Las Vegas – Page 3 – Blondie Birdie

Good Morning and Happy Wednesday, everyone! I hope those of you who celebrated Christmas had a wonderful, relaxing and fun weekend surrounded by loved ones. My holiday was lovely, spent mostly with my family and a few friends- and we actually had our first white Christmas in years- having been buried under a few inches of snow overnight on Christmas Eve!

As 2017 winds down and we prepare to welcome 2018- one of my favorite year-end traditions is looking through all of my photos over the past few months and narrowing them down to create a “Top Ten” of the year- and while the task has been relatively easy in the past- 2017’s collection proved to be a little more daunting. I visited so many amazing places this year, met so many amazing people, and participated in so many amazing things- that picking only ten photos from such an extensive collection of memories was a lot harder than I thought it’d be!

I digress- I’m satisfied with my top ten- and each photo tells it’s own fun story about a place/time from this past year. Stories I’m excited to share again!

Here are my 10 Favorite Photos From 2017!

10. Tranquility in Vermont (Wilmington – September 2017):

Over Labor Day Weekend, my best friend Sean and I decided to use our time off to head up towards Wilmington, Vermont to spend the extended weekend hiking, antiquing, and relaxing at an old mansion-turned-bed & breakfast and neighboring ski resort (that still had plenty to offer in the off-season!) On our last day, while going for an impromptu hike- we came across a footbridge that crossed over a river- and I snapped this photo of the view with my cell phone.

I’d love to go back to Wilmington and re-visit this spot during the Winter to see how much different it looks covered in snow.

9. Where is Spring? (Boston – March 2017):

In contrast, this photo I snapped of an empty outdoor patio area on St. Patrick’s Day in Boston painted the picture of what was undeniably one of the coldest days of the year. Blocks away, people were still lining up to get into pubs and bars to drink (and warm up)– but I was the only person as far as the eye could see in this small section of the city.

I’d ducked into the walkway of this cafe/restaurant- which was closed for the holiday- to answer a text message without taking up the sidewalk- and thought it was too neat-looking NOT to photograph.

8. That’s not creepy at all… (Medfield – October 2017):

During one of our annual stops at Medfield State Hospital in the days leading up to Halloween, my friends and I discovered that the fronts of some of the abandoned buildings and wards had been decorated with Jack-O-Lanterns that were carved by a Boy Scout Troop who had planned an overnight camping trip on the grounds.

What had been a fun and festive activity ended up creating some pretty interesting and spooky photos for those of us who were visiting! This one was my favorite out of the bunch of pictures we took that day.

7. Neighborhood Watch (Boston – May 2017):

After spending most of the morning and afternoon with my own mom on Mother’s Day- I dedicated a good portion of my evening to my fur-baby, Oliver, where we participated in his favorite pastime- watching the neighborhood from the window and howling at any other person/animal that happened to walk by (our neighbors love us.)

My mother took this photo of us mid-spying on the UPS guy who was delivering packages across the street from my place- and I loved the way it turned out.

6. Stacked Rocks and Seagulls (Hampton Beach – July 2017):

While cruising the coast in New Hampshire this past Summer, I had made an impromptu pit stop along the shore to stretch my legs and soak up some sun when I stumbled across an entire section of the beach that was lined with stacked rock formations from prior visitors. I had my camera with me, and spent some time snapping some photos of them (a few of which were really tall and impressive!) when this seagull flew into one of my shots and refused to move.

I think he adds a little charm to the photo, don’t you?

5. “Hiya, Georgie!” (Worcester – October 2017):

Out of all the movies I saw this year, I think the remake of “IT” was my favorite- so much in fact that I went as the ill-fated Georgie for Halloween. What was probably my least expensive and easiest costume to make in all my years of cosplaying ended up being one of my most popular- with people stopping me to take photos while I was out and about in this (and keeping one arm tucked up into the sleeve to give me a “just bitten” look.)

I had so much fun wearing this throughout Halloween and I hope I get the opportunity to sport it again!

4. First Snow of The Season (Belchertown – December 2017):

One of the more recent photos on this list came from a couple of weeks ago following the first significant snowfall of the season while I was in Western Massachusetts. I had stopped to take some photos along a popular hiking/biking trail by a local reservoir and found that I was the only person there- which made for some really nice, uninterrupted quiet time to stop and take in the scenery and being able to take some decent photos without having to wait for my surroundings to be clear of people or vehicles.

This photo in particular was my favorite out of the bunch.

3. I got Catfished (Worcester – May 2017):

While attending a film festival/competition at my favorite bar in my hometown one weekend back in the Spring- I had a fangirl moment when Nev and Max from MTV’s ‘Catfish’ (one of my favorite shows) showed up unexpectedly. It turns out they were filming an episode locally, and had taken a break from production to come check out the festival, too.

They were incredibly nice and obliged me when I asked for a photo- which at first I was going to just send to my mom since she’s also a big fan of the show- but eventually posted on my social media to show that they were really who they said they were online.

2. My Aesthetic (San Diego – May 2017):

While visiting with friends on the West Coast during the Spring, I found myself at Ocean Beach in San Diego during some of my downtime one afternoon where I drank cold beers and sat by the surf with artists and musicians who told me their life stories and played music for me.

