KBlog

Fresno Blossom Trail

3/10/2019

This March, we did a 50 mile loop self guided tour of the Fresno Blossom trail! It has been raining non stop in California which creates perfect conditions for superblooms. Fresno is about a 3.5 hr drive from LA. Below is a map of the Fresno blossom trail. These are privately owned farms you can just park and walk into the trees to take pictures. It's not crowded as not many people know of these blossom groves so you can sometimes have a whole orchard to yourself for pictures! I recommend creating your own hanami picnic by getting fresh Japanese mochi at the Kogetsu-Do Confectionery and eating it by the blossoming trees. They even have peach, sakura, blueberry, and rasberry jam filling mochi flavors that are delicious. We saw the most beautiful white to pink groves of almond, plum, apricot, peach, and nectarine blossoms. The petals blow blissfully all over you in the gentle breeze. The almond blossoms are so white and abundant that they look like snowfall on the ground. I'm a lover of all kinds of blossoms especially cherry blossoms and these fruit blossoms are just as gorgeous! Cherry and fruit blossoms inspired the creation of all my cherry blossom paintings here www.kblossoms.etsy.com. You can now buy my original or poster print of my blossom paintings. Hope you all get to see blossoming trees this Spring!

Almond Blossoms have white petals. Two or more varieties may be planted in the same orchard for cross pollination by bees. Harvesting, usually done mechanically, runs from late Aug. to early Oct.

Plum Blossoms are white. At least two varieties will be planted in an orchard for cross pollination. Over 200 varieties are grown commercially. Harvested in June to late September.

Apricot Blossoms have pink petals. Fewer than 12 varieties are grown commercially. Harvest season lasts two to three weeks during mid to late May.

Peach and Nectarine Blossoms feature pink to red petals and bloom at the same time. Over 100 varieties are grown commercially. Harvest runs mid-May to October.

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Our Trip to Japan to See Cherry Blossoms!

3/8/2019

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We went to see the cherry blossoms in Japan for one week in the third week of March this year which is a bit early, as it's hard to time the peak bloom months ahead as they are weather dependent, but we saw a few of them bloom. I would recommend coming the last week of March or first week of April to catch the peak bloom in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka. Nevertheless, it was still a beautiful experience to see some cherry blossoms as they are my favorite flower and the inspiration behind and theme of my Kblossoms jewelry and painting store! The theme of our wedding at Falkner Winery in Temecula, CA was also cherry blossoms, where I handmade all the cherry blossom cake, wishing tree, guests gifts, decorations, so I feel so blessed to be able to see so many of them live in Japan for the first time. You can see our cherry blossom wedding here; we were also featured in two wedding magazines since our cherry blossom wedding decor was so unique and handmade! For this cherry blossom trail trip, we flew into Tokyo and took the train South. We searched for all the cherry blossom trees, hanami festivals, which are cherry blossom festivals where people picnic under the cherry blossom trees and enjoy home cooked meals, barbecue, and drink sake. It's an important festival held all over Japan in the Spring. It is believed that the origin of the hanami dates back more than 1,000 years to when aristocrats enjoyed looking at the beautiful sakuras and wrote poems inspired by them.
Cherry blossoms are beautiful and ephemeral flowers; the blooms don't last more than two weeks; they have become the symbol of the impermanence of beauty in Japan. Cherry blossoms are featured in artwork that depict the Japanese concept of "mono no aware", or the realization that "nothing lasts forever" in this world. It sounds very Buddhist where they believe that life always changes, nothing remains the same, so don't be attached to people or things. Below is the 2019 cherry blossom forecast in Japan. The cherry blossom will start to bloom from the south, at the end of March, in Kyushu and will bloom northward until early May in Hokkaido. We were a week early for the cherry blossom peak bloom in Tokyo but we still saw a few trees bloom early.

