Welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer. Today, just like every other day this week, I enjoyed coffee with a good breakfast. This is vacation living!
Though my vacation is coming to an end today, I look forward to seeing my dog Bixby and of course, my mother and my son! 🙂 If we were having coffee today, I’d share with you some highlights of my vacation trip.
Our cruise line was Royal Carribbean, which I highly recommend! From service staff and food to accommodations, they are amazing!My s.o. and travel partner. This was his first cruise!Wonderful, talented room attendants from all over the world are smiling and friendly.A street mural in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. One of our ports was Cozumel, where we embarked to a tour of Chichen Itza.Chichen Itza, Mexico.
Sunset, leaving Cozumel, Mexico.Coco Cay, near the Bahamas.Excursion to Pearl Island in the Bahamas for snorkeling, sunning, and swimming.Sunrise , approaching the Bahamas.Farewell to the Bahamas and cruise life.
So, it has been a week that felt like seven days of weekend! This tired teacher’s heart certainly needed this. As for my boyfriend, Chris, he loved his first cruise and would certainly do this again!
That has been my week. I hope all is well with you all! I have a week ahead of me easing back into home, unpacking, exercising, and a teacher training. Thanks for stopping by!
Welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer. It has been a green tea day for me. Enjoy whatever beverage you like! “Caution” by the Killers is playing in the background, a lively, hopeful tune.
This past week, I had an opportunity for walking the beach with a good friend. I’m still reading the 28 days of Soul-Coaching book, so maybe it colors everything I see, including a gray day! On Beach-walking: “The skies above may be gray, but my feet are grateful to be grounded on cooler sand and pavement today as I connected with the earth while beach walking with Judy.” She and I just talk and talk, about anything. It’s awesome and we enjoy it!
Morning Beach-walking with my son, circa 2006.
On the subject of mornings, I have found that I’m regularly waking up this summer before 7 a.m., due to the angle of the sunlight through my window. It peeks through the slats in my blinds and comes through the sheer curtain that hangs there. I don’t mind it, because at other times of the day when I am in there, I find the sunlight cheering. Not only that, but it will be helpful to be used to waking early when I have to go back to work. I’m not really a night owl anymore. I’m probably healthier this way anyhow.
From a poetry book I just finished reading, titled 1,000 Mornings by Mary Oliver: “…who would cry out to the petals on the ground to stay, knowing as we must, how the vivacity of what was is married to the vitality of what will be? ” This poem was called LINES WRITTEN IN THE DAYS OF GROWING DARKNESS. I’ve been pondering a lot about my past and the changes that have occurred in my life, how everything happens for a reason, and I’m trying to make those reasons positive, not always easy, right? I’m also discovering that there is a Season for everything. You have to see it for what it is. I’m still working on that, and can’t really be any more specific at this time. 🙂
My house is still too quiet at times though. I am not working this summer, so it really is noticeable, the absence of my son. July is travel month; that will be sure to help. I am still catching up with old friends, which is very fulfilling. Sometimes you can easily be open and honest with someone if you’ve known them a really long time, no matter how long it’s been since you conversed.
Mom had a cataract surgery this week, and I drove her. It went smoothly, and she is noticing a difference already. Her appointment was really early Wednesday, so when we returned home, I slept a lot. The silence is good for that, but it still seems too silent for me. Bixby seems to have adjusted. I just have to keep busy with reading, writing, reaching out to people, etc. That is the plan.
In the writing arena, I have been working on a short story for publication in early July. It is going to be part of a contest. I will definitely let you all know when the publication date comes closer. The book about Ellie is in my mind, but I haven’t made more progress yet. I decided I have to outline the ideas, and I likely need a full-throttle coffee day, since I have not had one in a good while. Then I could possibly work on it for several hours. It just may tickle the muse into inspiring me!
That is all I have for this week. I’m still getting a lot of down time and relaxation, and I’m sure that is just what I needed this summer. I hope you all are doing well and will have a great weekend! Happy Father’s day to those who are fathers.
The air is cool and the birds are waking up, singing their happiest tune. They flitter from rooftop to rooftop.
