where i was this summer...

Hello one and all!

just got back from a crazy busy summer starting with dawn and adam's wedding (i finally posted my pics on shutterfly) and working again with the travel camp. this summer we went out west and i got to see a lot of those amazing national parks and experience some of that "dry heat"that everyone is always raving about. 120 in vegas - too freaking hot. it hurt to breathe when you stepped outside (interestingly enough - hurting the same way as when it is -20* outside). i dont think i really noticed how different "dry heat" was until i got back into virginia when it was 90* and 100% humidity - then i think i realized the difference.

i was awed by the grand canyon, but i think i would have been more impressed if i could have gone in it. it is massive and yes it looks huge but looking from the top doesnt always give you a sense of scale. bryce canyon was one of may favorites because it was beautiful, i was on my day off with a good friend and no kids and it rained for the first time all trip - and it was cool and refreshing. i loved yellowstone! i could have stayed there for weeks and weeks i think. one of my more interesting hikes happened at sundown so at the end of the trail i was listening to the springs and geysers and hot sulfur pools and imagining what they looked like - a sensory hike - and very awesome.

we also did a city tour of eastern canada. i love canadia and was happy to get to see more of it. i still want to go back to western canada, but that is another trip for another day.

after the non-stop job of travel camp and kids, i stopped on long island for some r-n-r and some beach time. i am not really good at rest and relaxation and doing nothing... and as a result i still stayed quite busy and helped jim and carlee move into their new house, but it was still less run around craziness than i usually pack in. thank you josh, josh's mom and dad, and jim for hosting me, feeding me, entertaining me, and putting up with me (thank you carlee, dewey, and everyone else for the good times and laughter).

i love the beach. i need to live there, or at least live closer. all summer without getting to the beach - ridiculous. how did that even happen? i get there, put my toes in the sand, breathe in the salty air tinged with decomposition and a huge weight drops off my shoulders and i relax. and apparently i nap and sleep like the dead. i went four-five times in one week... it's like a meaningful religious experience for me(there's got to be a better phrase, but i cant think of it). and i ate a lot of ice cream while i was there... and enjoyed some adult beverages... and ate the best ever long island bagels... that probably helped too.

home again home again jiggety jig. it's nice to be able to unpack and not live out of a suitcase or the back of my car and wear WHATEVER i want and i will admit there is a lot to choose from in my closet. my first choice was a white shirt - simply because i had not worn a white shirt all summer. i thought it was weird, but for some reason that is what i really wanted. it is also nice to sleep naked in my fabulous purple beech sheets and grab a cup of coffee in the morning and drink it on the back deck while admiring mom's flowers, listening to the bathtub fountain, and trying not to get attacked by the jungle of gourds overtaking the chair.

i have been planning my trip and i will admit i am a little bit stressed about my future travels to new zealand and australia. i shouldnt be, but i think it is just how i am. i have a lot to do and most of the time it does not seem that i am being that productive. the big time sucker (besides dial up Internet) was getting my three carloads of school stuff i still had sitting in the prep room in hopes of a half year contract. no such luck, so it all had to come home and go into the basement. (however it seems many many people are disappointed that i will not be at school second semester and it is nice to know that i am loved and missed)

i have been a little productive. i have bought my plane ticket and made an outline of what i want to do and figured out where those places are on a map. kelley made me a budget and if i stayed as long as it would take to do all the things i had picked, i would come back with one dollar-funny. but i am not staying that long, and i am not doing all those things, though i know i will do other things that obviously are not in my budget, so hopefully i can try to come back with a little more than one dollar. although if i dont, i am not really worried.

today i bought a new tent (and set it up and took it down in the store and crawled in and out of it... i am satisfied) and i have big plans to camp in the backyard for the weekend. hopefully it will rain so i can test the waterproof part. i think i am going to do the initial pack of my bag to see if it all fits. and figure out what exactly i have room for now that there is a tent and sleeping bag going in there (but it is cheaper to camp than hostel and i am on a budget... or at least i am going to work really hard at it. i am not good at budgeting. i have this mentality that if i need it or want it, i should just get it. i am not too frivolous and dont waste too much money. and i am happy. so why change what works... well you change so that you dont run out of money to do all the cool things you want to do. sigh. we'll see how it goes).

anyway. i am going to rest so that i am ready to fill my belly with the best biscuits and gravy in the world at joe's tomorrow for breakfast. another thing that has been too long coming.