🙂

Looking ahead to 2022

We are excited for a much more balanced schedule. And less vacations (woah did I say that). As amazing as road trips are, doing two 10-days road trips in the same summer/fall season was a lot to plan out. For 2022, I think our biggest priority will be on buying a house and making sure we have everything set for that!

Now of course we can’t go a full year without travel, so we did score some $100 round trip flight deals from Appleton to Denver for early June, where we plan to do another 10-day road trip (insert cry emoji….we just can’t get enough road trips!). While in Colorado, we’ll be seeing my fav band Lord Huron at Red Rocks Amphitheater, a venue that has been high up on my bucket list  am so stoked! Not sure what else we’ll do in Colorado as it isn’t fully mapped out yet, but we would love to do some hikes around Aspen and see what that fuss is all about! As well as Colorado Springs/Garden of the Gods, and the town of Ouray to try out UTV’ing for the first time. Overall, just take in the mountain views and hot springs. Hopefully being June there won’t be any fires in this area. We plan to do this by van again, since we have a voucher for Escape Campervans after we cancelled our trip to the Tetons in exchange for Iceland (are you sick of our van travels through mountains yet)? Maybe someday we’ll sit on a beach on a tropical vacation LOL.

As far as goals…we’ll have a bit more tangible goals for 2022 after this coming weekend. I rented a winter’s getaway retreat airbnb in the woods for Alex and I to just be still. I always love this quiet time after the new year. There’s less distractions and I have much more capacity to think clearly and creatively. So we’ll be doing a necessary lil detox from 2021, get some pampered massages at Sundara (which we have never been to before!! So excited), and use the stillness to brainstorm and listen to what we truly need right now, and from this coming year.

If I had to choose a word for 2022, it would be: Connection

Did anyone else feel a bit disconnected this year? It feels like 95% of my waking hours were spent working from home, so I guess it’s easy to see why lol. I spent so much of this year behind a computer screen, that at times, it felt my only connection to the outside world was listening to podcasts.. while at work LOL.

This was the year that therapy and mental health became normalized. It seemed everyone was using this downtime to really put in the work and challenge and grow themselves. I spent my workdays listening to so many podcasts on self-growth and life coaching this year that I’m a littttttle burnt out haha! But this was a goal of mine going into 2021, to further this exploration into thine self, and I will say, the hours put into listening to these types of conversations every single day (shout out to Jay Shetty’s On Purpose) have definitely helped tremendously over the course of a year. I was able to recognize and address some unhealthy patterns and realize that I do not always need to be *doing*fixing*planning* something. I can simply just be.

 

The biggest mental health takeaways this year:

A few stood out from the rest, so I wanted to share them in case anyone needs a lil dose of self-growth heading into this new year!

• You do not always need a plan. (MEEEEE MEE ME). It’s okay to sit back and just experience what comes.
• Your life is only as good as your mindset. If you’re not happy, change your mindset.
• Be more interested in how your life FEELS than how your life looks. You can’t be present when you’re on your phone.
• Get inspired by your own story, your own vibe, YOU are all the inspiration you will ever need.
• Pay attention to what you feel like after spending time with someone. It’ll tell you everything you need to know.
• You are not responsible for other people’s happiness. Release this pressure.
• Just because you carry it well doesn’t mean it’s not heavy. Let it go.
• You don’t have a soul, you are a soul and you have a body. (I don’t know how to explain my feelings about this one without going super deep, but basically…this one helped me finally release the pressure of physical perfection most woman like me have. I realized the soul is just so much more profound than the body. Like, if you really think of it, the body is really just an outer shell, a platform that allows our soul to be in the physical world. I’m not saying don’t take care of your body and be healthy, but definitely don’t measure your worth or let anyone else measure your worth based on this outer shell).
• Setting a boundary is not being rude, sharing your feelings is not being dramatic, having needs or holding others accountable and having expectations is not being difficult.
• Don’t forget to drink water and get some sunlight. Because you’re basically a house plant with more complicated emotions.
• Just Be (thanking Alex for reminding me of this one when I need it most) 🙂

 

So many lessons learned this year, and I’m happy to have done self-reflective work, but now I am ready to expand outward again. At the end of the day, all I know is I am not my fullest, happiest self when I am in isolation 95% of the time. Is anyone? I want to build more connection with other people and things around me and outside my four walls.  I understand that I am who and what I surround myself with whether it’s the TV shows I watch, the podcasts I listen to, the people I follow, or the company I choose. I think the world can all agree we’re a little burnt out and we just want some peace, happiness, joy again. I’d love to start finding the connection and community again. Whether that’s getting back to sharing my purpose/ voice through my photography business, moving to a new area, finding new hobbies and meeting new friends, volunteering or helping out in a cause we believe in to make an even greater impact and connection to the world we live in.

So long 2021. You exhausted me and challenged me. But I’m ready to take these lessons with me in 22′. Cheers to everyone for making it this far! You are here. You are alive! Let’s hope for a lighter, more connected year!

 

Thank you all for following along with me another year! I truly hope you have found something beautiful to take away from the past year. Do you have a word or mantra for 2022? Leave it in the comments below and let’s cheer eachother on!

As always, stay adventurous – Meghan

Over the past few years we have traveled to many places, but Iceland was actually our first **international** trip. Of all the places we could choose, the initial question many people asked us was “why Iceland?” Coming from living in Wisconsin where we hibernate from the cold over half of the year, why would we want to use our precious summer vacay going back into the cold and ice? Well now that Iceland has become a bit more of a popular destination, people now seem to know that it is actually not all ice, but a plethora of lime green moss atop black sand and waterfall after waterfall. Iceland comes alive in the summer months and shows off so many colors from the blue glacier lagoons to the red lava erupting volcanos, and lime green canyons that will make you feel like you’re on another planet entirely. And best yet? You will likely never experience nature this untouched, raw, and in it’s natural state. We love our national parks, and Iceland felt like one large national park – fully protected and cared for by its people!

