Road Trip

 

Suspecting it might be our last topless (the car, that is) tour this year, we took advantage of the warm temperatures last week and escaped to the Southampton area for a couple of days. Nothing puts me in a better frame of mind than to head north on Highway 21 through Grand Bend to Bayfield and Goderich. It’s my attitude-adjustment area. So I guess that would make Southampton my feel-good zone, and I looked forward to the brief but rejuvenating road trip.

I loved travelling along the water and stopping at our favourite beaches along the way. THAT, my friends, was the best part of the trip. My husband snapped this pic in Point Clark.

There’s something so comforting about being near the water. I spent a few moments on ‘my rock’ at Bayfield, a beach I frequented often for many summers. And in just those few moments of taking in the sights and sounds, I felt the urge to write something…anything. Nature has always inspired me. Especially bodies of water. It doesn’t seem to matter if it’s a river, lake, or creek. To be honest, even a bathtub of water has cleared minor writer’s block for me.

We’ve always enjoyed visiting Meaford and were delighted to see the town celebrating a scarecrow festival. Scarecrows everywhere! Even hanging from lightposts.

An all out effort throughout the town. Even in the residential areas. 

We stopped downtown to admire the displays and then headed to the rocky shore of Georgian Bay where I basked once again in the restorative setting. I believe I left my bum imprint on the rocks of at least five beaches. So, yes, it was the most relaxing of tours and the weather couldn’t have been better.

The evening temperatures were still favourable for a stroll along the beach. We walked down to the benches at the end of the main street in Southampton to catch the sunset. Words don’t do it justice and, alas, no pictures. I guess we were too absorbed in the magnificent view. That experience was more satisfying than the chicken alfredo I ordered for dinner. And everyone knows how much I LOVE fettucine alfredo.

Here and there were splashes of red along the road during our travels but it was too early for the trees to have changed colour. We’ll wait a a couple more weeks for that treat. 

I’ll share more pictures and memories of some of those beaches later. Maybe when the snow drifts turn to mind drifts and I remember standing at the shorelines of Lake Huron, gulping in the lake air, cool and refreshing, as receding waves suck the sand from beneath my bare toes. Yes, that’s when I’ll dig up those photos, slap them on Facebook and say, ‘back in October we ….’

My Summer Timeout From Writing

 

I enjoyed a refreshing respite from the office this summer. When hubby and I weren't motoring around Southwestern Ontario on fair weather days, we spent time together at home. Mostly he worked in the yard while I watched. I think he prefers it that way. He loves trimming, cutting, and planting, so I leave him to his pleasure without thought of ‘helping’. He has an incredible green thumb and I LOVE his garden of robust, colourful flowers, not to mention the picture-perfect vegetables he leaves on the kitchen counter for me to oooh over. His offering of green peppers and tomatoes became stuffed peppers for last night’s dinner and it appears I’ll have to dust off my squash recipes soon.

With no writing schedules or deadlines to worry about, we welcomed long afternoon visits with family, friends, and neighbours.  And I especially enjoyed a fun shopping trip with my teenaged granddaughters. We had a great time together as they spent their summer wages on the 'must have' apparel for the new school year. We even took in a movie while we were in London. You guessed it...Barbie!

And, of course, I occupied many pleasurable hours reading. I should say re-reading. Yes, I plucked some old favourites from my bookshelves. That's a comfort thing, right? Reading your favourite books again? It's like eating mac and cheese or drinking tea with milk and sugar. Anyway, it makes me feel good. It had been forever since I read a Stephen King novel. Noticing that The Green Mile had been added to the Netflix movies list urged me to select that particular book first. I admit that after I’d finished the book, I watched the movie again. They couldn’t possibly include everything in the movie, but I was satisfied.

Then I reached for To Kill a Mockingbird. Loved it – again. And I'm not sure how many times I've read Margaret Laurence's classic, The Stone Angel, but it was my next choice after Harper Lee. Then I moved on to Nina George's first book in the Death Trilogy, The Little French Bistro and, of course, I then re-read the other two books in the series.

I'm currently captivated by the first book in Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series. As happened with King’s The Green Mile, I turned to the film for comparison. I’d only read a hundred pages or so when I spent an evening with Netflix watching some episodes from Season One. What a love story! When I’m finished reading The Outlander, I'll return to recently released publications in search of more favourites to add to the collection that I'll reach for again in years to come.

My idyllic summer was made even better by an invitation to a book club meeting. There’s nothing more exciting than meeting readers and answering their questions, and it’s especially interesting to hear their perspective on the storyline and characters in Old Broad Road and On The Rock. To make the evening even more perfect, the members also requested copies of my memoir Hazards of the Trade. What’s not to love about book clubs? A shoutout of appreciation (and a warm hug) to the welcoming members of all the book clubs who have invited me to spend an afternoon or evening with them.

It's been a relaxing summer, but now my leisurely timeout has drawn to a close and I’m back at the desk. And that's okay. I'm looking forward to the business of writing, deleting, writing, and deleting some more. Because from all that writing and deleting, I'm hoping a new story will emerge.

Hoping you had some sublimely memorable hours this summer, too, whether it was reading, travelling, or spending precious time with family. 🥰