vacation

Random 5 Friday – Vacation Winds Down

November 8, 2013 by admin

New Hope, PA - Lots of great fall foliage! — New Hope, PA – Lots of great fall foliage!

UPDATE: The A Rural Journal site is down. You can still follow Nancy and other bloggers here.

We’re back in New York City after a week of tooling around Pennsylvania. As we prepare to return home, I am sorting out the new memories and fun adventures. This Random 5 reflects back on the past week, and looks ahead to life back in Port Townsend. Thanks, as always, to Nancy at A Rural Journal for creating the Random 5 meme. Check out her page and take a look at what other bloggers are doing!

I’ve learned that Amish society isn’t as cut and dried as I once believed. In fact, after a few days in Amish country, I have more questions than answers. We saw horses and buggies in line at the bank drive-through, Amish families eating dinner out at restaurants with electricity, and learned that some people make a living as van drivers for the Amish, taking them to places further afield than what is practical for horse and buggy. I am eager to do more reading and research. I love the way travel expands my thought processes and opens my curiosity.
This week, while playing tourist, I also started a new online writing class on “shadow writing.” The idea is that we all have a “shadow” side to ourselves, and the more we repress it, the less we are able to write good stories. By getting comfortable with our shadow, we can develop our characters more fully. I have one work in progress that has been hard for me to finish, and I believe that this class will help me finally get the darn thing done.
Yesterday we visited the extraordinary Longwood Gardens, which were installed by Pierre DuPont. He died before I was born, but gave me a beautiful day. These are some of the best gardens I’ve ever seen.
The Conservatory at Longwood Gardens
Whenever my legal troubles get to me, I start humming Alice’s Restaurant. Remember the 27 8 X 10 glossy photos with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one to be used as evidence against us? When I was a kid listening to this song, I never dreamed I would live it. Anyway, our vacation has been interrupted many times to deal with what we call “The Situation,” so I’ve been humming it a lot. A whole lot.
Two nights ago I dreamed I was writing on my computer. The words flowed easily and I worked quickly on multiple projects. When I woke the next day, I finally felt rested and ready to return home. It took two weeks, but I finally got there.

Have a great weekend!

Train museum in Strasburg, PA - We like trains! — Train museum in Strasburg, PA – We like trains!

Off to the Spa!

November 27, 2012 by admin

One of the views out my balcony

The “Garden View”

Maybe it’s the birthday that’s coming up. It’s not a milestone birthday, just your run-of-the-mill ordinary ones, and yet it’s bothering me A LOT.

Maybe it’s that I have finally gone into the menopausal transition, with a little help from some minor surgery last summer to correct a female problem. Maybe it’s that I am still adjusting to a new life in a new culture and climate. Or maybe it’s a certain problem that I can’t write about because I live in a small town, and every now and then a local reads my blog. 99% of my life in my new home is wonderful, but the other 1% has caused a great deal of pain.

Whatever the case, I am worn down. I’ve struggled with my writing, leaving my latest heroine unemployed, in the midst of a Madoff-like scandal, and between relationships. She’s annoyed with me for abandoning her in her hour of need, but I’ve struggled with my focus. Blood & Loam also sits out there, waiting for me to go over it one more time…the novel that will not let go, and yet will not find its way to the finish line. Of course, there’s also the clumsy attempts to find an audience. I’m working on that, but marketing remains the weakest link in my skill set.

Hubby recognized, even before I did, that I need to get out of paradise now and then. I don’t like leaving my exquisite views, my downstairs fireplace, or the wonderful restaurants within walking distance. I don’t like leaving a place where I can walk downtown and easily run into a half dozen people I know, all with ready smiles.

And yet, I need to go.

Separating myself from the familiar, and from the endless tasks and chores that surround me, I can reset my brain. In solitude, I can build up my reserves. I can dream again.

Enter the Alderbrook Resort & Spa in Union, Washington, a stress-free couple of hours from home. I arrived hours before the formal check-in time, thinking (correctly) that I could check in early. My room overlooks a garden, with views of the water and the Olympic Mountains off to my right. Tomorrow I am spending a good part of the day at the spa getting a wrap, a massage, and a facial. They have a heated indoor pool, and I intend to order lots of room service.

Normal people might take the week off from blogging, but I suspect I will have a lot that I want to share this week as my retreat unfolds. I don’t know exactly what to expect from this week. Maybe nothing will happen, other than I get some needed rest. Or maybe I will find some miracles here. Nothing to do but wait and see — and hope.

What I Did On My Summer Vacation

September 26, 2012 by admin

Morning fog rolls in over the water, enveloping us in eerie mystery. The first leaves are starting to change as sunrise air brings the first shivers in months. One of the biggest festivals of the year, The Port Townsend Film Festival, has come to a close. Filmmakers have come and gone, and the downtown streets, still teeming with people just a few days ago, are quiet and subdued. For the first time in decades, after leaving Houston’s endless summer, I am experiencing the onset of fall.

Many have warned me of the rain, darkness, and gloom that are due to arrive, but I look forward to it. There is so much to do here, and it’s hard in our first year to say no to any of it. I’ve had a number of adventures, but I’m ready to turn inward again, and I find the moody mornings somehow soothing. As the pace is just starting to slow, I will keep the blog to once a week for now, until I get my “sea legs” back.

There are many stories to tell and adventures to share in the weeks to come, but I’ll start with a few photos of “what I did on my summer vacation.” Enjoy!