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Megan Flanagan

@breakthemoldphoto

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Knoxville, TN , PHOTOGRAPHER, The historian of your heart! #icaptureitbecause #knoxvillefamilyphotographer www.breakthemoldphoto.com

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🇯🇵 JAPAN Country 50
Japan used to seem like a country so foreign it required a tour guide. But the day before my return trip home from Indonesia with @breakthemoldphotos, I realized we had an 11-hour layover in Tokyo, sandwiched between two red-eye flights.

On a mission to lock our backpacks full of long-haul travel necessities and find the metro, we left the airport at 7 AM.

With an official entry sticker and fresh Japanese stamp in my passport, totally unplanned, Japan became my 50th country in 50 years.

✍🏻 “How a canceled trip took me around the world” blog post sums up my 50 Countries in 50 Years goal. Link is in bio.

From the airport, we conquered public transportation to Tokyo, walked three miles in all directions of the Senso-Ji Temple, and watched the 41st Asakusa Samba Carnival, a festival that draws in 500,000 people watching a parade of dancers, drum lines, and floats.

Before we joined the modern fusion of locals and Brazilian expats samba dancing, we shook bins of chopsticks to reveal our fortunes from banks of vintage wooden drawers, burned incense for blessings, prayed over holy water, watched a ceremony of chanting monks, ate at a local vegan restaurant with handcrafted paper menus, and sampled kelp gelato.

An elderly Japanese man peering his head out his apartment window, wide-eyed watching the dancers below, reminded me what a massive privilege it is to travel. Even if it’s just to get a glimpse into a culture on a long layover in a new city.

Travel is full of surprises. It challenges me to feel deeper, teaches me to be braver, and fuels wanderlust within me to keep visiting corners of the world that used to seem beyond my reach.

I am a lucky, grateful girl. Thank you for being on this journey with me.

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7.11.26 - The Johnsons 💍👰🏼‍♀️🤵🏼
We just received the rest of our photos from our wedding. So, of course I had to post some.

The Rings 💍

💍👠

💍on the table

Bouquet 💐

One of the best parts of my dress. 👗

My rings sitting inside of Peyton’s 💍

Solo Shot 👰🏼‍♀️

🤵

Hey Alexa play The Best Day Ever from SpongeBob!!!

👰🏼‍♀️❤️🤵🏼

One of our favs!!!❤️❤️❤️

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7/11/26- The Johnsons
We just got our sneak peeks back from the wedding and I couldn’t wait to post some of them. 💍🤵👰‍♀️

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I can’t believe that there are only 34 days till my little girl graduates. They say the days are slow but the years are fast. That statement couldn’t be any more true. I’m so proud, sad, excited, and just in awe that this chapter is almost over. I love you so much @sammieg989! 🩵

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New Zealand 🇳🇿 | Country 43
I went to Auckland for the New Zealand Iyengar Yoga Convention, as part of my two week trip to celebrate my 50th birthday that started with freediving in Australia.

I spent my birthday exploring Waiheke Island and its beautiful vineyards.

Yoga sessions were in the morning which left the afternoons for adventuring.

The week was a perfect balance of beach, nature, and yoga including a meaningful glimpse into how Aotearoa honors its indigenous Māori culture.

Piha Beach and Kitekite Falls were absolute gems. A local yogi warned me that getting an Uber back from this remote beach was risky. We had a backup plan for the backup plan, which added to our adventure.

We had rainy weather not normal for February in New Zealand. The lush plants were happy which made for lovely bush hikes.

I stayed in one of my favorite Airbnb’s of all time that was an urban hideaway of lush plants surrounding an outdoor bathtub and sauna. Watch the reel. It’s unreal!

My scuba buddy Megan traveled with me. While I did yoga, she explored geothermal wonders and toured about solo.

Thanks to the time difference from Eastern Time, I celebrated my birthday twice with lots of messages from friends and family in the US.

Peace out, New Zealand. You are beautiful.

