Tag Archives: #travel

My Traveling Companion

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His hand feels warm and solid around mine. The blond hairs on the back are soft as I rub them against the grain with my thumb, and when I tighten my grasp I can feel his pulse. Between us a gentle peace is tangible, a peace forged from many dark and tender moments. The trees blur by outside the window of our travel-worn Ford van. We are somewhere in Oregon, barreling down the 5.

He smells like coffee and adventure and wonderful stubbornness. He sounds like beat-boxing and doom metal. He looks like Ireland, Missouri, and everywhere in between in one strong person. He is my traveling partner, my companion.

somewhere in Oregon / afternoon / off the grid

Reaching For the Clouds

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I’ve been coming to Redding for years now, and never visited one of its best sites: Sundial Bridge. Visible from most of the valley, the sharp white needle soars into the sky above the black-bottomed Canadian geese that squawk through the Sacramento River below. We visited on a stormy afternoon. Murky clouds pressed against the spiky treetops and cast iron highlights on the river.

The long green-glass bridge grew slippery as tiny drops fell, while water beaded in my husband’s rich red beard and on my forearm, casting the fine hairs into relief. Laughing teenagers skated on the glass and families ran for cover. Our hearts filling with the serenity of the river and the majesty of the glowing structure, we held hands and wandered about until the bustling world called.

Redding, CA / late afternoon / Sundial Bridge

The Secret of Discovering Vision

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Vision. It was lacking, or rather sporadic, for me until recently. Until, actually, we became unexpectedly pregnant with our Little Alien and started having to get our shit together. In a few short months we left the cradle of Independence, MO, and embarked on a country-wide road trip to discover whatever it was we were meant to do in life.

What we discovered was how much we loved coffee and coffee people across the country. I had the same feeling this week while visiting San Diego. Cupping four coffees from around the world–an Ethiopia, a Guatemala, a Honduras, and a Papua New Guinea–in the light-filled space at InterAmerican, I felt that I had come home.

This community? It gives meaning and direction. Count me in.

–San Diego, CA / mid-morning / InterAmerican Coffee

Do You Swim in Wonder?

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Benign sun warms my hair, cool ocean breeze kisses my face and exposed arms. The smells of saltwater & sunscreen fill my nose. Children shriek in delight as the cold water kisses their toes and sends exploratory fingers up their thighs. The sky is an impossible shade of blue, lightened toward the south where it provides a powdery blue backdrop for the villas that coat the hillside.

Eire crosses her arms and looks at the ocean while the sun glints on her tousled hair. She’s covered in sand, and the salty wet has reached her waist. I can’t even begin to guess what’s happening inside her mind, but one thing I can see we have in common: a sense of wonder at how much bigger the ocean is than us.

–Little Corona Beach, CA / mid-morning / off the grid