Angela Neal Grove

Photojournalist, Speaker, World Traveler | Keeping a Finger on the Pulse

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Happy New Year 2017 Highlights

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Happy New Year 2017 Highlights
Christmas Day at Pine Creek Cookhouse, Aspen, Colorado. I snow-shoed and Victoria cross country ski-ed the mile plus from the end of the road. The lodge is deep in the mountains and heated by roaring log fires. The food is local, trout, elk and game. It was cozy, festive and a fabulous way to spend Christmas Day.

Happy New Year!

December sped by like Elon Musk’s hyperloop and for the first time I did not create a card to send. Instead I am now wishing you a very Happy New Year and including some visual 2017 Highlights. A virtual Seasons Greeting if you will, 2017 through my lens.

Happy New Year
January in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka Sunset at the Amanwella at Tangalle. Winter rains in California were welcome but it was good to escape to Sri Lanka in January. I joined friends and we explored ancient civilizations, Tea country and beaches.  Sri Lanka: Paradise Discovered.

 

Happy New Year 2017 highlights
Adams Peak is Sri Lanka’s sacred mountain. At sunrise there is an enigmatic shadow of the peak which floats over the valley. It lasts for about 30 minutes and was truly out of this world. We set off at 2:30 am to climb the 3,280ft to the summit. It was worth the effort and the shadow was very visible. Climbing Adams Peak in Sri Lanka

 

Happy New Year 2017 Reflections
Back in California, February in Death Valley. Another early start, we were up at 2:00 am so we could catch the moonrise over the sand dunes and capture the Milky Way. What an incredible sight – the heavens and universe above our world. Death Valley Stargazing Update

 

Happy New Year 2017 highlights: Poppies at Big Sur
I spent Easter at Big Sur and hiked the trail built to link the community when the Laurel Canyon Bridge was washed out in torrential winter rains. This was the view of meadows dusted with golden poppies from the trail. Mt. Pico Blanco is the high point – a sacred mountain in Rumsien and Esselen native traditions. Big Sur Recovery Update

 

Happy New Year 2017 highlights
Mauna Kea Sunset. The Big Island was perfection in late April. Gorgeous weather which was great for spotting giant Manta Rays attracted by bright lights in the water after sunset

 

Happy New Year
At the end of May I went to Klamath on the rocky, rugged Northern California coast to photograph old-growth redwoods. These precious  trees were saplings when Julius Caesar was running the Roman Empire. Only 4% of these forests remain and now that percentage is at risk. The coastline is equally wild and primeval. Here are sea stacks at sunset. I also discovered that a long lost English uncle had lived near here. Ancient Redwood Forest Giants

 

Happy New Year 2017 highlights
England had back to back heatwaves in June, but it was overcast the day I visited the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace. There was an exhibit in the Palace to commemorate the 20 years since the death of Princess Diana. The sunken garden, one of her favorite places, was planted in white in her honor.  It was here that Prince Harry introduced Megan Markle to the world in November. London Update News and Views

 

Happy New Year 2017 highlights
What better place to spend 4th of July than with St. Francis in Chianti, Tuscany. After a few days exploring Florence and re-kindling  my love affair with the city I joined friends in the breathtaking Tuscan country with its villages, forests and wild boar.  Hard to leave. Florence Highlights and Tuscan Tales

 

SV eclipse
In August across a great swath of the US crowds clustered to watch the phenomenon of the total eclipse of the sun. I was in Sun Valley, Idaho on the top of Bald Mountain. As the sky darkened temperatures dropped, insects, birds and animals seemed confused and we watched transfixed. A remarkable experience. Sun Valley Total Eclipse.

 

Happy New Year 2017 highlights
Watching the eclipse was a bonding phenomenon. There was a collective “Wow” at totality. Something none of us will forget. A true highlight of 2017

 

Happy New Year 2017 highlights
At the end of November I was in New York Christmas shopping and visiting friends and family. Here is the traditional Christmas Tree in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, with its 18th century Neapolitan Baroque Creche. It is a 20 foot blue spruce Always a breathtaking sight. I missed having Breakfast at Tiffany.  There is now a restaurant on the 4th floor of Tiffany with stunning views over 5th Avenue.  Book in advance if you are going.

 

Happy New Year 2017 reflections
Early December was unseasonably warm in Big Sur. 80 degrees as we sat outside at Ventana.  Ventana reopened when the new Laurel Canyon Bridge opened in October. Big Sur is getting back to business as usual. Here Pfeiffer Beach glows in the late afternoon sunshine.

 

Happy New Year highlights of 2017
My year ended in Aspen skiing and snowshoeing. We did not have to dream of a white Christmas.  It was all around us. It was magical.

Warmest Wishes for a Happy New Year

Please have a very Happy New Year celebration and a good New Year. This has been a difficult year for many. California friends and my family have been affected by the terrible wild fires and are recovering.

So from the bottom on my heart I really hope and pray that 2018 will bring joy, peace, love and happiness.

XOX Angela

 

 

 

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Comments

  1. Kai Blanchard says

    This is the BEST greeting card I have ever received. Love to see the world through your eyes and photographs. Thank you so much, Angela.
    Happy 2018 to you and can’t wait to see where in the world Angela will be in the coming year.
    Hugs, Kai xoxox

    • Angela says

      Thank you so much Kai. Love to share my travels and the beauty of our world. Enjoyed the piece on Estonia – really interesting. Hope to see you early in the New year. Hugs, XOX A

  2. Kathryn Lawrence says

    Thank you, Angela. It was a beautiful pictorial of you and your very adventurous year.
    Happy New Year to you and your loved ones.
    Xo
    Cathy Lawrence

    • Angela says

      Thank you so much Cathy, Great to hear from you. I hope you have the best year – I enjoy following your travels too! xox A

  3. Connie says

    Wow! You continue to inspire me! What a lovely year you had. Here is to 2018 and even more advenures!

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