road to san diego

Moving somewhere new is always exciting, especially if it’s across the country. Eight years ago, I loaded up my family and made the drive from Arkansas to San Diego, mostly via Route 66 (or rather, the modern interstate that runs parallel to it). On the final day (Day 3, I think), I teared up when I saw this sign. We were in the home stretch. What would await us in Sunny San Diego, our new home? Eight years later: I know. Wonderful memories in a lovely setting awaited us, and continue to fulfill me.

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la jolla shores

There’s a long list of things I haven’t yet done or seen in San Diego, despite having lived here 8 years. This summer, I finally marked snorkeling at La Jolla Shores off my list. Quite honestly, the water is a bit murky and there are only a handful of Garibaldi and some kind of silver fish to look at, but given that I’m a newbie snorkeler, I just loved immersing myself below our world to discover another one.

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louisiana cemetery

My grandfather on my mother’s side died before I was born. My main impression of him is a photo: in black and white, he stands next to a grill open to show a handful of baby chickens. As a child, I was horrified at the idea that he planned to cook them…until my mother explained it was a joke. Despite knowing he was buried in the cemetery next to the Catholic church in Church Point, where she grew up and where I still have family, I’d never been to his grave. On a recent trip with my mother, I asked…

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napili coast

Some landscapes simply take the breath away. I was on a morning jog in Maui and came across an outcropping of rocks on the edge of a hotel property. Across the water was another island, a rainbow beaming over it, as if advertising “come to Hawaii!” The rocks…the sea…the colors in the sky…this was one of those spots that just made me stop what I was doing and sit on a rock for half an hour, just being grateful to be alive.

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