One group of happy travelers arrived in a bright blue VW Bus- a vehicle I’ve ALWAYS wanted to own- and the photo I took of it perfectly captures a lot of what I love most about Southern California- including the palm trees towering in the background.

1. Vegas, Baby… (May 2017):

It’s been a tough year for Vegas- for people I love in a city and landscape I adore- so this photo, taken during a West Coast excursion in the Spring- seems especially poignant given recent events this year.

After spending the afternoon attending open houses for real estate that was on the market outside of the strip, and a good portion of my evening drinking and gambling a little- I snapped this photo with my phone while I was en route back to Caesar’s Palace- where I was staying during my trip. The fountains at the Bellagio were right in the middle of going off (bottom, right-hand corner) which added a little something special to this.

It was a warm and beautiful night- and I remember feeling perfectly content and safe.

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And there they are! My ten favorite photos from 2017. A lot of landscapes and a couple of selfies- but they all tell stories about really fun high-points of my year- and I’m looking forward to documenting more incredible memories in 2018.

And if you have photos you’d like to share about special moments in your year- feel free to send them my way! I’d love to see them!

Have a great day, everyone!

– Ashley –

On Monday morning, I was planning on sharing some beautiful photographs I had taken over the weekend during a long hike through the forest and a visit to a local pumpkin patch and farmer’s market. Instead, I was woken up by a series of texts and calls from friends in Las Vegas who were making the rounds to let as many people as they could know that they were okay and not to panic. It was pretty early in the morning- earlier than I usually wake up during the week- and I wasn’t sure what was happening until I checked social media on my phone and my heart sank at the news.

59 lives lost and over 500 people injured in what is now, to date, the worst mass shooting in U.S. history. The people I know who live and/or work in the area are all thankfully safe, sound, and unharmed- but it has shaken me to my core that 59 families cannot experience that relief and that hundreds and hundreds of people will never quite be the same again.

I love Las Vegas. Not only because of the people I know there but because it is just a stifling hot, glitzy, kinda’ crazy, non-stop circus and it’s perfect in every way because if you need a break from it all- you can head out to the desert and enjoy the calm- and everything will still be waiting for you when you head back to the strip- just as bright and as busy as ever. The only other place I can think of that is like that is NYC- but at least Vegas doesn’t get snow.

Vegas is where I plan to relocate. It holds a special place in my heart.

I digress. I try not to get too political on Blondie Birdie- since I’ve stated in the past that this is my escape from the harsh realities of the world and I want to keep it as lighthearted as possible- but enough is enough. How many more people have to die? How many more families have to be ripped apart and how many more friendships have to be altered forever because we, as a Nation, cannot get it together when it comes to proper gun control?

I am by no means saying that I want SWAT teams going door to door and seizing everyone’s guns- and I get that’s a popular misconception when talking about enforcing stricter gun control laws and regulations- but there is absolutely no legitimate reason why people should have access to military style, semi-automatic weapons and to be able to stock pile ammunition. I don’t understand how people fail to comprehend how utterly insane that is. You don’t need an AK-47 to go hunting and you certainly don’t need to fire 100 bullets in under 30 seconds to protect your home or your family. Those weapons are designed for one thing and one thing only- killing as many targets as possible in the shortest amount of time. They serve NO other purpose apart from that.

The Second Amendment was written when muskets were still a thing. Muskets. The gun that takes practically 45 minutes to load and another several to fire properly- and it was first enforced during a time in our history when having the hiccups could kill you. Isn’t it time we update those things- even if it’s just a little bit- to fit in with our current day and age?

The most common argument (that I’ve seen, anyway) to that suggestion is “well, people will just get them illegally anyway-” and sure- that’s very much a possibility- but that’s like saying “well, there’s a million other ways I could get cancer so I’m just going to keep smoking.” Wouldn’t you want to at least TRY to lessen your chances of death and destruction by restricting access to a thing that could potentially kill you? Wouldn’t you want that for your loved ones?

Like universal healthcare, so many other countries have figured out gun control and have not suffered loss, after loss, after loss, after loss, etc. the way that we have here in the United States. Isn’t it time we join the rest of the world’s example and become a country that takes the necessary actions to protect it’s citizens from harm? Can’t we all tell our leaders that we want to be able to go to school, or work, or church, or a movie theater, or a concert- and NOT risk our lives every time we do?

Sandy Hook should have been the wake up call. Small children being slaughtered in their classrooms should have been the final straw. Why is this still happening?

I’m just tired. I’m tired of awful things happening to innocent people and nobody doing a damned thing about it. I’m tired of “thoughts and prayers” when they have solved nothing in the aftermath of each of these tragedies. I’m tired of watching coverage of people describing their lost loved ones as they fight back tears.

I guess that most of all- I’m tired that this will be the worst mass shooting in U.S. history until the next one, and then the next one, and then the next one- because we are failing to act, and ultimately- we are failing each other.

I’m sorry for this. I’m sorry I had to write this. I hope I’ll never have to write anything like it ever again. I hope that things can finally change in America- because I want to live a nice, long life and be happy- and I want all of you to live nice, long lives and be happy, too.

Hug your loved ones. Be good to each other- and stay safe. I’ll get back to my regularly scheduled blog posts shortly.

– Ashley –

Tag: Las Vegas

My 10 Favorite Photos From 2017

Viva Las Vegas