It Never Gets Boring (to Me)

As I’ve mentioned here before, my writing life follows a school schedule.  And summer means sailing.  This year was no different.  A review of the Captain’s Log reminds me of our various adventures.  An overnighter to James Island with a buddy and his son for some exploring and a rare driftwood beach fire (allowed on only a few islands these days).  Several stays in Deer Harbor, where the swimming pool at the resort has orcas painted on the bottom and sides so that as you approach the end of the pool, swimming underwater, you find yourself coming face to face with a just-less than-life-sized whale!  Fourth of July at Fisherman Bay, on Lopez Island, which boasts the “largest public-funded fireworks show west of the Mississippi” (they’re not lying).  Also, I am happy to report that the ice cream shop and used bookstore in Friday Harbor remain the best two such establishments I have ever visited.

We mixed it up a bit this year, too, spending a week in San Francisco visiting family friends.  The trip to the planetarium in the hills above Oakland was a highlight, along with an afternoon at a fabulous park where we rode on a miniature steam-engine train and were introduced to geocaching, “a treasure hunting game where you use a GPS to hide and seek containers with other participants in the activity.”  What a great idea and an awesome activity to do with kids!  We found two containers at the park, including one that held a Star Wars action figure; after that discovery, my son was hooked.  I had no idea something like this was going on (Google it and you might be amazed, too, if you’re not already hip to it). 

Although I knew I’d be away from home a lot during the last two months, I set a goal of finishing two ongoing projects.  Did I accomplish them?  Sadly, I did not.  I managed to sneak in a day or two of work, here and there, but my “summer goal” now becomes, by default, my “fall goal.”  That’s all right: I recharged my creative batteries and spent quality time with good people, living our own stories.

With school back in session, the days growing shorter, and a drizzly gray Northwest winter approaching, the time is right to get back to work . . . .