Being an optimist doesn’t mean I always think things are rosy. Two weeks of a giant wildfire terrorizing your community and neighboring towns clearly isn’t a good thing. But acknowledging the fear (yes, there was a lot of fear and worry), and then trying not to dwell on something I couldn’t change was a daily struggle. I tried to see the bigger picture. I saw tremendous acts of caring and giving from people just wanting to help. And don’t even…
This is one of my favorite times of the year. However, that is not the case for everyone. The holiday season can be fraught with expectations unfulfilled, family drama, and often a bit of mayhem. The new year can be a time of great anticipation for new experiences or it can be a time of uncomfortable uncertainty. This year, I felt the need among the hustle and bustle to just stop and take a deep breath. I can think of…
When your daughter is turning 25 (how the heck did that happen?!) and asks if you want to celebrate her birthday in the most breathtaking place on the planet for a few days, you start packing! Goodbye Santa Barbara and hello Big Sur! We are on the road and with limited wi-fi, so I will leave you with this photo. And no judgements if some or all of these are consumed during our visit…compliments of our last Big Sur Bakery…
Big Sur has been the subject of many books and movies, as well as countless poems expounding on its beauty. To me it’s a place like no other. It’s a deeply personal and spiritual experience. It is nature at its most glorious and no matter how many times I go back, it takes my breath away as if seeing it for the first time. Big Sur is impossible to describe. The most incredible photograph can’t capture how small I feel…
I grew up in a family of six. We took yearly vacations from our home in New Jersey, usually to Florida. We always drove and would often leave in the middle of the night and drive straight through. I still remember the excitement of laying out our new vacation outfits and waiting to be woken up to start our adventure. We would pile into the station wagon and sleep for the first part of the trip. Then there would be short…