Road Trip!

We celebrated our 21st wedding anniversary last Thursday by taking a road trip to the Sacramento River Delta. We crossed seven bridges and rode two ferries in our travels.  Riding on levee roads most of the time, the trip odometer rolled up 180 miles. Sleepy, small towns along the route included Rio Vista, Walnut Grove, Isleton and the ghostly looking Locke. We passed by more that a few stately old mansions--Victorian beauties from the early 1900's. We had a relaxing day with no particular itinerary.  Awwww... It was marital bliss.

My writing week went well. I finished an article I will submit to Clubhouse Jr. magazine called It's a Dog's Job But Somebody's Gotta Do It.  This non-fiction article for 4 - 8 year-olds is a fun education on dog jobs--the one's they're born to do.

Also, I submitted my adult article, Lost In Public, to InTouch magazine. It covers our experience in Paris with the Metro. The story humorously illustrates the consequences of forging ahead in life without first studying which direction to go.

This week, back to my picture book.  It awaits patiently.

Underwater Views

I wanted to share some videos of snorkeling in the tide pools from our recent Hawaii vacation. You get the sense of how close we are to the sea life and how abundant the coral is.  The school of fish swam around us like we belonged there.

A Break From Writing

I had a great time of rest and refreshment on my world travels these past weeks.  First Paris then the Big Island in Hawaii. In Hawaii I read a lot and even did some writing.  Most excitedly I snorkeled almost every day.

We stayed at a house in Kapoho in the Puna district on Hawaii.  Its beautifully green and lush there. Tide pools created by the lava at the edge of the ocean were walking distance from the house.  The interconnected pools are geothermally heated and teem with sea life--vibrant colored fish of all sizes, sea turtles (I saw four), and varieties of gorgeous coral. Each day we consulted the tide schedule to plan our daily snorkeling.

When the tide was not high enough, in order to swim to the next pool, we pulled ourselves along the rock practically on our bellies. On one occasion, I decided to stand up with fins on and carefully "flip-flop" my way to the next pool. When I got up I saw my brother close to me, flat in the water, wriggling his way across the rocks to the next pond. I burst into laughter as the picture before me looked like a giant salamander shimmying along the rocks with snorkel pointing skyward.  What a sight it was with me standing near.

Now that I'm back home with all of life's distractions (bills to pay, laundry, grocery shopping, cooking, home repairs), its been hard to get back to all the writing projects I have going.

Last count I had six writing projects in various stages: two picture books, three children's magazine articles and one adult magazine article.  Its hard to prioritize what to work on next and for how long.

Meanwhile I have found that its good to take brain sharpening breaks to stimulate the creative juices and nurture clear thinking.  Here's a fun little match game that can help:

http://milescooley.com/mc/ecards/cards/2

Post a comment with your own break ideas and how you prioritize your writing.

Celebrating On Top Of The Eiffel Tower

I made it to the very tippy top of the Eiffel Tower while in Paris and celebrated with the Snoopy Dance. Check it out...

Now my husband and I are vacationing (some more) on the Big Island with my brothers, a friend and spouses. We snorkeled this morning in the warm lava ponds -- best snorkeling in a long time. More later.