In Tokyo, we saw cherry blossoms in Ueno Park, Chidorigafuchi lake boating, Yoyogi Park, and the Meguro River at night. We also did a day trip to see the snow monkeys bathing in the hot springs at Jigokudani Monkey Park in Nagano. It took about 30 minutes hiking in mud surrounded by tall trees or 1 mile to get to the snow monkey hot springs, it's well worth the hike as you will be fascinated watching these snow monkeys play in the wild. My favorite part was watching the baby monkeys frolic and play and seeing the strong bond between the mother and their babies. We also visited the Zenkogi temple in Nagano where it is lit up magestically at night. We then headed to the Fuji 5 Lakes area to see the Chureito Pagoda overlooking Mt. Fuji. However it was snowing and cloudy that day so we didn't see Mt Fuji and we saw only one cherry blossom tree that has bloomed there as it was still to early for peak bloom. The next day was clear luckily so we got great views of Mt. Fuji. We enjoyed a relaxing onsen at our hotel Fuji Tatsugaoka near Mt. Fuji, in this area you can find many hotels with private outdoor onsens overlooking Mt. Fuji. Onsens are super relaxing for your body and sore feet after a long day of walking and hiking. In Japan you have to go into onsens naked and can't have any tattoos, men and women are separated. We beared the crowds at the Kinkakuji temple golden pavilion in Kyoto, which was so beautiful and the gold leaf literally glows when the sun hits it. The Hirano shrine in Kyoto had beautiful cherry blossom trees that we photographed at dusk. We walked around the magestic Arashiyama bamboo forest, they had the largest and tallest bamboos I've ever seen. On the same day, we hiked up the 3.1 mile Fushimi Inari path to the very top of the mountain and passed 10,000 orange tori gates. There were drink vending machines, restrooms, gift shops and icecream along the way up so you can stop and rest enjoying views of Kyoto. Along the path you will pass many fox shrines and tombstones. At night we visited the Gion District which was full of restaurants and it is also a red light district. It is the ancient city where the geishas performed but today you see tons of tourists dressed up in kimonos walking all over Kyoto posing for pictures. I enjoyed talking a stroll by the Gion Shirakawa river as you can see many cherry blossoms illumimated at night there. The next day we visited the Osaka castle, and saw a few cherry blossom trees in bloom, they usually reach peak bloom in the first week of April. I recommend visiting the Expo Commemorative Park in Osaka as they have many paths with cherry blossom trees. At night, we grabbed takoyaki and dumplings street food at Osaka Dotonbori street that is like a nightmarket with lots of stores and people. It's cool to see all the bright lights lit up at night and the running man sign.
Below are pictures of all my cherry blossom watercolor and acrylic paintings that I have created that were inspired by the Japanese cherry blossom trees! You can now buy the originals or poster prints in my Kblossoms store here: www.kblossoms.etsy.com! I created some sterling silver cherry blossom necklaces with Swarovski crystals that were inspired by my Japan trip. The gold cherry blossom stud earrings are made by MXMJewelry in Berkeley!
The best way to travel around Japan is to get the Japan Rail pass in your home country before arriving and exchanging your voucher at one of the main JR stations. The Japan Rail saved us money for long trips outside of Tokyo. Within Tokyo we took various Tokyo metro trains and paid for them as we went. Use Google maps as it will guide you which trains and times to get around Tokyo. We ended up walking about 5 miles a day all around Japan which was great exercise and allowed us to eat all the good Japanese food and snacks we liked. We loved eating the yakitori, sushi and ramen as they tasted so delicious and home made. I also loved eating the freshest juiciest huge strawberries, grapes, and melons as they are organic and grown with the best quality soil and techniques. My favorite fruit in Japan are their huge juicy sweet strawberries; we ate them everyday as a snack to load up on Vitamin C, folic acid, and antioxidants. They are better than candy and way more nutritious. I love the natural beauty of Japan that I want to come back for fall foliage one day. Thanks for reading!