Iceland didn’t even become on our radar until I joined the photography community five years ago. It seemed every photographer was heading out to Iceland to capture this stunning scenery! And being avid nature lovers and noootttt so much into big cities, we thought our first time being in a strange new country with a high density of people sounded a bit overwhelming for us. So we chose Iceland where we knew the focus would remain on raw nature (which is always our top priority), and where we knew there would be accommodating, friendly, English-speaking locals. Every Iceland review we read of prior travelers was outstanding and what really sold the deal was knowing we could travel around the entire island in just the right amount of vacay time (7-10 days). All in our favorite mode of transportation – a converted campervan!

Heaven is real, and it’s only a 6 hour flight.

It’s actually crazy when you compare how close in proximity Iceland is to the US with the few amount US travelers that have actually gone and visited. We couldn’t believe only a 6 hour flight (5 hour flight outbound from Chicago) to this nearly untouched magical piece of earth, and the flights were extremely reasonable $$. Originally, we booked this trip pre-pandemic for $600 round trip back in January 2020 (just a month before our plans went to shit and the world shut down haha). I was all excited to spend my 30th birthday soaking in the Blue Lagoon and we faithfully waited allllll the way up until that very month June 2020 before calling the trip off due to still ongoing COVID travel restrictions. It was a huge bummer…but one we saw coming for months in advance and luckily had a really amazing backup trip planned road tripping through Cali instead.

Going into 2021, we honestly still didn’t think Iceland was going to happen. People were still working from home. It seemed this pandemic was never going to end. But then, with the release of vaccines it seemed there mayyyy just be a glimmer of hope! In April 2021, Iceland was one of 3 countries to open their doors to Americans. We saw an article that if you book before end of April, you’d score $400 round trip tickets. Already having our whole itinerary planned out + vouchers from cancelled bookings ready to go, and two weeks blocked off end of June for our Grand Tetons National Park trip, it was a no-brainer. We cancelled our trip to the Tetons (sorry Tetons!!) and took this chance to finally see Iceland. After a year of hunkering down with no travel, we were pinching ourselves that this was finally MAYBE happening!!! (So long as we passed our PCR Covid tests!)

Packing List

We’ve had lots of interest about this trip. Why the van? What was our itinerary? Packing list? What our favorite spots were? Etc, etc.

So my basic outline will be as follows:

1. Packing List – I’ll share what we each brought (we didn’t check any bags! Very minimal)
2. Itinerary – Many have been asking for this breakdown, it is finally here! The main chunk of this blog post will be sharing our trip in consecutive order (with location names that are hard to pronounce!)
3. Q/A – at the very end, I’ll be sharing my answers to all your burning Iceland questions! This was my favorite part to write because it truly breaks down our thoughts on Iceland and it’s culture. Great things to know if you’re planning a trip to Iceland one day!

So let’s start with the Packing List. Being that we were going to be living out of a van for 10 days, we knew we’d have to keep our packing list pretty minimal…otherwise things get cluttered FAST. This was a great challenge because we had to pack for all 4 seasons + footwear for all 4 seasons + drone/cameras/laptops/go pro equipment. I still am not sure how we made this happen. It’s important to know that we traveled end of June into first week of July. This is the warmest time of year for Iceland, but you should still expect temps to be 50 degrees on average and drop even lower during midnight sun. We boarded the plane with 2 carry-ons, 2 personal items (backpacks), and did not do any checked bags.

• My carryon Bag: 5-6 sports bras/cami tops, 5 athletic long sleeves, 2 sweaters that were nice enough to function as hiking sweaters OR going out to eat sweaters, 5-6 leggings, 2 swimsuits, 1 raincoat shell, 1 puffy jacket, 1 fleece.
• Alex carryon Bag: same except for not the sports bras/ camis :P, and instead of sweaters he packed a couple Eddie Bauer henleys (waffle textured long sleeves) that look nice enough for eating at restaurants & can function as hiking base layers
• Backpack 1: small mirrorless camera + two lenses/DJI mini drone/GoPro/chargers/memory cards & all other electronic accessories/laptop
• Backpack 2: any leftover boots/jackets that couldn’t fit into our carryons, face cleanser, deodorant, toothbrushes, minimal makeup bag, this charging port I bought on Amazon which was recommended & ended up being super handy for keeping all our electronics & phones charged while being in a van 10 days

WHAT WE DIDN’T BRING: my professional cameras (EEEP!) They are just so large and bulky, and I was worried if I brought my full gear that the entire trip would be me being in “photography” mode vs real life mode. We also didn’t bring any t-shirts (tank tops and long sleeves are easier to layer), toiletries, shampoo, “getting ready” essentials, flip flops. We knew we could buy all that stuff there in travel sized bottles for cheap and it’d save lots of room.

In hindsight, I think we were pretty spot on with our packing list. I ended up wearing every single clothing item packed, without having to repeat and wear dirty clothes. We personally didn’t need the fleece or puffy jacket, it was really nice while we were there and 55 and sunny in Iceland feels like 75 and Sunny in Wisconsin. So if you’re planning a trip mid-summer mayyybe go easy on the jackets. It’s just hard, because you never know with Iceland weather what kind of luck you’re going to have.

