So, You Come Here Often?

 

I thought long and hard about trying to do a recap post of all the adventures I found myself on since my last snippet.  That turned into re-visiting my old (and yet still beloved) blog Cells and Constellations, and that led to becoming embarrassingly sentimental and drafting a letter to it explaining why I abandoned it. 

A sign I'm still an irrational human: I feel bad for neglecting an electronic journal that exists only within the inanimate universe of computers and interwebs.

I might still post the letter, filled with sadness as it is, so be forewarned.  Anyway, that's why it took me so long to get this short and inconsequential post written.

Returning to the backlog of adventures that need re-telling...probably not going to happen.  I just don't feel like taking the time each one deserves, but I'm always happy to do a quick photo montage of the most recent excursions.

A visit back to one of the best places in the world, Columbia, Missouri, to see a few old friends and my favorite old building on campus in early July.

And it's familiar patterns

A brief pilgrimage back to Wisconsin later that same month, which is always good for the heart and soul:

A rollicking adventure into the mountains with Boyfriend, complete with free range cattle on the roads, a leaky tent during 24 hours of steady rain, expensive beer, and the best views this side of Everest.



























First ever trip to a Renaissance Faire.  No pictures were taken, but whatever your imagination has dredged up, that was it.


Several excursions out to Sandhills State Park, it's proximity to my house is one of the many things I'm grateful for this Thanksgiving.

And let's not forget the adventures found in my own backyard with my nephew.  I'm convinced the desire to poke grasshoppers with sticks to make them jump is universal and innate.

Makin' Friends

These two came along on a hike with me! Collars and tags, but def the ramblin' kind of dogs! Always glad for the company...

Feeling pretty American tonight

Go Wingnuts!

Yesterday's find at the Reno County Farmer's Market

Gooseberries!!! Jam was promptly made and enjoyed!

Today is also my oldest nephew's 4th birthday! He had his birthday party yesterday and everything was wonderful, from the ice cream cake with a tractor on it to his new water guns. Pure joy.

Remember that time I was going to have a blog?

You know, I had every good intention of keeping up with things on here (and pretending like all of you eagerly await the next adventure), but between some pretty big life decisions and their associated internal/external struggles, new road tires on my bike, and oh yeah, a new nephew to squeeze and adore and give my whole heart to, I have failed to do any photo-uploading or make any attempts to put words together into even semi-intelligent sentences.

To make for it, here's a pretty picture of some prairie prickly poppy from Sandhills State Park.

Through a complicated series of increasingly frustrating events, I have set aside the plans I had laid last fall to pursue a high school teaching career and left the program of which I was a part before I began classes.  I battled with this decision for several months, and now that a few weeks have gone by I can say that I feel really good about it and know it was the right decision.

It was also the right decision to follow this little guy into the brush, though to my everlasting
shame, I could not even guess as to what kind of lizard this is...a skink of some kind??

My superstitious nature prevents me from divulging any of the new/old and exciting ideas swirling about my cranium, but I'll leave you with a vague statement: It would seem that the one thing I desperately want to do is also the thing that terrifies me the most.  When the time comes, and if all goes according to plan, it will be a big leap of faith but probably completely unsurprising to anyone.  But it could also be replaced by an equally ridiculous idea in the coming months, so really I just want to apologize for this entire paragraph.

Now that school is out for the summer and my substituting skills are no longer required, my days are filled with alloparenting and keeping my nephews entertained, odd jobs around the house and especially in the basement (update to follow soon, I swear), being a rockstar in the kitchen when time and motivation allow, and getting in the kind of solid hang out time with friends I have not been able to enjoy in years.  I obviously find time to roam around the state parks of Kansas, but I prob didn't need to tell you that.

Wilson State Park.  So cool.  Will be back there soon.

To sum up: I'm still alive.  Still in my hometown.  And there may indeed be a light at the end of the tunnel for me yet.

So there I was...

Spaced off on the bike trail until this little guy/girl darted in front of me, then sat in a field to watch as I talked aloud to myself and fumbled around for my phone. 

Turns out my dad says he sees this fox there a lot, so any thoughts of it being my spirit animal are already out the window.

Color Us Awesome.

BOOM.

Twas the night before the 5K

...and all through the apartment,
somebody got her race clothes laid out to make sure she has enough layers because the weather forecast is closer to a day in January than one in May.

Color Me Rad Run in twelve hours. Amped. Those socks mean  business. Cartwheeling business.

Nothin to see here folks...

Earning my keep by scraping up half-century old carpet padding from the basement. In other news, check out the fab new lighting and lack of dividing wall in said basement.  Things are comin' along!

Uff da

Lets roll. After an hour wait to even get to the checkpoint, I'm already over this travel day. Felt bad for all the TSA workers, had to be a rough morning for them.

On to Dallas!

