Sunrise, Sunset

If there’s one gift God gives the mountainless, it’s sunsets. I was raised near a large desert mountain and I don’t think I realized until I was twenty how amazing sunsets can be. Over a mountain, the sun just drops out of sight. But when the sun falls over the vast flatness of the flyover plains or an ocean with a few clouds streaking through the sky, they are completely captivating. Sometimes I have the patience to stand and take ten or fifteen photos over a twenty minute period to get the perfect shot.

This one was taken at the Pacific Beach Pier near San Diego, California.

Above the Clouds

Once, several years ago, we took a road trip in Europe. We flew into Zurich, rented a car, and drove down into Italy, across to Slovenia, and on into Croatia. It was a wild ride and we did the entire trip in nine days. By the way, if you’ve never considered Croatia as a vacation destination, give it some serious thought. Croatia is every bit as beautiful as Italy and much less expensive. The people are very friendly and most speak some English. But I digress.

On the way north back to Zurich, as we approached the Alps, which we drove through heading south, we were diverted. There was road work. We were detoured over the Alps. We had been awake for probably 20 hours, we still had hours to go to get to Zurich, and it was 10 o’clock at night. We were seriously punch drunk. Again, I digress.

Within minutes we were a mile above the little village near the detour. A few minutes more and we were above the clouds. It’s a moment we could never recreate. It was amazing.

I love to be above the clouds when flying. It’s bright and sunny and otherworldly up there no matter how rainy, stormy, or icy it is below. What an amazing thing that man figured out how to fly. What a privilege that we live in this century! We fly! We’re flying! We are flyers!!

New York, New York

We laughed, we cried, nobody died… today I drove a car in Manhattan for the first time. Now I’m a Bourne Identity level driver, but the idea of driving in Manhattan definitely intimidated me. But I OWNED it. Lol. I made a u-turn in a two lane road filled with parked cars and traffic. No big deal. In New York City, you do what you gotta do. We made it, alive and unharmed, to the Museum of Natural History.

Takeaway

1. If you drive to the museum, there is a nice parking garage behind it. The entrance is on 81st Street. If you arrive from behind the main entrance, it’s an easy right turn.

2. Arrive early. That is all.

Pictured is my husband Skippy. He did NOT drive a car in Manhattan today. Just sayin’.