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Greece Inspired Kblossoms Jewelry

10/12/2018

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We did a week trip to Santorini and Athens to see the beautiful sunsets in Oia and the Acropolis, Meteroa and other ancient Greek ruins in mid-October which as perfect 70 degree weather and few tourists. My favorite part of the trip was watching the sunset architecture in Oia. The best place to watch the sunset is right below the Byzantine Ruins on the road that leads to the delicious Dmititri Ammoudi Restaurant right by the sea that serves great seafood. Be careful though as the cobblestone road to the bottom is filled with donkey poop and hiking back up is a killer. We walked down the donkey alley and took the cable car up in Thira. I really enjoyed all the delicious Greek food in Santorini from grilled octopus, cheese board, souvaki, gyros, fresh seafood, and Greek yogurt. My favorite drink I had every morning in Santorini and Athens was the iced frappe, so delicious and better than a Starbucks latte as it's so creamy and good. The people here all are super nice and speak English so it's easy to get around. I really enjoyed watching the sunset at Santos Winery where you can do wine tasting and enjoy a meal outside overlooking the entire Santorini caldera an unobstructed view through a glass panel. They also have a gift shop where you can buy donkey soap, honey, turkish delights and any other Greek desert. I really enjoyed the view at the top of Ancient Thira. You'll drive up this windy road and hike to the top of an ancient Greek ruins with a spectacular view. The dessert wine in Santorini is very sweet and delicious, probably the best I've ever tasted as it takes 10 kilos of grapes to make 1 bottle of wine. We visited the quaint little town of Pyrgos and wandered the narrow streets to the blue dome church at the top. I liked the colorful doors, jewelry, and sandal shops on this small down. I bought a comfortable Greek leather sandal from Sandalaki in Pyrgos. I have collected several evil eye Greek jewelry and designed blue quartz and white pearl necklaces and earrings that resemble the blue domes of Santorini which are Roman Catholic churches scattered throughout the island. If you love the scenes of Santorini above I highly recommend the Santorini calendar by 527 Photo on Etsy, her photography comes in blush pink tones and she designs beautiful calendars shown above and wall prints.

Athens is a modern bustling city. On the way walking I noticed alot of graffiti art all over the city. I feel it safe to walk around Athens, just use street common sense and don't talk to soliciters who may approach you on the streets especially at Monastiraki Flea Market. Learn to take the Metro as its fast, safe and convenient to see all the ancient sites in Athens. The Acropolis was an amazing architectural site to witness with grand marble columns. It's hard to imagine how people back in ancient times were able to haul huge blocks of marble across the mountains to the top of the Acropolis and carve the columns to geometic perfection. Be sure to visit the Acropolis Museum below the hill as it houses the actual scultural pediments of the Parthenon and they play a historical video of the history of the Acropolis and explains the beautiful scultures of the Greek gods carved on the building. I enjoyed seeing the doric columns on the Parthenon and the Erechtheion columns of maidens and the Corinthian columns at the Temple of Zeus. I recommend eating dinner to watch the sunset with a view of the Acropolis at Savvas Restaurant and grabbing a drink or coffee at the A for Athens hotel rooftop restaurant. The Plaka District was a nice place to walk around and see nice shops and restaurants and buy souvenirs. The Panathenaic Stadium is an amazing site to behold as it's the location of the first world Olympic Games in 1896 and is the only stadium made of marble. The tunnel underneath it is pretty too. A must see place second to popularity of the Acropolis is the Meteroa, rock formations in the sky. The beautiful 14th century Eastern Orthodox monasteries sit on top of these huge rocks in Kalambaka area of middle Greece. The monks made wine, prayed, and lived close to the heavens in these monastaries in the mountains. Meteora is a full day tour from Athens. You book a tour and take a 5 hour train from Athens to Kalambaka to then take a tour bus to the monastaries where you can go inside. It's a beautiful natural wonder to behold and a world UNESCO site, a must see in Greece.