Last Night

Tucked into bed in a beautiful home, in a beautiful neighborhood, after wonderful conversation with wonderful people. Usually at the end of vacations I have inevitable feelings of sadness, but tonight, on the eve of my departure back to reality, I am filled only with overwhelming gratitude.

Banana Slug!!

At Forest of Nisene Marks again! In love with this place. Have used up daily quota of "Unbelievable" and it's not even 10.

Last Night on the Beach

Tomorrow: San Jose.

Din Din

At Ambrosia India Bistro....yummmmmmmmm

Ano Nuevo

Maybe it's because it's a perfect, cloudless, sunny day. Maybe because in the middle of the hike you can take your shoes off to go over a sand dune. Maybe because the air smells like something so fresh and pure that no laundry detergent will ever satisfy me again. Maybe because around ever corner is a view of the ocean that makes it impossible to do anything but stand, dumbfounded. Maybe because those are freaking elephant seals. But this place stole my heart.

Good morning from the beach-side coffee shop!

Huh.

Elkhorn Slough

Sorry, pics of trying to maneuver around a pack of hundred-pound harbor seals while wind-whipped waves fought against my kayak on open water do not exist.

A raw day on the water+feet away from sea otters and baby seals = feeling alive.

After kayaking through a bit of the slough, we hiked a few miles. Just to balance things out.

The Song

Watch "Bootstraps - OH CA" on YouTube

This song plays in my head a lot out here, minus the slightly depressing overtones. Oh California.

A foggy and cool morning.  We have a skunk. 

Putterings until we head out for Elkhorn Slough.

Redwood Crown

Hiked off the shrimp fajitas from Rio del Mar Mexican Cuisine here in Aptos.

The end of the pavement, and all sense of civilization drops away. The Forest of Nisene Marks.

You guys, the ocean is really cold

Post freezing oceanic frolic...which included some unexpected body surfing.

At Natural Bridges State Beach near Santa Cruz.

Time for tide pools

After Monterey Aquarium...

and after the Pacific Grove Farmer's Market...the fog rolls in.

Carmel

The day started off as usual, breakfast and coffee on the patio, though this morning a scrub jay joined us. Uncle fed it, hope to see it again :)

We then headed down the coast to Carmel to tour the old Spanish mission, San Carlos. Th pic is of one of the bells, named Ave Maria. In other news, bells are named. Its the simple things that bring joy.  We ate lunch at the amazing and delicious Dametra's Cafe, and stuffed ourselves with lamb, beef, chicken, Greek salad, hummus, pizza, and baklava.  Everything tasted like happiness!

With our souls and stomachs restored, on we go to the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

The rest of the day.

After returning from Henry Cowell and my overuse of the words "Geeez!" and "Holy crap!" every ten feet, I went on a long walk around town.  Surprisingly, my stroll actually had a goal: find my way back to the Safeway because I had forgotten to pick up olive oil earlier (a requirement for the dinner I was planning on making).

Here's a tip: when in doubt, follow someone who looks like they know where they're headed. So to the pissed off middle school kid on a bike who was obviously  running an errand, thanks for turning right.

With my mission a success, and a bottle of extra virgin rolling around in my purse, I was all kinds of confident in my navigational and stalking skills. I decided to find my way down the beach. I trotted off in the general direction and sure enough I spotted a guy with a free and easy gait ahead. Gotta be headed to the ocean, too.

Then I realized he was on drugs. After proving he still had his balance, as shown below, he preceded to spin around in circles, then do some kind of electric slide shuffle down the sidewalk. In essence, he was having the TIME of his LIFE walking down to the beach, though at one point he just started jogging. After that, I lost sight of the dancin' fool, too bad.

But then I was on the beach and time stopped for awhile.  As I reached into my purse for some chapstick, I felt the giant bottle of olive oil and remembered I had somewhere to be and something to do.

So then I followed a family up what had to be the 'Secret Garden' of stairs leading back up to the world from the magic of the ocean.  Mostly hidden by trees and tree roots, then walls of flowering vegetation, I thought I had ended up in someone's backyard. Mild panic, but got my bearings back quickly. Made it back just in time to chop things and cook it. Oven baked fajitas, grape tomatoes, and avocado.

Other excitements can be summed up in short bursts of joy: Stellar's Jay! California bay laurel is the best smell in the universe! California poppies! A sand dollar! A harbor seal! Raccoons eating dirt? True story.

Tomorrow: Headin' down the coast.

No seriously.

I keep tripping because I'm looking up all the time. Like this is ridiculous, you guys. RIDICULOUS.

THIS PIC IS OF THE SMALL ONES.

The Big Trees

Man jogging past just told us "The big ones are further down the trail."

At Henry Cowell State Park.

Yup.

After a long day of travel, we have arrived. Sushi and a long, barefoot, stroll on the beach. I think I'm going to like it here.

Hurry up and wait.

Arrived three hours early, because why not?

Mornings.

Just a test post. I ignored technology for too long and now have no idea what I'm doing...just hittin' buttons.