Author On Vacation

On the airport shuttle a couple asked if anyone was headed anywhere amazing. My exuberant “Baltimore!”earned me some funny looks and chuckles, not to mention ribbing from the driver later. But when I've been to Maryland in the past it's meant trips to DC to see fireworks, historical sites, and everything all over the Mall, or poking into itty bitty adorable shops in Frederick, exploring cool pastoral scenes, and doing lots of laughing with my best friend Misty Pulsipher and her family. I'll be honest, I really just come for her. This year was more low-key, but we had a wonderful time together.

Hamming it up with the hooligans. Girls are dorks. Own it. I know I do! I laughed way too much with these silly girls, which was just what I needed.

Kissing cows. (It's a country girl thing.) My bestie is super obsessed with cows. And she does the duck face. A lot. It may be an indication of an actual medical condition.

Wine and paint! Even though we don't drink, we did get a little punchy. But don't cheese and grapes feel elegant, even when they're served with sparkling cider?

And celebrating Misty's birthday. Yep. We're fabulous. The cake was amazing (because my many skills include cake whispering). Chocolate Dr Pepper cake with chocolate cream cheese frosting is pretty fantastic. 

We may not have seen amazing historical sites or done anything flashy on this trip, but isn't being with cool people the best part of vacationing? My brain is already forming a game plan for Book Two (gotta get that puppy submitted!) and images, scenes, and character sketches for Book Three. That's what a good vacation does--get the juices flowing!

There will definitely be more adventures this summer. I'll keep you posted! By the way, here's a look as last year's adventures in California:

Sun, Surf, and Solace: roadtripping it to California!
Unexpected Sweetness: getting lost at Golden Gate Park.

It's Playtime: my obsession with live theater takes center stage! 

Gotta play, people. What are you doing this summer? Leave me a comment and tell me about it!

Unexpected Sweetness

We'd taken longer than usual to arrive at Golden Gate Park. Alright, I had missed the exit and instead of heading toward it, we were speeding away from it. After a detour along surface roads, a full-blown debate about whether I'd be able to cross four lanes of barely moving traffic, and an ongoing prayer that my Utah licence plate would grant everyone patience with my non-Californian driving skills, and there I was proudly maneuvering my way back to the correct highway. Only one more moment of tension involving my stick shift and a lengthy San Francisco hill dotted with traffic lights, and we made it.

Only to find that the Conservatory of Flowers is closed on Mondays. Delightful. We wandered around, snapped photos of the partially-bloomed Dahlia garden, and realized something: cats can be vindictive. In this case, old slightly neurotic cats can knock expensive cameras onto the floor because said cats feel they're being ignored.  The result of this particular cat disaster was that my cousin's camera wasn't functioning correctly. While she worked on the camera, we piled back into the car to explore other parts of the park . A hazy memory of lush rose beds drove me onward, but they were nowhere to be found. A small sign designating the Shakespeare Garden caught my attention and parking the car, my mom and I made our way back to it. 

The Shakespeare Garden was small but charming. After perusing the old fashioned flowers and the collection of quotations from Shakespearean plays, we retraced our steps. A message from my cousin revealed that at last the camera was repaired--old neurotic cat had done nothing more than flip a tiny switch.  Cindy's relief was palpable, which was only understandable, she's a photographer.

In the meantime, we learned that the Rose Garden was only a few minutes away. Taking the right streets this time and feeling like a queen for finding a nearby parking spot, we arrived at last. 

Roses in June couldn't be more glorious, the garden in full bloom and awash with lovely smells was exactly as I remembered it. Names like Hot Cocoa and Honey Perfume dotted the beds and with an irrepressible grin on my face, I perused each and every one at my leisure.

At the end of a somewhat tense day, discovering something sweet was like a tender mercy extended from above, a balm to all our souls.  Isn't finding unexpected loveliness at journey's end always like that?

Dear friends, I'd love to hear of your adventures and unexpected discoveries.  Feel free to comment below.
For more on my ongoing search for beauty and inspiration, revisit Hope Grows In A... or Sun, Surf, & Solace. 

Sun, Surf, & Solace

Greetings all! The author is currently roadtripping all over the Bay Area (northern California) with her seventy-two-year-old mother.

Like that's not a recipe for adventure...

Here we are stopping for a selfie while Geeves brings the car around. That's how we roll in Reno.

My favorite so far has been Beach Day. You can play Spot the Tourist by seeing who braves the water this time of year. 

There I am, and yes, the water is cold. But it doesn't matter.  It's my happy place. 

When life turns nasty, my mind heads to the beach and conjures up the sound of waves rolling onto the shore and pulling out afterward.  Like a great sigh or the rhythmic breathing of a large animal, that sound calms me more than anything else.  

As I told my cousin, for a girl who lives so far inland, I am strangely enamored with the ocean.  Simple pleasures, my friends, simple pleasures. Sun, surf, sand, good friends, and solace.

As always, thanks for stopping in.  Words of wisdom and/or utter silliness will resume when I return to my beloved Utah.  Happy summer!