TIP: INVEST IN A GO PRO! The GoPro we ended up using a LOT, especially at the lagoons since it is waterproof and I didn’t want to ruin my phone in the water. We got some really cool timelapse videos with it and overall just had lots of fun getting to know the Gro Pro. I tried being a film maker for an eventual Iceland vlog, but after seeing our very amateur (and shaky) video clips I’ll be keeping this one to ourselves LOL. We also used it for photos since it has a wider frame than my camera, so I had fun with some wide framed shots! We could have done without the drone, we only tried using it once and almost lost it mid-flight, which then turned us off from wanting to use it again. If you are skilled in drone piloting, unlike us, definitely bring one cause this place is absolutely EPIC for it.

MY ONLY (SOMEWHAT BIGGIE) REGRET after coming home and editing through the photos, was not bringing at least one of my professional cameras. I always go back-and-forth with wanting to be present during our travels vs making it “all about photos.” If I were traveling by myself, I’d definitely be out there, full photography gear, driving around and diving deep into it all. But when you’re traveling with your husband, you want to live in the real world and experience each present moment together. There was just something freeing about the idea of leaving it all behind and just simply BEING (plus saving space, not having to deal with a checked bag, or haul around bulky gear everywhere I went). I knew that no matter what photo I took, if I was actually present in the moments, that they would live on far more beautifully in my mind than any photo. So as much as the photographer in me sometimes wishes I had my best gear in hand, at the end of the day…does a slightly more beautiful photo matter when the one in your mind matters most?

10 DAY ITINERARY

Do I need 10 days? How many days would you recommend?

For going around the entire island, 10 days felt perfect. Without having to deal with quarantining day 1 and backtracking to the city 3 days prior to our departure to get another covid test, we probably would have been content with 7 days.

However, I’ve been telling so many people that if they ever wanted to take just an extended weekend, Iceland is also a wonderful choice because of the shorter flight and because there is so much you can quickly see in a short amount of time. In 4 days, you could fly in and Day 1 enjoy Sky Lagoon and downtown Reykjavik boutiques and restaurants/night life. Day 2 & 3 rent a car and drive less than 2 hours on the Ring road to see the many attractions from waterfalls to glacier lagoons all in-a-row on the south part of the island (seriously, this is all VERY easy driving and accessible sightseeing. If you’re not a very adventurous person but can appreciate looking at nature, just know that every attraction is right off the main road, no hiking required). There’s also lots of nice hotels, airbnbs, and restaurants here making it an ideal spot for tourists. On your last day, drive back into town and visit the active volcano or soak in the Blue Lagoon before departure!

Clockwise vs Counterclockwise

Starting from Kefllavik, we decided to drive clockwise around the island. I recommend doing it this way as it eases you into the Iceland experience, leaving the most popular tourist attractions for the very end. Because the south has so many iconic attractions in such a small section, your mind can easily get used to the stimulation of one epic location to the next to the next. Literally 10 epic locations in one day. Versus the rest of the island requires a bit more driving and anticipation and slower enjoyment. So I think if we had gone counterclockwise, it could have made the rest of our trip SEEM more lackluster (even though it is not and I’m very very happy we did the whole island!) It basically comes down to, do you want to eat dessert first? Or start with the appetizer?

Van camp vs Hotels

I do want to stop real quick to say why we chose the van instead of hotels, because this upfront decision will ultimately determine the overall type of experience you’ll be having on the island.

Iceland is small (smaller than the state of Wisconsin)! But being that the entire center of the island (known as “the highlands”) are mostly volcanic activity and require a 4×4 vehicle along some pretty rough roads, many people stick to the main easy-to-drive road that circles the island called “The Ring Road.” So although it’s a small island,  this makes everything a litttttle harder to get to and feel more spread out, because you can’t cut through the middle. If you are planning on only seeing the popular southern part of the island, perhaps getting a hotel or booking some trendy airbnb’s would be the way to go! There are loooots of sleek modern tiny homes to choose from in this area, although be aware they are usually in a “community” setting next to other tiny homes. So if you’re looking for something more remote, Google Earth the location and scout the satellite images prior to booking.

On the flipside, if your plan is to get the **full Icelandic experience**, and to be able to explore the entire island and all its glory in 7-10 days time, then I would **strongly** recommend traveling by van. It’s actually pretty popular to tour the island this way and there are many van companies to choose from. We chose Happy Campers due to their fun colors and it just sounds…happy! Everything in Iceland seems to be bold colors, the houses in fishing villages, the lime green mountains that blanket the country, people in red puffer jackets or bright yellow raincoats. These vans just seemed to match the aesthetic and made us feel happy and “homey” away from home. Their website also has the most incredible Q/A info and so I knew they’d be a reputable company and we’d be in great hands. We were very impressed by their customer service and how accommodating they were during COVID mess. They gave us 50% off our total price if we chose to reschedule vs cancel…so we were able to score a hella good deal!

Anyways, if you aren’t bothered sharing small quarters with your traveling partner, or aren’t bothered sleeping in a car by yourself if you’re traveling solo, then van no question is the way to go. Either way, I promise you the experience and memories will be WORTH IT (when did you ever have a lifechanging experience in a hotel? Just saying). The best memories Alex and I have are all on van road trips we’ve taken. It forces you to be a part of an experience more than hotels ever will. Plus these vans come with built in WIFI so you never have to worry about getting lost, not having connection. Google maps works just fine in Iceland by the way. Also built in sink, mini fridge, kitchen equipment + storage, fold down couch that turns into a bed (was actually suuuuper comfy!) And nice natural light & scenic views outside your window at all times 🙂 We never felt unsafe in Iceland. It’s such a welcoming island community and VERY vancamp friendly.

