Hi all! We have returned from our exhausting 2 week vacation! It seems we are incapable of actually relaxing so even our vacations are busy!

We saw and did so much: a roadtrip in the southern desert of Israel, crazy hikes on the site of Petra in Jordan, floating in the Dead Sea, and exploring the ancient city of Jerusalem. We were traveling with my parents so it was unusual to be sharing our time with two other travelers (we’re used to traveling alone) but it was so great to spend so much time with them – we had a blast!

There’s just so much to say about this trip, but I’ll try to let the photos give you a taste of what it was like instead. We took thousands, but here are just a few of our favorites:

Tel Aviv:

It’s practical to travel with other people; we could set up a shot, get into position, and have them click for us! It was like shooting our own engagement session.

My dad, on our road trip to Jordan. (Daniel was our chauffeur)

It took us a while to realize that this shape was an actual live animal. They have many metal cutouts of animals around the area, so it’s easy to get fooled into thinking they’re real. But then this one actually moved around (we later got to see it up close)

Another “engagement” shot:

We just used a rock and the camera timer for this one (one of my favorites):

On a boat in Eilat:

At long last… Petra!

I love this shot that Daniel captured. It sums up the lack of interest that so many tourists seemed to have with their guide. I just love how everyone has a different agenda!

The local Bedouins were amazing people to photograph, are were very friendly.

A goat at the top of the mountain in Petra. One of my favorite photos of the whole trip!

Back in Israel, at a market in Jerusalem.

At the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem (Daniel’s amazing shots):

One of the highlights for me, floating in the Dead Sea! It’s one of the weirdest/coolest feelings I’ve ever experienced! Notice the salt on the shallow end is actually visible, that’s how concentrated it is.