"Fernweh"

I've always been happiest when I'm traveling. Whether it was on a family vacation, taking a road trip with friends, tagging along on a friend's business trips, moving to a new city, or mapping out the itineraries of trips I would take as an adult, I'm always excited when I'm headed someplace new. There's a German word, Fernweh, that translates to "an ache for the distance", which is the literal opposite of feeling homesick. That's exactly how I've always felt, constantly anxious to move on to someplace else. As a photographer, my favorite thing in the world is to explore new cities or disappear into the wilderness with my camera. Even before I was given my first Instamatic camera at ten years old, I loved nothing quite as much as being on vacation, arriving at a hotel, traveling by train, or the anticipation of waiting for a flight in an airport terminal. Maybe it has something to do with moving around so much as a child, or the fact that I was born where most people spend their vacations, on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. This blog will feature photography and excerpts from an autobiography i've been working on for a few months now, but focusing mainly on the trips I've taken and the places I've lived. They may appear out of order here, as I sift through scraps of notes and boxes of photos, so i'll date each entry accordingly. Here we go..