Hotels on the other hand would have majorly slowed us down with the check-in, check-out times. Especially during the “midnight sun” (the sun doesn’t actually set in the summer months) you’re going to want to take advantage of the extra sight-seeing time you’re given and have the flexibility to find places to sleep on the fly. No matter how much you plan this itinerary out in advance, Iceland weather is unpredictable and plans will change constantly. You may realize you have more time to sightsee this day, or maybe you didn’t get as far as you wanted this day. You definitely want some wiggle room and don’t want to regret having to drive 3 more hours to reach your hotel you booked. It was incredibly easy to find camping along the ring road & it’s all super affordable. I wanna say we spent only $30 our entire trip on camping- WOW! Also just a head’s up, Iceland is a bit more expensive to visit when it comes to food/hotels, one more reason to choose van.

Day 1: Arrival, Quarantine Nap, Pickup Van, Get the Essentials, Explore Reykjavik (Southwest region)

We departed Chicago on a midnight flight. Too amped to sleep, we watched movies and a glorious sunrise instead. Five hours later we were being greeted by Iceland’s purple lupines and a baron flat landscape. Once we arrived at KEF airport, we were guided to our covid test, and then we called our van rental company to come pick us up (free service)!

After picking up our van and getting our groceries + essentials we decided to venture to the Capital of Iceland, Reykjavik to explore their downtown area and the iconic Hallgrímskirkja church. You can go inside and pay a small fee to go all the way to the top for the best view of the town, which I wish we would have done because it would have made for a great vantage point of all the colorful housing and cultural charm which was unlike anything we have seen here in America!

Afterwards, we drove back south to the airport and eastward into Grundavik to see the active volcano nearby. Unfortunately due to fog and poor visibility we could not hike it and so decided to revisit this at the end of our trip. We’d be coming back to this area anyway for a dip in the famous Blue Lagoon (which we had booked for the last day of our stay & I recommend booking in advance due to the popularity)! We crossed our fingers we’d get to see the volcano the second time around, and fell asleep after still feeling groggy from the different schedule!

Day 2: Snaefellsnes Peninsula (Northwest Region)

The official start of the journey! Drive 3 hours to Londrangar Cliffs and the Harbor at Arnarstapi. Explore. **Most of the Snaefellsnes Peninsula attractions are located off of Ring Road and gravel roads are required. Gravel insurance on your rental vehicle is recommended! This made for a bumpy start of our road trip, but the rest of the trip was smooth sailing. We learned that whenever you venture off the Ring Road, you can expect a little more adventure.

The fog during this drive (in one of the most desolate parts of Iceland) made it feel all the more eerie. We watched as the city of Reykjavik faded into a now baron landscape of lime green moss and old lava fields that looked like mint chocolate chip icecream! When we arrived at both Londrangar Cliffs and shortly after, the harbor at Arnarstapi, we were the only tourists there. There is a small visitors parking lot at both locations. Don’t miss getting a glimpse of the harbor before walking the trail to Gatklettur Rock Formation nearby. There are several stone “bridges” as you can walk over and they are all relatively close to the parking lot. Don’t do what we did and walk two hours looking for it!

Drive 20 mins to Búðakirkja Black Church. It’s pitch black paint job along with its isolation make it a unique photo attraction site.

Drive 35 mins to the iconic Kirkjufell Mountain, the iconic wizard-shaped mountain surrounded by waterfalls and rainbows. The sun finally popped and it was truly breathtaking.

We ended our day at Grundarfjordur Camping ground nearby. It was REALLY hard to want to fall asleep when the sun was finally shining, but we knew we had to stick to our sleep schedule and catch a good “night’s” sleep.

Day 3: Husavik (North Region)

Drive 7 hours to Husavik, but along the way stop at Godafoss. (You will quickly learn that names ending in “foss” = waterfall). We groggily woke up in the midnight sun to begin our venture north. It was another very desolate drive which was beautiful but being so exhausted it all felt like a blur in hindsight. All I remember was lots of techno music, sheep, and more lime green landscape. We saw mayyybe two cars the entire 7 hour drive. And no towns except for sporadic homes here and there. It made me wonder what this kind of lifestyle all entails and if these people ever get lonely or if they are much happier this way. We were so happy when we finally reached Godafoss so we could nap again. Once we woke, we stretched our legs and saw our first of the many northern tourist attractions! It was a little nice seeing some people (and public bathrooms) again!

Book a whale watching tour in Husavik.

Husavik is considered the whale watching capital of Europe, and during summer months many whale touring companies will boast 100% success in catching a sighting. It’s also such a picturesque and quaint colorful fishing village. You may recognize it from the movie “Eurovision” starring Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams, which is definitely worth a watch when you need some comedic relief.

Since we had never seen any large ocean mammals before we decided to test our odds! We booked with Gentle Giants and decided on the GG2 tour: Puffins & Big Whales combo. We started with a ride out to Puffin Island which was very interesting seeing Iceland’s iconic bird flying all over and diving into the water – they were very quick and impossible to take photos of! Then a group of dolphins were swimming along our boat and Alex got some awesome video footage of a dolphin swimming right up against the boat. And then last but not least, we cruised over to the other side of the bay (which by the way THIS WAS ALL SO SCENIC AND BEAUTIFUL) and spotted our first whale, a humpback. We were all admiring from afar, and then we noticed more and more surfacing. We were in a pod of 6 whales, which the guide said was extremely rare as they are typically solo animals. They were surfacing all around us and ini the video I’m just repeating “woah…..oh my god…..woah….” like five times over. We were simply blown. It was truly epic and I highly recommend. Even if you don’t see any whales, the experience on the water was so refreshing and breathtaking!

