Perspective
Distance and difference are the secret tonic of creativity. When we get home, home is still the same. But something in our mind has changed, and that changes everything.
-Jonah Lehrer
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| Long Beach, WA |
The past two weeks, my trip down Hwy 101 from Washington to California, has completely fulfilled a dream, a wish, a desire, that I had previously only longed for.
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| Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, CA |
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| One of the many coastal state park routes in CA |
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| Camarillo, CA |
I was born in California, and have memories as early as two years old there. I remember the day we left, I hated entering the new state we moved to. As an adult, I visited California every chance I got. For the first three years that I lived in Washington, I made a trip every year. I visited every place I ever heard of growing up. I talked to my Grandma on the phone at places she had told me about. I ventured as far south and north as I could and explored every inch of the state that I thought had meant something to my family.
My heart and soul yearned for a family history that doesn't knowingly and currently exist to us. I grab on to every piece I can and I do my best to record it. This most recent trip was no exception. I took multitudes of photos, and I felt so blessed to spend this time with my dad, hear his stories, and share it with my own little family too.
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| Kings Canyon State Park |
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| Crescent City, CA |
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| Tillamook Cheese Factory, Tillamook, CA |
On the route back to WA, we took our time a bit, caught up on sleep, and visited a few more places. It was pretty great. During our trip, I felt so alive, so rejuvenated, and so ready to tackle our life once we got home. During our three days of driving home, I was anxious. So very anxious to get home and back to our life. It felt so crazy entertaining those thoughts and ideas, and yet, it has felt so incredible to unpack our bags and sleep in our own bed.
I have so many more photos to go through and ultimately share with you, but for now, we are inching our way back into a regular routine, catching up on work, and living life in the PNW as fall encroaches upon us.
Share your summer stories below. What has changed drastically, made you feel alive? What bucket list item did you mark off? And how are you feeling about our end of summer?