Driving In Circles

At least it looks that way from the map.  I am planning, or at least pointing in a direction I want to go next so I decided to map out where I've been the past three years.  It's a very low-tech mapping process, but it gave me an idea of where I've been and where I would like to visit next.

The route with the Blue arrows is the one I took in 2008, Purple for 2009 and this year is in Red.  I've covered most of the states but noticed a big hole in the Midwest.  Not that I avoided Arkansas, Oklahoma or Kansas, it's just that I didn't head in that direction for some reason.  I am currently in the New England area and as you can see, I've covered a lot of ground here.  The fall season is just amazing!  It's exactly what you see in all of the magazines depicting fall, except you get to wake up and see all of the beautiful color wherever you go each day.  I love it.

Soon I will be headed South.  A lot of people ask me what my route is or where I am planning to go next.  Fact is, I don't really know.  I try to think of a general area to head to but sometimes I will hear of something, or get a feeling which will make me change direction.  I feel some of the best moments on this journey were the ones where I wasn't planning and was a bit off course.  Some might call it being lost. I like to think of it as exploring a new area where I vaguely know exactly where I am.

Life is more interesting that way.

Be A Tourist In Your City

Yes, you've heard it before. Of course you know your city, you live there! How dare "they" tell you to tour it some more...

It's easy to get stuck in a rut and not do things that are so close to home. Going to the same restaurants, same places, parks, etc. Yesterday, I spent the day doing something that many tourists do on their trip to Long Beach. I took the Aqualink to the Queen Mary and then to Shoreline Village. I love being on a boat so for me, $5 was fair to spend to have someone take you for a ride across the port without having to clean the boat at the end. If you want to make it really special, they also sell snacks and drinks for the quick 20 minute tour.

As for me, I started snapping away before we even left the harbor. I was so excited to be on a boat! The boat left at noon with me and one other passenger on board (shown above). I stood outside the entire time snapping away at everything...the water, the oil islands, boats, buoys, houses, and the shoreline. It was a bit hazy outside but it didn't take away from my enjoyment.

Once I arrived at my destination, I walked around Shoreline village for over an hour watching people. You can't help but put a smile on your face when you sit in the sun, watching the water and observing people enjoying the day. Even though I have been to this place many times before, I saw it in a different light yesterday. We are lucky to have such nice weather right now so it was a shame not to get outside.

I will be touring different places in the area and sharing it with you. Here are some pictures I took of my afternoon of being a tourist in my hometown. I hope you find something new in your town that you haven't seen before.







Click here for MORE Photographs

39 Goals for My 39th Year

We all took the time and recapped what we did in 2009 and thought about what worked and what didn't in our lives, right?

Well, if you strive to better yourself or just want to have some fun in the new year, you might want to consider writing a list of new activity's to accomplsh in 2010.

I came across the yes and yes blog and she did just that. She listed 31 new things she is going to do before her 31st birthday. What a great idea! I have just a stitch more activities to do since I am, ahem...a teensy bit older.

I might do more of these things, or less but it's thinking about what I want to do and the key is putting it down on paper. Some are not new but they can still be considered a goal to achieve during the course of a year. Once it's written on paper, I can't undo it. Does anyone ever use white out anymore?

Once I achieve a goal, I will blog about them and put a link on the right side of my home page to track progress. I am holding myself accountable.

39 things I will do for my 39th year in this world:
-Read 5 books from beginning to end without skipping ahead
- Win one photo contest
- Go skiing at least once this season
- Take a picture of Max in the snow
- Go to a tattoo show
- Publish a travel article
- Sleep on a strangers couch
- Skinny dip in the ocean
- Try indoor skydiving
- Get a photo published somewhere
- Paint with something other than watercolors
- Complete my house project with 5 shots together in a custom frame
- Sell or donate everything in my garage
- Take a photography editing class
- Launch a site to sell photographs
- Host a dinner party
- Take an art class
- See SIA in concert
- Wear a dress and go somewhere fancy
- Spend a weekend without a phone, without texting, watching tv, or any kind of human contact
- Watch a local play production
- Take Max out on a camping trip with "trailie"
- Visit the Salton Sea
- Go to Mexico
- Bake a cake
- Spend a week in a cabin in the woods somewhere
- Run in a 5k race
- Go to a music festival
- Rent my home and live next to the water somewhere
- Spend time on an island
- Take pictures underwater
- Win the lottery (you never know...)
- Volunteer
- View a live show taping (preferably Oprah before she leaves)
- Have my photographs displayed in a cafe'
- Write a book review
- Surf again
- Ride on a train
- Take a long road trip (I think this is becoming a habit)

What do you have planned?