;)
In the Water They Can't See You Cry: A Memoir - Hardcover available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books a Million, IndieBound and Simon & Schuster or get the eBook version available for Apple products, Kindle and Nook!
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My FAVORITE sunscreen ever! I seriously don't leave home without it.
View From the Bund
Here's a shot from my trip last summer to Shanghai. It is an incredibly interesting city that is home to some of the most interesting architecture in the world.
Amanda Beard, Photography, Shanghai | in Photography, Travel 
Sacha, Amanda & Blaise
One of my favorite family pics from our last trip to Oahu.
Yesterday Sacha, Blaise and I made a quick trip out to the Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Ranch. Their grounds actually house quite a variety of animals: donkeys, deer, goats and lorikeets but the ostriches were definitely the stars of the show.
Hungry Bird
Food for the animals was provided as part of the entry fee and feeding them definitely made for an incredibly entertaining hour. The deer with their little wet noses and velvet tongues were the most gentle of the animals while the ostriches were by far the roughest. None of the animals were really interested in biting the hand that fed them but a gentle accidental nip did happen from time.
Really, Really, Really Ridiculously Cute
Thievery was a problem on the ranch as most of the animals, given the slightest chance, would steal the cup of food right from my hands. Blaise and I of course punished them severely for their greediness with more food and petting.
Unfortunately we did pass on the moster truck tour of Picacho Peak that the ranch offers but next time that'll be first on our list.
I'm home after a wonderful weekend in Seattle celebrating my birthday and Halloween with friends and family. Thanks to everyone who made it happen!
Back to the pool I go.
Wishing everyone a safe and happy Halloween from the Pacific Northwest!
As I board my flight and find my seat I come to realize I'm surrounded by kids, none of which are my own. There's a familiarity to the commotion that brings me comfort. A small boy in front of me starts to cry and instinctively I begin to wonder about my own child.
I know Blaise is safe at home with his dad but as the physical distance between us grows so does a pit in my stomach.
It will be gone only when I see his smiling face again.
I was going to write a few paragraphs to tell about my birthday trip this weekend but then I remembered, what happens in Vegas...
California Moon Through My Windshield
Never doubt the power of stepping away to clear your head. Most of the time when I'm training if the going gets tough I dig in and buckle down but every once and a while I retreat so I can come back to the pool with a clear head and more focused energy than I had before I left. I'm not saying it's a good idea to take a week off and head for Tahiti but a short respite will often do little harm and much good.
One of my favorite ways to do this is by car. In the day of the jetset crowd there's something really fun about stuffing a few necessities into a small bag, jumping into ye ol' automobile with friends or loved ones and hitting the great wide open road. It's fairly inexpensive compared to flying, the conversations are usually great, the silent moments give time for contemplation of things lost in the daily grind and always at some point something makes someone laugh hard.
The Biggest Flag I've Ever Seen
Do choose your travel partners wisely especially on longer journeys as close quarters tend to amplify moods and remember there's safety in numbers but there's no rule that says you can't go it alone. For extra adventure bring the kids. Travelling with a child requires stopping out of necessity frequently at locations you normally might not. I've ended up visiting some very interesting places this way, some I'd driven blindly by a thousand times.
If you're hesitant to fly by the seat of your pants, take AAA's TripTik app with and know that you have the guidance of the road trip masters in your pocket.