#50countriesin50years #yogatravel #womenwhotravel #NewZealand iyengaryo

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Highlights from an incredible weekend in Northern NSW ✨

Sunny skies, calm seas, leopard sharks and manta rays, and the absolute best group of humans to share it with 🧜‍♀️🧜‍♂️

This part of NSW has my 🩵 From the rugged coastline to the thriving marine life just offshore, there’s nowhere else I’d rather spend a long weekend 🌊

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Ten Days of Travel. The year in review, 2025
Maldives 🇲🇻 Country 34

I love when travel takes me outside my comfort zone and I see how brave I can be. Scuba diving in the Maldives did that.

I went with my scuba buddy Megan @breakthemoldphoto, who took these amazing underwater photos. My job is to video with the GoPro.

We are both advanced divers. We booked a week-long liveaboard that was listed as beginner friendly, hoping to avoid strong currents and using reef hooks.

We used reef hooks and the diving was intense. We were very brave!

The boat was owned by local company and we had an authentic experience.

We took time to explore the main island and the town of Male where I bought free diving fins.

More about that is coming in 2026!

#TravelRecap2025 #10countries #50stampsin50years #10daysoftravel #maldives #womenscuba

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Ten Days of Travel. The year in review, 2025
United Arab Emirates 🇦🇪 Country 33

Say yes to the UAE stop over with Etihad Airways!

I was with my scuba buddy Megan @breakthemoldphoto. And we did Abu Dhabi like travel pros.

Here’s what made it great!
• We stayed at Conrad Towers because luxury is affordable in UAE! After we explored the hotel to the 74th floor, we had massages and a good night’s sleep.
• To see the sites, we used a hotel driver for the day.
• At the Heritage Village we visited with an artist making an Egyptian Kilim.
• Our driver took us to buy tall Megan a tall abaya for the Zayed Mosque. The massive carpet at the mosque surprised us the most. It was so hot outside that my iphone shut down, while it was in my hand.
• Sipping Arabic coffee and having pistachio dates at the date market was delicious.
• The Founder’s Memorial, with its modern engineer design, also offered a window into the past.
• Our meal at Moksh Indian Restaurant Abu Dhabi was a hidden gem, and incredibly good Indian food.
• Qasr Al Watan presidential palace made us curious. We went there with a taxi driver, who was a Lebanese woman.
• Abu Dhabi was noticeable different than anywhere else we have been before. So clean, so shinny, so full of wealth. So hot!
• Everyone we met was kind and welcoming.

#TravelRecap2025 #10countries #50stampsin50years #10daysoftravel #familytravel #AbuDhabi #UAE #UnitedArabEmirates #stopovertravel #ethihadairways

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Oh you better watch out, you better not pout… 22 sleeps until Christmas 🎄 #christmas2025✨ #jesusisthereason #charlikate #ellieryan #emoryjames #harrispartyof5 @raisedcarolinamadeintennessee

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Spent the morning with my father-in-law Don and his brother — my wife’s Uncle Jim (always Uncle Jim to me). There’s something special about sitting at breakfast listening to them talk about growing up… the stories, the laughs, the way they remember every detail like it was yesterday.

Jim went straight for the bacon 😂 while Don and I enjoyed our liver mush — and I’m not kidding, these slices were the size of cafeteria pizza!

We ended up standing in the parking lot afterward, still talking, swapping favorite Andy Griffith Show episodes, and just soaking in a simple, good morning.

Grateful for moments like these. 🤍

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When Dillon and I moved in together, I fell in love with our backyard as much as I did the rest of the house. I’d always wanted a beautiful spot outside where we could host friends and family. When I envisioned what it would look like in my head, it was exactly this. I’m not a perfect hostess by any stretch. I am anxious. I am easily overwhelmed. I am so scattered sometimes. But damn if it’s not worth it every once in a while if this is the end result. A beautiful table set for lovely friends on a perfect fall evening. Siiiiiigh.

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getting married ig 🤩

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