Dominion Energy Riverock 2025
At Dominion Energy Riverock I explored four different outdoor sports. I posted on Instagram, Facebook and Vero. I used the caption and carousel features to break down the sport to people who are curious about learning more. Based off the comments and emoji reactions, this combination effectively showed how talented and skilled these athletes are to be at the level they are in their sport.
Dominion Energy RiverRock is your one stop to participate in many different outdoor sports as either an athlete or spectator. Some sports are more well known than others. Has anyone heard of kayak polo? Stay tuned to see posts breaking down some of these sports.
Richmond received a lot of rain a few days before Dominion Energy RiverRock, causing the James River to swell to unusual heights. The sunken tree trunks and bases of old smokestacks show how deep the water was. An island photographers were taking pictures from…
We saw two games of kayak polo. The first one was a quarter final with a lot scoring. The second one was the finals with low scoring and a lot of good defense…
The heights Alex Fernandez, in pink, and Justin Wagers, in light blue, are performing are the lowest possible to do their stunts. Any lower and they might end up wet the times their feet miss the line or they over rotate. A rope tied into a climbing harness kept them from...
Climbing is even harder when it is all arms and no feet. On top of this, climbers participating in the boulder bash speed climbing competition were racing against the clock. They showed just how good they are by swinging up the route on awful holds. Using…
Argentina & Chile 2025
I went through the 2300 pictures I took during my trip to Argentina and Chile and put together 11 Instagram posts. These posts were also shared on Facebook and Vero. I used the carousel feature to dive deeper into my adventurers and the beauty and culture of Argentina and Chile. The combination of the pictures and captions hooked people, who kept telling me to post more. This time around I kept most of post descriptions brief and made sure to point out what is going to be posted next.
The first stop on our Argentina and Chile trip was the smallest and most remote airport we have ever landed at.
The towering Fitz Roy is easily seen at many parts of the beautiful village, Chaltén. The village is small, with most of the residences being hotels or hostels for tourists. The many hiking trails are heavily used, including…
We did a local hike to warm up for our big hike the next day to Lagos de los Tres, coming up next. This local hike promised a good overview of the small village.
The big hike was 14 and a half miles from the start to the finish. The trail starts off flat and took us through a forest of the short and stubby native trees to the region. We passed rivers and glaciers along the way. The last mile…
We got a close up of to the Perito Moreno glacier. The boat ride took us to a few stops along the way. We got to see an old tree, some cascades and other glaciers in the distance. We got to witness the Perito Moreno glacier caving…
At the border of Argentina and Chile we were greeted with the loud ringing of wind against the power and phone cables. It was a reminder of how windy Patagonia can get when no trees are planted as buffers. The barren terrain…
We saw 1 naco, 2 nacos, 3 nacos, many guanacos on our way to Torres del Paine National Park. Kids in Patagonia learn to count in English by counting nacos. It’s a play on words. Guanaco is pronounced, “wan-aco”. A zorro also…
The weather didn’t cooperate with us the day of the big hike to the base of Torres del Paine. The strong winds that could reach speeds of 50 miles per hour made it unsafe. Instead, we hiked up to the top of a tall hill to get a view of…
Buenos Aires is an old city that manages to blend both the old and new. Older style architecture can be seen, nestled amongst the more modern buildings. One restaurant is extra playful with their modern take on…
La Boca district is a particularly colorful part of Buenos Aires. Tango shows can be seen. The La Boca Juniors professional soccer team has a huge presence in the area. There are murals of players and buildings proudly painted…
My dad and I were promised a concert in the square in front of the Casa Roja, the president of Argentina’s house, and we got a political rally. This political was fun! The event opened with acrobats, dancers and jugglers. Call to actions were…
Japan 2024
I went through the 2000 pictures I took during my trip to Japan and put together 18 Instagram posts. These posts were also shared on Facebook and Vero. I used the carousel feature to dive deeper into my adventurers and the culture of Japan. The combination of the pictures and captions hooked people, who kept telling me to post more.
Our first stop in our two week trip to Japan was Sendai. A comparatively small city in Japanese standards at a million people. Here is some street photography from the two days there.
Sendai in comparison to other larger Japanese cities is considered small at a million people. This small town feel can be felt strongly when the local professional baseball team, the Tohuku Rakuten Golden Eagles, or the Rakuten…
Leaving Sendai for Fujiyoshida took us through more rural areas of Japan. This meant less lights, which creates dramatic scenes like the evening at this train station…
Hiking (and some rock scrambling) up Mt. Fuji from the shrine at 978 ft to the top at 12,388 ft, then halfway back down again, in two days was both one of the hardest and most rewarding things I have done. The more time…
It’s a sunny day.
It’s ok…
I really appreciated how well the big cities in Japan incorporated trees and flowers into the landscape.
On the way to the Osaka Aquarium.
The Osaka Aquarium starts at the ground level and spirals down. The further down one goes the more regions of the world they explore.
Exploring Osaka Castle and it’s grounds.
If I had to describe Universal Studios in Osaka in one word it would be, immersive. The design and decor of each area makes guests forget reality. The fake snow patches on the roofs in Harry Potter World actually made me feel like…
Kids on their morning commute to school. The end of the line extended beyond my vision. While this very large group had adult chaperons it isn’t unheard of for school aged kids riding public trains and buses alone in the evening. They…
Kyoto is a beautiful city to explore with lots of natural beauty to see.
There are a lot of temples and shrines in Japan, ranging from small ones used by Shinto priests in training, accessible by secret hiking trails, to big ones that attract a lot of tourists like Fushimi Inari Taisha. Both are beautiful in their own way.
Did you know a bamboo shoot reaches its full height and diameter in 60 days?
Plus multiple shoots make a bamboo plant. The roots…
Monkey Park had lots of jumping and swinging monkeys. The ledge was a popular place to get a snack from a visitor’s hand.
Tenryu-ji Temple includes gargoyles and a beautiful garden. All this was built after the death of Emperor Go-daigo. The site is located where his palace used to stand. Plus there are other temples close by like, Shoganji Temple.
Todaiji Temple was the last one for our trip. The giant statues are impressive to look at. The bronze/ golden statue almost reaches the ceiling of the main room. Plus the weather cooled down in city of Nara in the evening.
The deer in Nara know where to get a free meal. The deer respond to person’s bow by returning the gesture. Then they happily accept the crackers sold to feed them…