I picked up a few evil eye bracelets and necklaces in Greece. The evil eye is believed to be a curse that is given by an evil glare. Any negative emotion can cause the evil eye curse, such as anger or even jealousy. It is believe that the curse itself causes bad things to happen to the person who has received the curse, such as headaches and even a string of “bad luck”. Wearing a special evil eye charm, also called a mati, is said to help prevent the curse from even happening. Hope you like the colorful evil eye jewelry I have brought back from Greece! Thanks for reading and be sure to checkout my Greek inspired Kblossoms jewelry at www.kblossoms.etsy.com

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New Mexico and Colorado Inspired Kblossoms Jewelry

6/2/2018

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Welcome to my New Mexico and Colorado inspired Kblossoms jewelry blog. I took 4 days off for some hiking, relaxation and rejuvenation at the Pagosa Hot Springs, Trimble Hot Springs, Great Sand Dunes and Mesa Verde National Parks. We flew into Albuquerque, NM and went to Sante Fe, Alamosa, Durango, and Mesa Verde for a total of 916 miles of driving. The second day we visited the thousand year old adobe homes of the Taos Pueblo Indians and learned about their tragic history of persecution by the Spaniards and US government. I was amazed by their beautiful rectangular adobe homes made of mud, water, and grass that have been preserved for thousands of years. The Tao Pueblos Indians lived off the river that flows through their town. They baked bread ate corn baking them in dome like ovens outside their homes made of adobe and plaster. The Tao pueblo is one of the many living Native American communities in NM which I find more fascinating than a museum because you can witness the grandeur of the architecture and speak to the locals about their traditions and way of life. We then drove to the Great Sand Dunes National Park and hiked to the top of the sand dunes seeing phenomenal views that look like a Star Wars movie. The desert sand dunes was a magical beautiful natural land form made by sand and wind. We then hiked in nearby cold river to Zapata waterfall with rock slot canyons and a magical view of tall trees. Our 2nd day didn't end there, we drove to Pagosa Hot Springs and soaked in 100 degree water that was so relaxing. On day 3 we walked around the City of Durango a quaint town. We then soaked in the hot pools and swam in the long heated pools of Trimble Hot Springs rejuvenating our skin and soul. On day 4 we visited all the cliffhouses in Mesa Verde National Park. We took a two hour ranger guided tour of the Longhouse Cliff Palace built in 1150 AD. The pueblo Indians lived here year round and burned fireplaces in the cold snowy winters. About 120 people lived here in 150 homes, 21 kivas. They raised turkey and dogs and farmed beans, corn, and squash to survive. They wove baskets, made jewelry and traded them with other Indians. No one knows why the Indians abandoned this place, maybe drought and fires making their farmlands inhospitable? They painted petroglyphs on the walls and had their own natural source of spring water on the back walls of the caves. What an amazing piece of architecture! The Cliffhouse Palace was pretty beautiful too, you can see it at a lookout point. I counted around 10 kivas there, a ceremonial circular place in the cliff palace. If I were a Pueblo Indian in my past life, I would be the community jewelry maker and trade my jewelry for corn and squash. On the last day we went to Los Poblanos Inn to sample all their handmade lavender products as they have a beautiful lavender farm. We enjoyed a delicious farm to table breakfast at El Campo restaurant there, I loved the country chic decor. We also explored Albuquerque a bit. All our handmade orange amber, turquoise bar and gold filled star moon jewelry were inspired by my trip to the Southwest. Check out my Kblossoms jewelry www.kblossoms.etsy.com

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New Zealand Inspired Kblossoms Jewelry