After freezing out on the water, we went for an evening soak in the soothing geothermal waters of the Myvatn Nature Baths.

We naturally wanted to sleep after this, as it was approaching “night time” but technically we had just woken up not too long ago. So we kept exploring the Lake Myvtan area, specifically Krafla geothermal area and the Viti Crater.

Other cool things to explore:

• Town of Akureyri – Known as the “capital of the North” Akureyri is a charming town with plenty of shops and museums. Enjoy the area before hitting the road again to Lake Mvatn area
• Lake Myvatn area: Namskard, Skutustadagigar Pseudocraters (would be cool for a drone shot), Dimmuborgir Lava Field, Grjotagja Hot Spring Cave (go during mid-day otherwise won’t be able to see into the cave thus defeats the purpose of its crazy blue waters) If need a place to stay, Camping Myvatn has great reviews and is very close to everything.
• Asbyrgi Canyon (giant horse shoe shaped depression, rich in folklore with forest in the middle

We ended the day at Dettifoss parking lot to sleep. We were very tired at this point and you’re probably not supposed to sleep “overnight” in the parking lot, but we were too tired to keep driving. We decided to rest our minds and wait until morning to explore.

Day 4: Stuðlagil Canyon + Lots of Driving (North to Southeast Region)

We woke at Dettifoss to the most glorious sunrise I have EVER witnessed. Had we slept even 15 minutes longer, the lighting wouldn’t have been the same. Unfortunately due to recent rain, the main trail that takes you up close and personal to the waterfall was closed off, and although it did look accessible we wanted to be respectful to the “closed” sign. So we admired from up top and took in the sunrise glow. Dettifoss is the most powerful waterfall in Iceland and 2nd most powerful waterfall in Europe and we had it ALL to ourselves. It was unreal and definitely a highlight of our trip, next time we return we will definitely walk all the way up to the edge!

Next we drove 1 hour 45 mins to check out Stuðlagil Canyon, the Basalt Column Canyon in Jökuldalur valley. **Note: THE ROAD IS VERY UNPAVED AND ALONG AN EDGE. Was the most stressful drive we did on our trip, we also missed the turn (its easy to miss) and ended up in a parking lot on the wrong side of the river that still gave view of the canyon from above, but you couldn’t walk down to it and cross the river like the trail we were supposed to take, and the viewpoint seen in the majority travel pictures you see. If you find it on Alltrails app, know that the directions are correct, even though it seems incorrect. You actually DO turn left into the most random, privately owned farm area to park.

Once looped back up with the Ring Road, it took us past this eastern town of Egillstadur, and decided to try out Askur Pizzeria for dinner. (SOO GOOD, order the #1 with wild goose meat!)

After a delicious eat, we drove 45 mins along a beautiful route to see the Hallormsstaðaskógur Forest which if I remember correctly was the only lake along the Ring Road and is a gorgeous area to take photos in the purple lupines! Note: these are an invasive species to Iceland. Although we didn’t pick any wildflowers, this is the one time picking yourself a bouquet is probably OK! 😉

Other cool things to explore :

• Drive 1 hr to the cute little Rainbow Road Town of Seyðisfjörður came highly recommended as best in all of Iceland by multiple peeps. Camp at Seydisfjordur campsite if need to nap. It was a bit out of our way for what we wanted to see next, so we decided to pass.

We ended by driving an additional 4 hours through the jagged fjords in the hazy east coast until we reached our final sleeping destination at Stokksnes, the incredible black sand beach that, with the right conditions, perfectly reflects the peaks of the Vestrahorn Mountains. This came highly recommended by many travelers as their favorite “off the beaten” path spot, so we knew we had to check it out. You can park in the Stokksnes parking lot and then walk to the beach. Or if you go in the bakery you can pay a small “camp” fee to vancamp in their parking lot and also get access past the private gate, which allows access to drive down a road that gets you way closer to the water. Recommend! The owners of the parking lot are also super nice. It was actually my birthday when we woke and when we went in to get coffee the lady gave me a free muffin treat 🙂 So sweet!

Day 5: My birthday! Filled with so many favorite sights! (Southeast to Midsouth region).

After a bite to eat at the cafe it was time to explore Stokksnes! This became one of my favorite spots from the entire trip! We were there around 7am on a Wednesday and had it almost to ourselves (just one other couple off in the distance). The weather was ridiculously windy and cold so unfortunately we couldn’t enjoy for very long as sand was getting in our eyes. The reflection was also very minimal due to the tide being very low. Nevertheless it was still a super cool and worth seeing. I’ve truly never seen any landscape like it. I just wanted to be able to hop from one dune to the next to the next.

We then drove an hour 15 to hike Mulagljufur canyon which took about 2 hours out and back. This was another spot recommended off the beaten path. At first we weren’t sure we were in the right spot (again, trust your Alltrails app!), but eventually you reach a secluded parking lot with tons of other hikers gearing up.

The hike itself was moderate in terms of difficulty, so long as you can handle a steady climb. It looks like it would take a journey to get to this below viewpoint, but based on what we’ve done in Glacier National Park, this was not even in the same ballpark. In fact, we didn’t really do any extreme hikes our entire time in Iceland. Everything was very easy to get to, many times just a 2 minute walk right off the main road. So if you think going to Iceland means involves lots of effort to get the views, it is surprisingly not at all! This whole Iceland trip was the most easiest sight seeing we’ve ever had to do, and by far the most diverse scenery! It’s what allows you to see so much in such a short amount of time.

