A Whisp of a Vacation

I couple weeks ago I had a brief window of time between two major life stages: Stage One- working for an employer, satisfied, but not necessarily working towards a greater goal; Stage Two- owning my own business, fulfilling a deep-seated dream of mine. I am now officially immersed in the dawn of this Stage Two, with the grand opening of my art & craft boutique, gathered, a mere eleven days away.

Here is what I did in that glimpse of unemployment bliss...

Got talked into walking the St. Patrick's Day parade route in downtown Savannah with my sister and her friend Becca. I did not wear green, let the records show.

But this man did. He's my new boyfriend. Sorry, Drew.

Ran into my best friend from elementary school, Lauren! We haven't seen each other in at least ten years, and I swear she hasn't changed a bit. In the best way possible.

Watched Rip watch Dad watching some fern fronds popping out of the ground.

Pepe the Peacock has not made an appearance in quite a while. But this wild(?) hen has mysteriously taken his place.

Went on a wet and wild boat ride.

Walked around Forsyth Park with the fam.

And then Drew and I took a short road trip out west, through West Virginia, Ohio, Illinois, and Indiana. Drew had mapped out a route involving sacred ancient Native American mounds, waterfalls, hikes, and camping. I made sure we knew where all the Whole Foods were along the way. We had an amazing and mystical journey, and here are some highlights...

A choppy panorama of the inside of an overhang, looking out. We magically managed to both be in the photo (see Drew on the far left and me on the right?)

We learned that Ohio state parks are possibly the country's best kept secret. Look at this hardscaping on the trails! Right out of the Labrynth or Never Ending Story!

And we stumbled upon a billboard on the highway advertising THE WORLD'S LARGEST WIND CHIME. That's right. We pulled off onto the exit, needing gas anyway, and I casually asked the clerk if she knew where we might find a really, really big wind chime. I hear a voice pipe up from down the aisle: "If you want to know about the wind chime, ask this guy here." The son (and his friend) of the man who BUILT the wind chime were RIGHT THERE, RIGHT THEN. Needless to say, they happily gave us the behind-the-scenes tour, including a sneak peek at the World's Largest Golf Tee in progress.

The last and largest of the mounds we visited near St. Louis: Cahokia Mounds. During a thunder snow storm. I repeat. Thunder snow. Pretty darn magical.

Then we got a visit from my college friend Jocelyn! She makes the most amazing felted finger puppets, which I am honored to carry in my shop. Check out her full site here.

And a quick Easter visit to Drew's mom and David for lunch. This is their dog, Simon.