3/30/2018

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Welcome to my New Zealand inspired Kblossoms jewelry blog! In March 2018, we spent 8 days in the South Island New Zealand which is their Fall. We rented a car and drove 1,500 miles throughout the island. We started in Christchurch and did a counter clockwise loop to Waipara Wineries, Hamner Springs, Greymouth, Franz Joseph, Wanaka, Queenstown, Te Anau, Milford Sound, Gore, Dunedin, Hampden, Mt Cook, Tekapo. We had the greatest outdoor adventure of our lives in this beautiful country. Kiwis were so nice to us, I think there are more sheep and cows than people in some places we drove through. The most exciting part of the trip was flying in a helicopter on top of Franz Joseph Glacier and hiking the blue ice formations, doing 360 spins in a jet boat in Hamner Springs and getting soaking wet up in personal to a gigantic waterfall on a cruise boat in Milford Sound. The most unforgettable experience was walking and having coffee with llamas in Hamner Springs. The most relaxing thing was soaking in the gorgeous hot springs of Hamner Springs and Tekapo Hot Springs for hours after hiking. The most unusual and unique experience was witnessing hundreds of glow worms in Te Anau caves; they look like sparkling star constellations in the night sky, a very romantic boat ride in darkness. Riding the luge and drinking from a cup made of ice at the Minus 5 Ice Bar in Queenstown was a fun experience too. We love New Zealand so much we want to come back to explore more of the outdoors! Above are the Kblossoms handmade Fall inspired jewelry that I made using precious stones like citrine and yellow chalcedony. Please visit my Etsy site here to see more www.kblossoms.etsy.com

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Death Valley National Park Inspired Jewelry

10/16/2017

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Welcome to my Death Valley National Park Kblossoms jewelry inspired blog! We just came back from a camping trip in Death Valley under the millions of vibrant stars and shooting stars. We saw so many shooting stars from the Orionid Meteor Shower from Halley's Comet. We were so excited that each of our pictures captured from one to 4 shooting stars! We drove 50 miles off road to reach the beautiful and relaxing 80 degree warm hot springs of Saline Valley where we soaked up the pristine waters during sunset hour with the burros right behind us. I'm not much of a camper but couldn't miss out on this opportunity to bathe in warm natural hot springs water, cook our own food, and camp in a tent under the brilliant stars and witnessed many shooting stars in the dark night sky as there was no light pollution in the desert. I highly recommend this trip to enjoy the outdoors, away from the city, away from people and to be one with nature with the coyotes and burros roaming around. It was so relaxing and I would definitely come again. The people at the camp site were very nice and you can bring your dogs too. During the day, we drove all over Death Valley to see the salt flats, hiked the mosaic slot canyons, view the entire basin from Aguaberry point and Zabrinski point. We even got to hike to Darwin waterfall, a gorgeous waterfall in Death Valley. The moving rocks in Racetrack Playa and the Ubehebe Crater were pretty amazing points of interests. The best time to visit Death Valley is in the Spring around February where the weather is mild and we saw the superbloom of fields of desert gold flowers, or in October when the days are warm and nights are mild. Camping under the stars in Death Valley inspired me to create my star and moon necklace as we saw a beautiful crescent moon at night. My Kblossoms stars are made with high quality gold filled materials or red quartz precious stones. You can visit my store on Etsy www.kblossoms.etsy.com or clicking the link on each picture. We went camping in Death Valley to see the milky way and shooting stars; to see the less ordinary, but the most extraordinary take away is within you.

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Colorado fall foliage inspired jewelry