Slowly, the tip of the bright, round orb appears. A fully dressed, perfect twenty-something couple walks, then stops in front of the hotel next to my Dad’s apartment. They probably had just gone out for coffee and are staying somewhere along this tourist strip. Luckily, they got quiet.
My son and I are here for four days, staying with my dad in his small, minimalist apartment in a tourist area that is just a walk from the beach. He took us on a sailboat yesterday. Minus 20 minutes of queasiness , it was beautiful and awesome. Add to that the fact that I met today’s goal: waking up to see a strange sunrise. It is not just new, for every sunrise is new. It is strange, as it is occurring in a place I’ve never been and a spot where I’ve never sat before. Sure, I’ve been to RI, but I missed the sunrise, and I certainly never sat on this stoop before!
I can’t tell you this sunrise is better than those back home, since I usually drive to the beach for sunrise. It adds an element of color and vastness you just don’t see surrounded by buildings. However, in this island/inlet area, the beach near us is in the direction of the South. So what do you get? A totally different sunrise experience, and that is just what I wanted.
Every sunrise is unique to its area, like its own fingerprint, in a sense. This leads in to one of my bucket list goals: to observe the sunrise in 50 different cities. Before today, I had achieved maybe 4 cities. (Yeah, I came about this goal in the last two years). I’m happy to say I achieved this leg of the goal, and I can’t wait to see what’s next!
Finally, June found his car at a building in the Arts district, where warehouses and concrete were peppered here and there with trees. She had almost given up, when she remembered a party they attended here months ago.
A few cars were parked outside, though no thriving business lived here. Obviously, there’d been a party, though she no one mentioned it to her. Apparently, a few people were unfit to drive home. She shook her head. Those two were no good for each other.
How could she keep Lori away from Jack? It seemed near impossible. They were both driving her mad, when she should be focusing on college applications and admissions essays. She sighed and opened the door.
People were sprawled around on worn couches and a stale smell of smoke and spilled alcohol permeated the air. Was that Lori in the back?
“Lori? Jack?” She called before thinking. Of course, they’d be mad she didn’t call them by Mom and Dad.
*163 words. Flash fiction for aspiring writers presents a new photo prompt weekly for writers to use as inspiration for a flash fiction story between 100-150 words, give or take 25. It’s fun to see the different perspectives of the same image. Photo credit must be given to the photographer, who, this week, is Foot and Foodie. If you want to join up, look for a new prompt on Tuesday, and find the rules and instructions at the site. Visit this past week’s challenge at:
A little ways down US 1, I found another sunrise to add to my bucket list goal! A few months back, I added a bucket list item: to witness the sunrise in 50 cities! I am counting my own city, and I recall leaving Las Vegas at sunrise in a taxi headed to the airport eight years ago, because no one really sleeps there anyway. Now, I can add this past weekend, watching the sun come up in St. Augustine Beach. That makes three cities now! Technically, it is a separate city, so I’ll count it. I am also hoping to witness a sunrise in Georgia this summer. Because this “other city” is so close, I will also consider it part of my neighborhood. Isn’t the term “neighborhood” as small or as large as we consider it? Well, I’m hoping so, as this is my entry in response to Jacqueline Obyikocha’s blog challenge, “Echoes of My Neighborhood.” Check out her blog and entry at http://acookingpotandtwistedtales.com/2016/06/30/night-scenes-of-a-sleepless-city-echoes-of-my-neighbourhood-25/#like-10365
Maybe it’s a stretch to call this a part of my neighborhood, maybe it’s not. Getting there is a forty minute car ride down U.S. 1, when there’s no rush hour traffic, that is. St. Augustine is a nearby gem full of history, beautiful views, and a wonderful beach. It’s an awesome place for a getaway, and the restaurants were not at all crowded this time. I started off with a mini-spa day, then waited and did some writing at a coffee shop, until my significant other could get there to meet me for dinner at an Italian restaurant. Did I mention, the beach was not crowded at all either? It’s far different than our visit to Panama City Beach, Fl last year. I am fortunate to live where I do, with a wonderful city that has a growing arts (and sports) program, and nearby access to beaches and historical sites. I certainly should get to these places more often. I never regret going, and it is worth the small drive. Next time, I plan to share some downtown photos that represent our arts program. Things are fine in my neighborhood!
