About Me

I grew up in Orange County, CA but moved to Santa Barbara, CA after high school to go to college. As a student-athlete at UC Santa Barbara, I found myself busy with school, sports and life...but I loved every minute of it. 

I sailed around the world with Semester at Sea and then began working in the Athletics Department before returning to school to earn my master's degree. I'm a Gaucho through and through; enjoying life and taking it one crazy adventure at a time.

Great Wall, China

Taj Mahal, India

Pacific Ocean, Santa Barbara

Great Wall, China

Yellowstone, Wyoming

Grand Canyon, Arizona

Favorites

There are SOOOO many things that I love in life that it's hard to narrow it down to just a few. So, I'll start with these and probably add more as time goes on. But hey, it's my blog and I can do that, right?!

My family..

Nana, Papa, Aunt Kim, Me and Kristen at (my cousin) Chandler's baseball game

Taking it back.

Family at Christmas 2005.

My mom and I before skydiving! My 21st and her 50th!! Wouldn't have wanted to celebrate any other way!!! 

Loved this cake my Dad {hand}made for me for my 21st birthday. Yellow cake and chocolate icing, just the way I like it!!

 My brother Lewis! Handsome freshman in High School!!

My brother Lenny..needed to shower, hence the stench face. Senior year in high school! Big man on campus! Go get 'em!!

My sister Kristen and I at a wedding earlier this summer! 

I really do love us and all the fun we have together!! 

 My grandma, Audrey! On a walk during her {fun-filled, action packed}visit here in Santa Barbara!!

My loving grandpa. My partner in crime. My co-signer. Love ya ;-)

South Africa..

 Love this flag. So simple. So neat. So nice!

 Langa township in Cape Town.

Waterfront in Cape Town.

Cape Point. LOVE this view!! 

Ready for Great White Shark Cage Diving!!! Afraid of the cold water..but the water wasn't cold. Thanks, wetsuit! You did me well. 

...And. we're. in.      

We saw sharks. Lots of them.  

Shopping, like always, in Green Market Square.

It's raining...but I don't care. I {surely} HAD to buy something ha! 

 Robben Island. Enough Said. 

Nelson Mandela, you are a brave man. Thank you for fighting (silently and vocally). You da man, Madiba!

Santa Barbara..
This is where I live. The place that I have grown to call home. A place that I am still learning about. A place that I love!

          

University of California, Santa Barbara

Supporting friends/celebrating birthdays!

Trolley Party(s) 

Riding my beach cruiser around town.

Riding my road bike like I'm in a ferrari.

Kayaking with the brother. nbd. 

Horse back riding to a stunning ocean view <3

Santa Barbara Festivals and window shopping up and down State Street. 

{Summer Solstice pictured above}

I'm Backkkkkk!!!

Get Excited, blogging World! Kayla {that's me!} is back to blog about all of the events that make up my life...my life that I love!!

My previous posts were from my trip around the world where I sailed from the Bahamas to San Diego, Ca on a 4 month voyage with Semester at Sea in the Spring of 2011. I used to have a heading that read...

Semester at Sea is much more than another semester at school; it is a life-changing learning experience. As I travel the world I will learn about different cultures and the world in which we live. I am grateful for this opportunity and cannot wait to share it with you!

And now I have a motto/purpose that reads...

This blog is my way of capturing {my} life's finest moments and sharing them with all of you. Enjoy!!

YOUUU...should read my blog ;-)

It's good to be back, people! Good to be back!

Almost Home!

Tomorrow morning, I will be back in California. At moments it seems like forever since I've been home but at other times it seems as though I just left yesterday!

I have had "The time of my life" and couldn't be more excited to be living my life than the way that I am! I left home in January to explore and am returning home an explorer!

11 Days

For the next 11 days I will be at sea.
In 11 days I will be able to speak English and be understood.
In 11 days I will be able to read street signs.
In 11 days I will have cell service.
In 11 days I will call everyone that I can.
In 11 days I will be in Hawaii.

For the next 11 days I will enjoy time at sea. I will relax on the pool deck. I will watch a sunset with no interruptions. I will take a mental photo of where I am at, at that moment!

In 11 days...I will be back in America!

So long Taiwan, America here I come!

...to...

Hong Kong and China!

I spent 2 days in Hong Kong. I wandered the city, went shopping, ate a ton of really good food (and some that was not so good), stumbled upon the longest escalator in the world, the botanical gardens and the zoo. Here are some pictures from my adventures!

Shopping on sneaker street in Hong Kong!

This, my friends, is a double decker bus!

Edwin, my cabin steward went home...and it was a sad day, let me tell you. The new guy (Rey) doesn't make my bed half as good as Edwin did!

The MV Explorer lookin' classy in Hong Kong


My friends and I signed up for a full tour of Beijing and Xian. We stayed up late, woke up early, and never stopped during the day! We flew from Hong Kong to Beijing, slept in a hotel, went to the Forbidden City, drove to the Great Wall, slept on the Great Wall, hiked the Great Wall, visited Olympic Square, saw an acrobat show, slept in a hotel, rode on rickshaws, watched a drum show, visited the bell tower, participated in a tea ceremony, went to Summer Palace, took a train overnight to Xian where we saw the Terra Cotta warriors, rode bikes on the City Wall, and finally took another overnight train to Shanghai.

In between all of that we went shopping at markets, ate tons of food and had a blast!

Hanging out in the Forbidden City

Bundled up, trying to stay warm on the Great Wall!!

Mid hike and lookin' a mess after sleeping on the Great Wall

Using the photo op as a break from the hike haha

Practicing holding my tea cup the correct way at our tea ceremony

And this was the "tea lady"...she taught us all about the tea and how to drink it
Notice the hair cut...I saw a lot of people with this exact same hair cut everywhere

Jen, Kelly, Me, and Katie...taking a break from a long walk in Summer Palace

Getting ready to board the sleeper train (*We are happy now, but just 30 minutes later realized what we were in for...a long night)

And this is what I look like when I wake up after sleeping for 14 hours on the train...a hotttt mess

Kelly and I riding our tandem bike on the City Wall in Xian

Terra Cotta Warriors

TV Tower in Shanghai, 3rd tallest building in the world

Current Location Check-In

Hey all,
I am in Taiwan at some mall and loving the free internet at the Mac Shack. It's raining outside but that's not stopping me and my friend from seeing the city. I'm looking forward to the night market and Mongolian BBQ later today!!!

The countdown to my return in CA has begun...3 weeks left!

That's it for now...Peace Peeps!