10/1/2017

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Autumn is the season where everyone is in search of adventure, crisp mornings, fresh air, and fields of gold. We took a four day road trip to Colorado to see the beautiful fall foliage that peaks during the last week of September. On the first day, we took the red steam powered train up to Pikes Peak that is about 14,100 feet high in Manitou Springs and saw snow and clouds below us and witnessed many of the silver bark trees turn a yellow golden color. On the second day, we drove through Crested Butte and Kebler Pass that showcased a gorgeous fields of golden yellow golden aspens and pines. The valley looked like it was on fire with yellow and oranges. Maroon Bells was easy to get to as you just park in a nearby parking lot and walk to the lake. The lake reflection of the yellow aspens and snow capped mountains was just gorgeous with peak fall foliage and a hint of fog. We went to the quaint cute town of Aspen for dinner. I like all the buildings and nice shops there. Colorado has many silver bark and aspen trees that has inspired the fall leaf jewelry and paintings of aspens. The weather in Colorado changed drastically every five minutes, it went from sunny to cloudy rainy hail and fog all in day, so make sure to pack layers and a rain jacket, scarf, and gloves. On the third day, we hiked a 2 mile strenuous uphill mountain on rocks and switchbacks to get to the Hanging Lake and Sprouting Rock Waterfall. The emerald green pools of the Hanging Lake is surely worth the effort, a magnificent site to behold. When we reached the Rocky Mountain National Park, it started to hail and snow so many of the roads were closed, luckily we made it out of the snow storm on time driving in total darkness and snow with low visibility. We did enjoy the scenery of the pine trees mixed with yellow aspens and even glimpsed a deer in the meadow. Fall is probably my favorite season of the year. Fall is a second Spring where every leaf is a flower, fluttering down in the wind.

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Zion National Park Inspired Kblossoms Painting and Jewelry

7/31/2017

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Welcome to my Zion National Park inspired jewelry and painting blog! This is our second time going to Zion, we visited five years ago in the Fall and witnessed beautiful fall foliage and decided to return in the summer this year to hike Angel's Landing on our bucket list. Angel's Landing was a truly unforgettable hike with views of Zion's 270 million year old red orange rock layers with the Virgin River running through the valley floor. We survived the 5 mile round trip hike to Angels Landing that was all uphill on switchbacks and we had to rock climb propelling ourselves on a chain cliff wall with sheer drop offs. It was the scariest hike we've ever done in our lives and it's not for everyone especially those with the fear of heights. The key is to look straight forward at where you are going, never letting go of the chains on the rocks and never looking down the cliff. We only made it to the first major cliff and had to turn around as it started to rain and thunder and we didn't want to risk it. My favorite part of that day was walking 2 miles down the Virgin River and witnessing the gorgeous sunset hour at the Zion valley. I love this romantic river walk as all you hear are birds chirping, river water flowing and get to see the gorgeous red rock canyons above and chipmunks and squirrels run around. It's truly like paradise on earth and inspired me to paint the above Zion Valley Virgin River watercolor abstract painting. You can order my Kblossoms Zion watercolor print in 3 sizes (11"x14", 16"x20", 20"x30") and frame it yourself making a great addition to your living room or bedroom decor. All the orange red earrings and necklaces were inspired by this Zion trip. I made the orange and pink chandelier earrings with genuine Swarovski crystals and used orange agate or carnelian stones to create the necklace and earrings. We had dinner at the Spotted Dog Cafe my favorite restaurant in Zion and had bumbleberry ice cream after hiking for 6 hours to Angels Landing and the Virgin River. On another day, we hiked 4.8 miles in a river of rocks under a flash thunderstorm with heavy rain to Kanarraville Falls about an hour outside of Zion. I wouldn't recommend hiking in the rain because of the threat of flash floods which are unpredictable in the summer months. Our hike to Kanarraville Falls started hot and sunny and ended cloudy and rainy. Kanarraville Falls is Utah's best kept secret, truly a hidden gem, and was so fun to hike to ending in a makeshift ladder above a waterfall. We loved the golden orange colors of the slot canyon and cooling down in the river bed on a hot summer day. Be prepared to pay $10 for parking. On that same day, we had a lot of fun driving our 4wd car across Toquerville Falls in Utah. Toquerville Falls is a well known swimming pool waterfall spot for locals in St. George Utah made of sandstone rocks. You just drive 5.8 miles on a bumpy dirt road to get to this waterfall. This was a short four day trip and we covered a lot of beautiful hikes. I hope you can one day go witness nature's beauty and hidden gems. Thank you for reading! You can visit my Kblossoms Etsy shop here www.kblossoms.etsy.com to shop for my handmade jewelry and paintings. To get my Zion photographs on various products, please visit my Zazzle store: www.zazzle.com/kblossoms