Here is the sun, coming up behind the trees on one of my morning walks. I adore that tall palm tree. My neighbor had it put in, and has since moved away, but I shared the photo on Facebook and thanked her for having planted it. Imagine the scene without it. Not at all the same. Think about that one tree that just illuminates your street. This one is it. Without it, you might not know I live in Florida. Our duplex houses all look similar on my street, with just a little variation. Our neighborhood is plain, but the greenery and trees make it so rich. This tree adds personality and character. It frames the rising sun so splendidly, don’t you think?
This post is in response to Jacqueline Obyikocha’s Thursday challenge over at http://acookingpotandtwistedtales.com/ Don’t you just love her name? I do! Head over and check out her blog! I suggest you follow her blog, if you are not already. I also suggest you take a sunrise walk, if you’re not already doing that. Of course, it being the height of summer, one has to get up really early to catch it. I am planning to do this a few times this summer, as it is so renewing and inspirational. Between my dog’s needs and my son’s early work hours, it should not be too difficult for me! A glimpse of that sun creeping up into view, whether it be the rays springing forth, or as in this photo, the gradual changing and lightening of the sky’s color, and I am again reminded, Life is good.
I’ve decided to add a new item to my bucket list. Since I’m close to my late forties, now is the time. I can think about retirement, I can dream. And I’m certainly too young to think about being done with my bucket list! Maybe this is an impossible dream, but I feel that is at the root of optimism, always dreaming one more dream. There is always room for one more dream! We are in an infinite universe; why not dream infinitely (by which, I mean, without bounds)?
A dream is one thing I can hold close to my heart. But I am so excited, I want to share it! I want to one day retire and be a sun chaser! Evidently, since I did look up the term, sun chaser already signifies many things, such as a yacht, an awning, a movie about an escaped fugitive, etc. So I seem to be giving new meaning to the word. I literally want to CHASE the sun. Yet, I’m not a runner. Okay, CHASE may be an exaggeration. And I’m honestly not running away from anything. We also shouldn’t confuse this with being a sun worshiper. I am not so much about the tan anymore; I love witnessing the sunrise and all that it represents. It’s almost second nature to whisper a “Thank you,” when I do.
Let’s put this in more specific terms for my bucket list: I want to witness the sun rise in at least fifty different cities. I think it’s plausible! I could even start on it now!
All of this came about because I am on Spring Break. I’ve been dropping my sun off at work, and finding myself with time in which I could go home and sleep again, or do something different, like stop and witness the sun rise, walk the dog as the sun is rising, or simply gaze at the sky. It is a beauty, and sometimes there is no time to realize it until you can get off the merry-go-round for a while. I took a long walk with the dog the other day, documenting with my camera just which house the sun peeps up behind, and today, I stopped on the side of the road on the way back from dropping off my son at work. The sky was full of jet contrails. I documented with my camera just how different the sky looked. I was not happy about it, but the sun rise was still beautiful. Guess what? I feel like I did an important thing, just noticing how the sky looked.
This got me to thinking, on a positive note, how different the sun would look in different cities, and what a pleasure it is to view it from different perspectives (i.e., different cities). There are many other things on my bucket list, such as, going to Rome and seeing the Vatican along with much of the art of the Renaissance. But this bucket list goal really has me inspired and motivated. A miracle is happening every 24 hours and I want to see more of it! My goal will include getting to another city (how doesn’t matter; it could be an old camper for all I care), being awake to witness the sunrise from that viewpoint, maybe documenting by camera, resting, eating, living, traveling to the next city of choice and being ready for the next sun rise. I could even just do this once a week for a year if I start now! There are many possibilities for carrying this out! How many people travel to a city and never see its sunrise? I’ll tell you, sunrise in Las Vegas is quite a sight in that flashy city amidst the hills and desert. Breath-taking. What an honor it is to be awake at that hour with nothing better to do than to take in this beauty. Lent is almost over. Easter will soon be here. What a perfect time of year to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection. The sun rises again every morning. And there is certainly at least one Bible verse that verbalizes the beauty of nature. This one touched my heart:
Psalm 19:1
“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.”
pamelascanepa 