Afterwards we kept along the main road, now approaching the height of the tourist area – the midsouth. We were crossing a bridge and out of nowhere came this out-of-this-world land of blue. I told Alex to pull over cause we need to stop, little did I know it was the well-known Jökulsárlón / Diamond beach area. This was the first major tourist attraction of the popular southern region, and I instantly understood why. HOLY BLEEP it was incredible. The icebergs, the shapes and colors trickling down the glacier floating into the sea will take your breath away. On the other side of Ring Road, you can walk down to the Diamond Beach, where the icebergs wash up on the black shore like glistening diamonds. My regret is not walking all the way to the water, it was a huge stretch of sand and from what our eyes could tell, there wasn’t many for us to see during summer, but we should have walked all the way to the ocean to check. I guess we’ll just have to return! Also we didn’t see any, but keep an eye out for the seals that call the lagoon and beach home.

We continued on, passing through another purple mountain majesty field of lupines, til we 1 hour late arrived at  Fjadrargljufur Canyon. This was the desktop on my phone and much anticipated location for a looong time. I imagined it being an adventure and long hike to get to, and super remote. When in reality it was a quick 5 minute walk off the main road LOL.

We were getting exhausted so we made the final trek to Skogafoss area to camp (which is really just a parking lot area). When we pulled in, we were thrilled to see the most prime parking lot with the unblocked view of the waterfall was available to us! We could watch it out our bedroom window as we fell asleep and morning when we rose. Everyone parked was already sleeping so we got out and walked up to the fall. This is one of the most photographed spots in Iceland, the way you can walk right up to the base of the waterfall is very unique. I wanted to stay and admire until dawn, it was so special to have this place all to ourselves, but Alex was super tired from driving (don’t blame him!) so we walked back to the van to sing happy birthday, I made a wish,  blew out the candles to my cupcake and drifted off to sleep to the sound of the waterfall’s power.

Other cool things to explore (this area has a LOT, we definitely want to come back and explore the midsouth more):

Svartifoss Waterfall (this fall tumbles down unique basalt columns, which inspired the design of Rekjavik’s Hallgrimskiirkja church).

Skaftafell area of Vatnajökull National Park. Camp within the National Park $4 a night at Skaftafell Camping – HIGHLY rated. Gorgeous view of glaciers. We would have done this but it wasn’t time to sleep yet, and we wanted to keep making progress on our route.

Book the Glacier Explorer tour by Arctic Adventures. Lasts 5.5 hours. We originally booked this tour which would have been awesome to hike on top of a glacier! But we didn’t want to lose an entire day to it. We already felt like we were crossing off so many sites on our original list due to being a littttle too optimistic with how much we’d be able to see in one day. If we didn’t have to backtrack to Reykjavik for our COVID test two days prior to departure, it would have allowed us more time to stick to our original plans. But we wanted to keep making progress in our route. Another reason for us to return! 🙂 Also, if you’re in this area in the wintertime, it would be a MUST to do an Ice Cave tour.

Þakgil campsite for the night! We were highly highly hiiiighly recommended to camp here…it’s in the middle of this mossy green canyon. It’s off the main road about 45 minutes, but it’s not an F road so you don’t need a 4×4. Here’s a pretty good article on what the area is like! I was so bummed to cross this off the list, but it would have taken a day out of our itinerary and after now seeing that many of Iceland is mossy green, it didn’t feel AS necessary. Although still would have been cool to camp in this remote spot.

Day 6: Lots of Water fallin’! (Midsouth region)

We woke up to many more people walking up to the waterfall, now that it was normal sightseeing hours. We walked up again ourselves, this time got much closer (and wet!) It’s so crazy how powerfully loud the sound is crashing down against the ground, Alex got the closest out of anyone I saw and from the look on his face it was well worth it. I tried to get as close but I looked down and realized I was completely drenched. I yelled at Alex my camera was wet and we dashed back to our van. A refreshing way to start the day, that’s for sure!

After Skogafoss make sure to check out Kvernufoss. This one is hidden from the rest of the popular waterfalls on the South Coast, but is actually just located right behind Skogafoss. It is a beautiful short hike leading up to the fall, and make sure to walk all the way behind the fall for the best experience! Hot tip: **WALK** here after visiting Skógafoss so you don’t need to fuss about parking. The hike starts behind the Skógar museum and takes about 20-30 minutes. You can also park at the museum to be closer but will cost you a fee.

Drive to town of Vik & take pictures of Vik Church with Reynisfjara Black volcanic beach in background. I swear Iceland has more churches than people, and they all are so cute! Afterwards, head to the beach for a closeup of the dramatic rocks that jet out of the water. This is one of the most beautiful black sand beaches in the world.

After playing around with the cool basalt columns and boulders on the beach, grab a bite to eat in town and drive an hour west to catch the glorious colors of Seljalandsfoss Waterfall at sunset!

We both had such a natural high after seeing many amazing sights over the past two days, but we had to start making our way back to Reykjavik for our early AM Covid Test. However it did feel a little nice knowing tomorrow would be a slower pace, filled with shopping and the spa. We picked a camping spot just outside the city and said hi to even more horses!

Day 7: Backtrack to Reykjavik for Covid Test (Midsouth to Southwest Region)

Depending what restrictions are still ongoing when you travel to Iceland, you may need to get a COVID test to get back to the US. While we were traveling, this had to be done within 3 days of departure. So we chose Friday for our Sunday flight, knowing it could take up to 24 hours to get our results back. Like our initial COVID test upon entry, this only ended up taking 5 hours to get our results texted/emailed to us.

