vacations – Page 2 – Better Living Through Literature

Desert Weekend

March 10, 2014 Karen

My oldest friend (we met in math class in junior high!) had a birthday over the weekend and wanted to celebrate in Moab. So I hopped in the car with my other friends and had an epic 72 hours.

One of our group is a landscape photographer, so I actually got out of bed to catch the sunrise. Turned out it was too cloudy for good color, but I got to hear the desert birds waking up.
(This was by The Windows in Arches National Park)

Then it cleared up and the sky did this:
(Heading into Arches from the west, looking southeast to the La Sals)

And then there was the evening light on the red rock.
(In Arches; I think the Petrified Dunes area)

The whole trip had really amazing light and clouds.
(Around the Sand Dune Arch area in Arches)

The group all had 4WD vehicles so I got to see the back roads around the park and arches I’d never been to.
(Looking through Eye of the Whale Arch, west side of Arches)

We hit Canyonlands, too, in the Needles area, and saw Newspaper Rock on the way in to hike some of the Chesler Park loop:

And yesterday, before we headed out, my friends used their backpacking forum notes and GPS skills to get us to something called “Magic Mystery Arch” (in the Sand Dune Arch area, but no trail).
(The arch is back against the wall, but it looks almost solid until you see light through it.

We walked up under it and looked up through all the magic mystery:

The sun and the light were just incredible, all weekend long. The long views and the rocks made me think of this Paul Bowles quote I’ve posted before:

Once [someone] has been under the spell of the vast, luminous, silent country, no other place is quite strong enough for him, no other surroundings can provide the supremely satisfying sensation of existing in the midst of something that is absolute.

My inner hippie (in Canyonlands here) agrees.

Tuesday Vacation Fabric

February 11, 2014February 11, 2014 Karen

The only shopping I did on this trip was for fabric (my friend is a sewist, too) and items at the Japanese dollar store. That’s my kind of vacation!

I flew into Oakland, so we started first thing with Stone Mountain & Daughter in Berkeley, which…well done, hippies of Berkeley. Fantastic prices and selection! We spent three hours shopping and I was too excited to even take pictures. I kind of want to move to the Bay Area to be able to visit this store more often. Here’s the spoils from Stone Mountain:

From left to right, there’s a cotton print, linen digital print, striped heavy knit, cotton “ikat”, and some stretch cotton shirting. (Not pictured: some fabric for pajamas for the nephew and some fabric for another friend.)

The next day, it was on to Britex:

I’d never been to a “serious” city fabric store before, so I was gawking. Every floor–and there were 4–was floor-to-ceiling fabric, ranging from expensive to “please ask for assistance with the couture laces.”

Again, I was so overwhelmed I didn’t take a lot of pictures. But I did visit the button wall (!) on the third floor and come come with some Italian brass domes for my cape (yes, I’m still making it):

Oh, San Francisco. I left my heart in your fabric stores.

Home Again, With Lots Of Pictures

February 10, 2014February 10, 2014 Karen

The trip I talked about Monday happened last week and it was glorious. I got my damp redwoods and cold sand and tour of the best fabric stores ever (more on that tomorrow), plus magnolias in February, delicious meals, ocean views, and some catharsis.

There were even koi. How fitting.

Oh, San Francisco. As I head into work today, I have this song in my head…

Re-entry

January 6, 2014 Karen

I go back to work today after two weeks of vacation (this will be me). Sigh. Let’s look back at the good times of the last couple weeks:

I went outside–more than once!

I turned 34 and got a juicer (aka my new boyfriend) from my family.

I made a lot of tissue paper garland to decorate for my birthday tea party.

And I had a lovely party for which a friend made this amazing cake:

But now, back to work. As my dad says, “Got to earn more fun tickets” for the next vacation.

Vacation

September 4, 2012 Karen

Oh hai, I was on vacation all last week! Could you tell? Northern California is cold but it’s really pretty. And I always like to see the ocean.

The other half of the week’s pictures got captured on film, since someone forgot to bring her digital camera charger, but there was more Big Sur and camping and San Fransisco (oh my), too.

Tuesday Vacation Report

March 9, 2010 Karen

I’m back from the beach and, while it was a little chilly and I was fighting a head cold, it was nice to be by the ocean.

It was especially nice to hear it at night. One of my favorite chapters of The Gastronomical Me describes MFK Fisher’s visit to the coast of Mexico, and she has this to say about the ocean:
“I slept like a cat all night, dreaming good dreams in my well-being, but hearing the waves when I wanted to through the dreams.”

(I brought some vacation knitting, so I’ll put up a Project Roundup tomorrow.)

Where You Folks From?

February 8, 2010 Karen2 Comments

So I was in Las Vegas most of last week (which you may not have realized due to the magic of scheduled posts) but it just wasn’t how I thought it would be: I’ve been twice in the last ten years and I guess enough time lapses between trips that I think it’s a glamorous, exciting place complete with Elvis and Danny Ocean, when in reality it’s a glorified miniature golf course.

There wasn’t a lot of sunshine, I don’t gamble, vast seas of humanity are not my idea of a good time, I missed Toby…I could go on and on (and on. Ask me about the cleanliness of the rooms in the Monte Carlo sometime.). But instead, I will choose to look at it as my oldest friend suggested: I got out of my comfort zone and pushed my limits, so really it was a trip of growth and self-discovery.

And I will remember this discovery when Vegas starts sounding exciting again in about five years.

The Best Bar Ever

June 4, 2008 Karen3 Comments

It was here:And this is why it was awesome:

I’m Back. And Kind Of Speechless.

June 3, 2008 Karen1 Comment

I really don’t know where to start with this trip recap….should I mention the fact that, despite not eating meat for a decade, my diet is apparently still something to talk me out of? That my relatives are convinced about the Biblical age of the earth? That I realized my puny efforts to buy local and organic aren’t going to do anything to change the farming system as we know it? No, I think I’d better mention the fact that a gin and tonic in the bar in the nearest town was $2.00. Because that was my happy place.

(Pictures coming tomorrow, if Blogger behaves.)

Tuesday Camping Roundup

May 27, 2008 Karen1 Comment

We made it back from camping but I was too busy getting the campfire smell out of all the gear yesterday to post these.

Thankfully, it was only like this the first afternoon:

But the clouds didn’t keep us from going up on Topaz Mountain and looking for topaz–there are some in that bag. (The beer was a way of keeping warm. As was the gin and the whiskey later.)

There was even a good sunny photo op:

But I was glad to be back home with Toby, who couldn’t stop smelling our shoes.