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Kauai Island Adventure Inspired Kblossoms Jewelry

6/6/2017

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Hi everyone! I just got back from my one week birthday trip to the beautiful island of Kauai! It was an epic and phenomenal trip where we did many firsts: flying over rainbows on the Napali coasts on a helicopter, inner tubing, stand up paddle boarding. Kauai is the most luscious green and undeveloped island all the Hawaiian islands and feels just like paradise on earth! I've been dreaming of this trip for the past 5 years now, putting hiking the treacherous Napali coast on my bucket list and finally realizing my dream. We hiked only 2 miles (4 miles round trip) of the total 12 miles of coastal mountain rocks and sand and it was difficult rock climbing up and down hill the entire way but worth it as you're rewarded with phenomenal coastal blue waters and beach views the entire way. I recommend renting a car allowing freedom to explore; we drove around the entire island, visiting 20 beaches and chasing gorgeous sunsets on all corners of the island. My favorite part of the trip was the helicopter ride where I saw 4 huge rainbows over Waimea canyon and Napali coast, many waterfalls, tall mountain peaks from way up high in the sky. There were so many wild chickens roaming around all over the island in parking lots, mountains and our hiking trails. They are so cute and colorful and are always looking for food. We awoke everyday at 5:30am to the sound of the roosters crowing. Most days, we started our day early, waking up to the sound of roosters, going everywhere all over the island doing outdoor water sports and didn't come back to our hotel until past 9pm. I recommend saving all your money for the outdoor tours and water sports and just staying in a cheap motel or Airbnb. I had a lot of fun rope swinging into secret swim holes near a river, stand up paddle boarding, kayaking in the Huleia River with spectacular views of luscious green mountains all around me. I loved watching the hula dancers and their beautiful dancing and costumes at the Smith's Family Garden Luau. I loved the Waimea falls, the beautiful double waterfall featured in Fantasy Island; you can park on the side of the road and walk up to. My favorite beach to watch the sunset was Barking Sand Beach on the West coast; we had to drive a little off road to get to it but it's well worth it as we were rewarded with a beautiful pink peach sunset and foamy blue crashing waves on the beach. My favorite beach to walk on was Lydgate park beach as the coral sands and blue waves are beautiful with a nice kiddy pool on the left. Kauai is known to have beaches with strong waves and rip currents that make it dangerous for swimming, but we found Anahola beach on the East coast that is very shallow and easy for swimming with no waves. One of my other favorite water sports on the island was inner tubing down a river and long dark caves with Kauai Back Country Adventures; you are carried down river by a strong current and get to spin and turn down a beautiful fern lined river. We got to wear headlamps and the cave walls are sparkly and beautiful. My favorite place to eat acai bowls and healthy salads, avocado toasts, breakfast burritos on the island is Eat Healthy in Wailua. We went to eat there almost every morning as we love the backyard outdoor seating ambience being surrounding by coconut and banana trees, flowers, cactuses, crushed green sea glass floors and resident lizards, cats and chickens! If you go to Kauai you have to try their delicious poke! It taste like jelly and melts in your mouth. We had ours with red radish, corn, watermelon, and sesame seeds and it was delicious! My favorite activity on the island was the fantastic helicopter ride over the entire island with Island Helicopters Kauai, we were blessed with phenomenal views of the grand canyon of Kauai (Waimea Canyon), many waterfalls throughout the green Napali coast canyons that look like weeping rocks, and four rainbows on land and sea. The helicopter ride was one of the best experiences of my life and I'm glad we did it on the last day of our trip as we were able to see all the rivers, beaches, and mountains that we hiked, kayaked, and paddle boarded in from the air. Kauai is definitely an adventure-filled island if you're into the outdoors and water sports with beautiful mountain peaks and 113 miles of coastlines. The best part is the Hawaiian people are very kind and nice to us, all our tour guides loved their jobs and treated us like family. I liked how the locals on the island lived a chill slow pace life and you can drive around the island at 25mph enjoying the coastal views and no one would honk you. I was inspired by Kauai to create all my Kblossoms ocean shell, Swarovski crystal coral necklaces and earrings that you see above from this beautiful trip to paradise on earth. You can find my one of a kind hand-made beach jewelry here: www.kblossoms.etsy.com Thanks for reading!