After our test, we spent some time in the city of Reykjavik exploring the various boutiques and fun cobblestone streets. DO BE AWARE that there are hardly any public bathrooms downtown. You basically have to eat at a restaurant or purchase something at a cafe if you need to go. They do have these weird coin-operated cylindrical “toilet booth” things (think of a telephone booth on the side of a street) that you can access, however expect the cleanliness of a porta-potty. Alex would not recommend lol. All other bathrooms we experienced in Iceland however were phenomenal and very sleek modern clean, just not downtown apparently!

Speaking of sleek & modern, we booked THEEEE BEST spa experience at Sky Lagoon. It’s a brand new facility in Reykjavik with an infinity pool overlooking the ocean, swim up bar, and very luxurious private changing rooms if you book the Sky pass (worth the extra penny). It also comes with the 7 step ritual which mixes hot and cold sensations for ultimate mind/body/soul rejuvenation – also a must during your visit. I’ll do a little compare/contrast of the 3 spas we visited down in the Q/A section at the end!

We stayed at the spa for a total of 3 hours, which I felt was the perfect amount. But we were now getting hangry. We picked up a Dominos pizza and went back to the same campsite as the night before to eat our za & drift off to sleep. Honestly, at this point our hearts were feeling very full and doing more sightseeing didn’t seem necessary??? Aside from the Volcano and Blue Lagoon. Those were musts to still see!

Day 8: The Golden Circle + Snorkeling (Southwest Region)

Our goal today was to finish up the last sights of the Golden Circle. We drove an hour back the way we came to a town we initially drove through called Selfoss, famous for their Icelandic hot dog stand Pylsuvagninn Selfossi – The Hot Dog Stand. We didn’t explore Iceland cuisine all that much (our van had a mini fridge for us to buy groceries and save on $$) but if you are visiting Iceland you have to try the traditional Icelandic Hot Dog. It’s made mostly from Icelandic lamb but also pork and beef and it’s usually served in a warm bun with white raw onion, crispy fried onion, sweet brown mustard, ketchup and remúlaði.

Were the food prices and such higher or similar to US? Are there any other Icelandic staples?

The restaurant prices I would say are more expensive, grocery store seemed pretty comparable slightly more. But you’re also paying for much higher quality local farm fresh food. It’s comparable to eating a nicer restaurant in the US ($15-23 an entree on average). We like to spend our money more on experiences than food, so besides the two restaurant trips, we kept our costs down by buying groceries and making sandwiches – thanks to our van for having a mini fridge that allowed us to do so!

Many things were also closed while we were awake (since we did most of our exploring during the midnight sun). But what we did try was all fantastic. Everything was very fresh and delicious. Their brick oven pizza was the best we’ve ever had – we only went out to eat twice and that’s what we got both times LOL. The tourist towns are still very “small town feel” but must be growing because there were so many brand new, modern architectural restaurants and hotels. Would have loved to have looked inside them!

We did not try their staple of fermented shark and a beer – from every traveler I heard we didn’t miss out on much lol!

Once our healthy 😉 breakfast was demolished we drove just 15 mins to Kerid Crater. I recommend taking the short walk down. You can walk all the way around the crater both above and below but we thought the view right off the main parking lot was really good so we saved our legs the effort.

There are other things to see along the Golden Circle, but we decided to drive 40 mins to Þingvellir National Park, where you can walk the valley between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates. 

We booked a snorkeling tour of the Silfra Fissure, the only place in the universe where you can go snorkeling in between two continental plates. We can now say we floated between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates, which are slowy drifting apart splitting Iceland in two at a rate of about 1 inch per year. We had never snorkeled before, and I will say that snorkeling in freezing water is NOT for the faint of heart. The amount of dry suits and the way we had to suction cup ourselves was intense LOL….very claustrophobic but hilarious and wish I had a photo of this! It took an hour just to get everything on!

With the air in your suits, it allows you to simply float, look down the clear glacial water 500 feet and enjoy! There were no fish, but exploring the blue lagoon and lime green grasses were such fascinating colors to witness in nature. If you’ve snorkeled before, you may not think it’s as cool as we did, but having never done it before it was a neat experience! Our guide was so calming and reassuring and had his underwater camera ready to take some awesome photos of our group of 6! Unfortunately he had to carry a person in our group who had a panic attack once in water, so there’s not much to share of this. But you can see what we were up to and check out more info here.

After this, it was about 7pm so we  made our way back to the airport area where Blue Lagoon/ Grindavik are located to do the much anticipated volcano hike followed by a final morning dip into the Blue Lagoon before our flight.

For the volcano, we wanted to make sure to hike closer to night time for the best views of glowing lava but DO be careful of nightly fog. We were supposed to hike this our FIRST night into our trip, but some intense fog and poor visibility kept us from doing so. That same night a man actually became separated from his wife in the fog and couldn’t find his way back, and luckily was found many hours later by a rescue team. Do not underestimate the fog here! In a place where there is actively flowing lava and hot magma, it becomes all the more necessary to know where you are stepping.

If it is windy, you may want to check the direction the air is blowing and make sure it won’t be blowing right at you on your hike. For us, the wind was blowing all the smoke from the fires making the air hard to breathe, especially with the steep climb uphill. Remember, the higher you go, the more smoke you’ll likely breathe in as smoke rises. Check weather forecast ahead of time to make sure it is safe to hike.

Lastly, keep in mind the hiking trails may change at any moment, so make sure to follow recent routes. Path A which took you closest unfortunately was recently closed when we went due to lava flow, so we had to do Path B which didn’t take you as close. Although I feel like we did Path C or D cause we saw pictures of other people who went the same time as us who were able to get muchhhh closer. Definitely should have looked into it more, but it was still cool to see from a distance and to get up close and personal with the black flowing lava fields!

