In 2008 I went on a turn around trip to Seattle, the forecast for the day said sunny when I left California… it was raining when we got to the city. All I brought with me were flip flops and it was so slippery I couldn’t walk as we explored Pike Place Market so [even if it sounds gross] I went barefoot all day. In 2009 I drove across the country with 2 friends I spent the entire length of Texas barfing my guts out. I have a picture of the Walmart where we stopped to buy Gatorade, mostly because I’d run out of bags to throw up in.

I have interesting travel stories, and I’m about to tell you one more.

This past Friday I spent the day in Phoenix, I flew out early in the morning and had my whole day completely mapped out, I had 4 sessions and and a flight to catch home that night. No big deal. Around 5:30pm I was still feeling pretty good, we were almost to the location of my last shoot, the sun was setting in the most gorgeous way and I just had to hold on a few more hours and I could give in to exhaustion in my own bed. Life was good. So I’m shooting at Market Street at DC Ranch the sunset is amaaaazing the couple is so fun and everything is perfect! Then we decide to go in to the desert.

Lets just say a cactus attached itself to my foot and wouldn’t let go. It happened really fast and in slow motion at the same time, I reached down to pull it off and immediately realized that was a stupid idea but my amazing [and cactus experienced] client Jocelyn found a rock and was able to scrape most of it off, so we kept shooting. Then when I realized I couldn’t really walk I sent Jocelyn & Jonah off to change outfits while Alexis helped me hobble back to a concrete–cactus free–path. I have an freakishly high pain tolerance but trying to take my shoe off with cactus through my shoe and in to my foot is some of the worst pain I have ever felt. Arizona hates me. ;]

If I have ever doubted that Alexis loves me, Friday evening when she sat down across from me and pulled cactus needles out of my foot proved she loooooves me. The part that makes this all so much more hilarious is that while Alexis is digging the needles out with a paper clip, because none of us has anything sharp in our bags thanks to TSA, I just keep saying “Look at this gorgeous light. Ouchhhhh. I hope they hurry back…owwwwww…Oh my gosh the SUN” And when Jocelyn and Jonah got back I put on Alexis’s non-cactusy shoes and headed right back into the desert to keep shooting.

I am SO glad Lizzy took a quick picture with her phone because things like this need to be remembered. After the shoot we used my handy dandy iPhone to find a CVS and we rushed there to pick up some cheap flip flops [because there was NO way I was putting my Toms back on again] before heading home. Now, 2 and a half days, 2 photo shoots, and a trip to Urgent Care later there is still a tiny piece of cactus in my toe. Apparently it will “work its way out on it’s own”, thanks, Doctor.

So here’s where you come in, I want to hear your stories! Leave a comment here with your most CRAZY or AMAZING travel story and I [and a group of carefully selected friends] will choose a winner based on which story makes us laugh the hardest or is the most outrageous. ;] The winner will receive a $20 Los Angeles Starbucks gift card and will be announced Wednesday morning!