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Our Valentine's Day Iceland Trip in February 2017

2/17/2017

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Welcome to our Valentine's Day trip to Iceland blog! We had a great time doing the 6 day tour with Guide to Iceland, everything went very smoothly thanks to our travel planner. He booked everything for us with perfect timing allowing us to rest and see all the spectacular sites all in good time. Our favorite part of the trip was hiking the Vatnajokull glacier to see the black ice cave and blue ice wave walls that reminded me a lot of Utah's The Wave at Kanab but made completely of blue ice. We drove off road on bumpy terrain to the glacier and hiked the glacier with crampons and it was fun with a crunch crunch sound as you walk. We found the cute Icelandic horses and their long manes off the road, they are very friendly creatures and will approach you for a picture. I would highly recommend the Snaefellness peninsula tour as you can see lava rocks, seals, beautiful cliffs and waterfalls. You can explore Reykjavik on your own, the capital of Iceland as we did on our first day. We walked to Hallgrimskirkja Church and saw the gorgeous 360 view from the top, a must do. Be sure to try the delicious Icelandic hot dog at the hot dog stand called Baejarius Beztu Pylsur near the Harpa Center. We went to see the honeycomb shaped glass Harpa Center that lights up in different colors at night, a beautiful architectural modern design reminding me of the Broad in Los Angeles. We loved relaxing at the Blue Lagoon too with it's 100 degrees thermal hot spring waters, phenomenal views and restaurant. It's right next to the airport so if you did a layover in Iceland, you can stop there to enjoy the hot springs for a few hours, but I would recommend booking your tickets online beforehand as they sell out fast in person. We saw many waterfalls on our our trip as they were so full of water. My favorite waterfalls was Gulfoss and Skogafoss waterfalls, enormous with torrential water. We loved seeing and picking up the huge chunks of ice on Diamond Beach, a black sand beach. You have to try to lobster in Iceland, they are a little pricey but were the most tender and delicious lobster I've ever tasted, probably because lobsters thrive in colder climates. We saw the northern lights on our flight to Iceland over Greenland on the airplane, it was an unobstructed view as the clouds were below our plane. I think the best time to visit is in the winter from Dec-Feb to see the auroras and ice caves on the glacier as very seldomly elsewhere in the world can you see ice caves due to global warming. We highly recommend this tour as they had everything we wanted to see for a great bundled price. Iceland is a great place to visit for your honeymoon or anniversary as it'll be a trip you will remember your whole lives. We went to celebrate Valentine's Day and we will remember this forever. The Icelandic people are so friendly and welcoming. We want to come back in the summer to see the puffins. You can get photoprints of our Iceland pictures on mugs, posters, tote bags, mousepads and more in our Zazzle store!

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Fresno Blossom Trail

Our Trip to Japan to See Cherry Blossoms!

Greece Inspired Kblossoms Jewelry

New Mexico and Colorado Inspired Kblossoms Jewelry

New Zealand Inspired Kblossoms Jewelry

Death Valley National Park Inspired Jewelry

Colorado fall foliage inspired jewelry

Zion National Park Inspired Kblossoms Painting and Jewelry

Kauai Island Adventure Inspired Kblossoms Jewelry

Our Valentine's Day Iceland Trip in February 2017

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