still in love with that place

 

 

 

 

 

i kept turning to robert and saying, "they're never going to believe this. these pictures just don't capture it. they have to come here." our entire trip out west felt like a giant, slow motion movie set in the prehistoric era. it was just surreal. the land before time. before high rises and strip malls took over the terrain and and it was just rock as far as the road could stretch.

the food was decadent and rich and spicy and full-bodied. the people were kind and held the land sacred. and the mountains were staggering enough that, on a random tuesday in december, dozens of strangers gathered at an overlook to take in the sunset.

i'll never forget it (and neither will our facebook friends! shout-out to robert's 300 posted pictures! sorry to bomb your newsfeed...) if i could, i would live in a tiny house on a tiny plot of land with a tiny little family and use all our resources to travel. of course, the trip home, to familiar sheets and floorboards and kitchen counters is the best of all.


(and yes that is me in caesar's palace re-creating the elevator scene from the hangover. when you gamble $5.00 and win ten cents you know it's time to move on to new vegas activities.)

A REPEAT EXPERIENCE

there's this odd little thing about me. a quirky little catch in an otherwise normal, standard personality.

i really, really, for the life of me, can't read any book or watch any movie more than once without getting utterly, despicably bored. when i devour something for the first time, i do it headfirst and slowly. deliberately. it took me months to get through extremely loud and incredibly close. i paused and rewound "the last kiss" a million times before finishing it.

these experiences-these deep dives into culture and escape and hollywood and different worlds, they are all so much for me, that to do it again somehow diminishes the first time.
but i think i've found an experience i wouldn't mind repeating.

we're driving from our little town in north carolina all the way across this beautiful country to canon beach, oregon this october. to see it again. the second time in less than three years. the first time we saw it, we got there at sunset and ran down under a thicket, and emerged on the shore as the sky was in flames of amber and haystack rock was looming in the distance, touching the heavens. my breath literally escaped me.

it's too far. it's illogical and costly and time consuming to go there again. you people who live in the northwest are so, so blessed to call such a gorgeous place home.

but we're going. mostly because i want to see it again, and partly because i want to see mount rushmore, and this way we can do both.

what about you? what could you read, listen to, watch or see again?

a little family addition

after supper on our first date, robert told me he had something he wanted to show me back at his house. i looked out the window into the august night and whispered that i wasn't that kind of girl. he laughed, and pulled into the driveway. "i want you to check out my parent's 1985 volkswagon van!" he exclaimed. he popped open the top, and i watched as this almost stranger told me all about the memories he'd had in the van with his family, his boy scout troop, and his friends. and i think i fell in love with him a little bit on the spot.

eight years passed. and his parents sold the van. and we drove our little hondas around proudly. we took our sedans back and forth on the weekends to college, and made memories driving along the country roads near our home.

but last week, we saw this bad boy. a fully restored 1971 volkswagen camper bus. with a fresh paint job, new tires, new engine, re-sealed windows, and my favorite upgrade, heated seats. plus, there's a sink and an icebox. hello camping.

and we're in love. never before have we been treated with such attention driving around town. people stop and wave, give us thumbs up, and shout "love the bus!" it's so fun.

but the best part about our new ride? it got us thinking more seriously about filling the yellow and white checkered backseats with a little family. of bringing this whole story full circle. and holding robert's hand across the dashboard last night, i realized how perfect that first date turned out to be.