Other things we missed:

• Haukadalur Geothermal Valley – home to the great Geysir—the original “geyser”. Its neighbor Strokkur erupts every ten minutes or so, sending boiling water up to 20 m (66 ft) high, and the area is dotted with bubbling hot springs and steaming fumaroles.
• Gullfoss – You can approach it right to its edge to observe its incredible scale and power. We were feeling good on our waterfalls so skipped this one, looks beautiful though.
• Krysuvik – another geothermal area near the Volcano that came recommended to us after our trip

Day 9: BLUE LAGOON & DEPARTURE BACK TO US

We woke up feeling good about last day. We felt we had seen a LOT in the last week and our travel hearts were feeling very full. We didn’t quite reach a point of feeling homesick, but another day and we probably would have! 9 days was just the right amount of time, and we were very excited to go home and see our puppies! One last stop at the iconic Blue Lagoon, then off to the airport we went!

We finished out our trip by saying goodbye to our Happy Campers van & watching one two many good movies on the plane. Our first international trip (and favorite trip ever taken) had come to an end. Bittersweet!

When we got together with friends and family and began telling the stories of our trip, the common theme was how incredible, low-fuss, streamlined, logistically easy this trip was. And we saw more scenery than we ever knew our eyes could see in one week’s time. With it being only a 5-6 hour flight, I was literally telling everyone they just simply must go!

We got very lucky being one of the first travelers back into the country so tourist numbers were way down from usual. That along with doing majority of our sightseeing during the midnight sun when most people were sleeping….at times we felt we had the whole island to ourselves. We feel truly lucky that this window opened up at the perfect time and we were able to experience Iceland in a way not many people can anymore now that it is increasing in popularity. Definitely go and see it for yourselves. It is a million times more magical than any of these photos will ever be! I still can’t believe I did this all without my professional camera gear in hand. Majority of these are Iphone actually! Which only goes to show how anyone can take images like this, because Iceland is truly incredible and it doesn’t take a lot to showcase it’s beauty.

And now to answer some of the most commonly asked questions we received!

Bless Bless (“bye bye”!)

If you’ve made it this far, thank you sooo much for being here! I hope you’ve found something helpful you can take away on your next trip to Iceland. And if you found any of this helpful, I’d love to hear in the comments below as well as any other questions you have! Thanks again & stay adventurous! – Meghan

Something about fall weddings in Wisconsin. The weather is JUST right for a few weeks of the year, and Alyssa and Brandon were lucky with one of those wedding days! I knew after meeting them for their engagement session and loving all their outfit choices that their day was going to have TONS of style. Alyssa’s slinky low back dress, the peach and apricot toned florals, Brandon’s white and black tux. They chose to be married at The Atrium MKE, a unique loft setting with the most lush, garden setting up top (and sexy moodier vibe below, perfect for their romantic candlelit ceremony & dinner!) With the sun setting earlier, we were able to end our time with them in pitch black sky for one of my favorite sparkler exits! I’ve been a bit behind on blogging, but with November coming to an end…I knew I couldn’t go another fall season without sharing this one with you!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Enjoy!

Hard to believe Christine & Mykal were already married TWO years ago on 9.19.19 at Hartman Creek State Park! Before elopements and small weddings in local parks became the “new norm”, let’s just say these two were ahead of the trends! 😛

Christine is Alex’s cousin and I knew Mykal from school, so we were SO excited not only when they started dating, but also when we found out they were getting married and they asked us to photograph it! We loved being a part of this journey with them, and are so proud they ultimately decided to stay true to themselves and what they wanted out of their wedding day, which was something much more simple, low-fuss, raw, organic, and a day that focused on their commitment to one another surrounded by their very closest people.

They chose Hartman Creek State Park, Mykal’s favorite camping spot as a kid. Tall pines, teepees, meadows, a boho bride’s dream. Christine looked like a forest queen with her classic low bun and overflowing (!!) bouquet. They exchanged vows as the sun set behind the big oak tree, a branch hung perfectly down & served as natural greenery above their wooden arbor. The rain held off and we actually got the glowing sunset ceremony these two had wished for.

All around such a perfect day & I am so excited for them as they celebrate 2 years of marriage and a newborn on the way very soon!

LOVE YOU GUYS!! ♡ Happy anniversary!

 

 

Emily and Rudy had postponed their early summer wedding in Lake Geneva in hopes that they’d be able to celebrate as planned at their venue come August. However, with the conditions still staying relatively the same they decided that instead of postponing until 2021 that becoming husband and wife was ultimately most important.

We met Emily at the Geneva Inn where she and the girls were getting ready prior to making their way to the cabin. Then together with 15 of their family and friends, they were married on Rudy’s family’s land. A secluded intimate setting, they exchanged vows under the big tree by the pond, and later enjoyed chef-prepared hor d’oeuvres and cocktails on the outdoor patio, a perfect for setting up an “al fresco” styled dinner. A long harvest table was decorated with a lush greenery eucalyptus runner on top of white linens and an abundance of pillar candles helped provide a cozy ambiance come twilight. They and their guests danced the night away underneath the tealights. And although in the end it was not the wedding day they had initially envisioned, seeing the joy expressed all day long, made it all feel so right.

Loved this down-to-earth couple and how easily they wore their hearts and emotions on their sleeves. It made photographing the day such a joy! Congratulations Rudy & Emily, and thank you for inviting us in to your intimate & stunning wedding day!

And without further adieux, I present you the backyard wedding of my dreams: 🙂