On an early October Saturday morning, my dad called me. He was going up to Vermont to shoot the foliage, and wanted me to talk him out of bringing a crazy amount of gear. He knows I’m good for that, because I like to travel as light as possible, often bringing only one lens for personal shoot days.

I do this for a couple of reasons: 1. It’s a way of challenging myself to look beyond the obvious shot I would take if I had every lens choice in my bag, and 2. I respect and appreciate minimalism in every aspect of my life.

Do I sometimes wish I had another lens? Do I occasionally covet a new lens to add to my bag? Of course. But it’s not the gear that makes you a good photographer, and I think I’ve become a better photographer by being able to create beautiful work with an intentionally limited setup—but that’s just me.

In any case, I decided spur of the moment to join my dad on this Vermont leaf peeping adventure, and grabbed my camera to hit the road for a beautiful day of quality time and vibrant landscapes.

It’s been a while since I’ve done anything like this. With a toddler, a baby on the way, running a full time photography business, expanding our real estate holdings, and everything else life throws into the mix, it’s often hard for me to steal a day to myself. So when I got off the phone, I thought of all of the reasons I shouldn’t blow off the day to go shoot for fun with my dad, and they didn’t measure up to the reasons I should. So I called him back and crashed his solo leaf peep for some father-daughter photography time.

It felt so good to take the day to myself, mostly directionless, with no set goals except taking some pictures and enjoying the scenery with Dad. There was no destination, no set return time, no shot list to cover, and no real plan. We just hopped in the Jeep and drove, stopping wherever we felt like stopping, and taking our time.

The weather wasn’t perfect, but it didn’t need to be. Some obstacles got in our way, but we just changed course to a different beautiful path. I was frustrated with having to stop to eat (hello, 7 months pregnant over here) and it taking so long that it cut into golden hour. Then we hit some small town festival traffic and had to go a different way, where we ended up seeing a zebra on a farm (his name is Zeus).

I returned home tired, but fulfilled.

It’s easy to get caught up in life and let things fall to the wayside. Between work, momming, social and family commitments, cooking, cleaning, paying bills, and all the other things we fill our time with, it’s easy to forget to make time for ourselves. But I know one thing for sure: whenever I remember to, I’m always glad I did.

Do you have a favorite place for fall foliage in New England? Get in touch or comment below!