chapter one.

The "blog" is a new concept to me, so forgive me for the times when I over or under-indulge. I envision the blog to be a public journal entry, where I share my adventures and learnings with you, my friends, whom in turn should feel like you are right alongside the journey with me! Unlike a journal entry, I will need to find a balance between my thoughts and your reading. So I welcome you to join me in the middle of what I've labeled as my "traveling summer." Some might think it redundant of me to drive cross country only to fly back to where I started a week after my arrival. And then to fly back towards home and leave for a new unexplored continent. But I have a wedding, a reception and a month long Europe trip ahead of me.

Yesterday I was so close to Tijuana, Mexico that, as Jamie's gramps put it, I could've thrown a rock over the border. It left my palette with a deep craving for authentic mexican food; we settled on chinese at the Rising Dragon back in Chula Vista. The day before yesterday was Emily's Bachelorette Party. Getting there was quite the ordeal, and I can confidently say that I have been inducted/initiated into the D3 Flyers Club. I fly "company" now with American Airlines, with much gratitude towards Mrs. Hartson, one of their employees. Getting stood up is never a pleasant experience, and luckily I have never experienced it in my dating life, but in flying, on Wednesday I was stood up six times! Surely a blow to the self esteem, you would think? In an odd way, flying standby suits me. The flexibility and freedom in it is enjoyable, taking off some of the edge of flying with rigid timelines. It's like a game show, "Even though she is at the end of the list EVERYTIME, will she make it on that plane??!" Well indeed, I finally did, after a very long day, bouncing from Dallas Fort Worth (making it my 14th state of the month!) and then home sweet home, Santa Ana, I had been in limbo for about 24 hours between the airport and the blue skies.

The sweetest man sat next to me on my flight from Texas. He is a Canadian bloke who looked to be dwelling in his seventies. Either a tree lobbyist or tree hobbyist, he loves trees and their beauty, and he raved about our trees in Pennsylvania, especially the ones at Valley Forge National Park, with which I heartily agreed. I came to find out that (probably centuries ago!) he had graduated with an English degree and then taught ESL in China. With his slightly lilting accent, he described his adventures as an ESL teacher and declared that as a "blue-eyed Californian" I would be ideal. I am convinced that old people are the most fascinating of them all. It's too bad we overlook them so often.

I arrived at Emily's beach house in Dana Point late into the evening. It was cute, a nice space, nothing to write home about (which I am technically doing right now.) But how wrongly mistaken I was! When I awoke the next morning I entered the glass paneled living room and was amazed at the glorious sight! Crystal blue water shimmered under the morning sun, and for all I could have known, we might have been aboard a sailing house out at sea. Sauntering out to the porch, my morning slowed down even slower than usual, as I drank my coffee listening and watching the water splashing and drenching the cliffs in its saltiness. The rhythmic anthem of the ocean was urging us to come and play like calling us back to nature. A few of us girls sat, chatting and taking in the general splendor. I hope I never get desensitized to the awesomeness found in the ocean. And by "awesome" I mean it in the grandest sense of the word! We'll see if this is still my thinking after 12 days on a cruise ship, but I have a strong hunch, that my opinion could only grow stronger! I heard a quote once, "It's ourselves we find in the sea." Maybe because of the vastness of the ocean and our smallness, it puts everything in perspective. I am learning that traveling has the same effect. "It's ourselves we find in our travels." We believe we are learning about other people, cultures, towns, stories, and general otherness, which all of the above is true, but essentially, it is a process of the discovery of ourselves, slowly ripping down layers of familiarities and comforts. So I ponder at what I have already found in Tennessee, Nevada, Colorado, Yosemite, and what I will continue to find in England, Greece, Turkey, Italy, and France over the next month.

For now, I have a wedding to attend today! So let's start with love! That sounds like a romantic way to begin my journeys!