Two More Days, by Christine DePetrillo

It’s finally HERE! That magical time of the year for teachers! The final countdown!

In just two short days, I will be officially in full-time writer mode for the rest of June, all of July, and most of August. I will not only pretend to be an author. I will eat, sleep, breathe writing. Every day. All day.

In tank tops and shorts and bare feet.

The Outdoor Writing Office will be in full swing, my favorite Adirondack chair getting used on a regular basis and carrying me from page to page in my latest manuscript. Birds will cheer me on, butterflies will applaud my ideas, and squirrels… well, they might try to steal my ideas, but The Werewolf won’t let them. He's always on the lookout.

I. Can’t. Wait.

Like, I’m seriously giddy. No more sitting down to my laptop at 7:00 p.m. after a day of teaching and trying to squeeze in at least four pages before bed time. No more chewing up writing time with schoolwork that has to get done. No more falling asleep while staring at the blinking cursor as it mocks my tired brain. No more having to pass on reading great books because I’ve only got so much time to write my own.

Just two more days…

In three days, I’ll bound out of bed at a time of my choosing, most likely 8:30-9:00 a.m. I’ll slip into comfortable summer attire. I’ll throw my unruly hair into a ponytail and forgo the makeup regimen. Maybe I won’t even put on deodorant or brush my teeth. Who knows how crazy I’ll get?

All I do know is that the number one item on my agenda for the first day of Summer Vacation (yes, both of those words deserve capital letters) is to write. Anything else I accomplish is frosting on the cake, peeps. Frosting on the cake.

I’ll of course have other Summer Vacation plans, such as traveling, hanging out with my pals, landscaping/gardening, bicycling (just bought new bikes and a bike dog leash that The Werewolf LOVES), going to concerts (got tickets to Lindsey Stirling in July which I’m psyched about), household chores, reading book after book from my favorite authors, and a boatload of preparing-for-the-next-school-year work especially because I’ll be teaching reading and science, which I haven’t taught in years.

But writing is top priority—my summer job. One I absolutely love.

What are your Summer plans?

Toodles,

Chris

www.christinedepetrillo.weebly.com

The Maple Leaf Series, Books One through Six, available now! Book One, More Than Pancakes, is always FREE in ebook! 

Relaxing, No Stress Vacations? NOT!

Jena with Jenevie 2008

by Jena Galifany

The family vacation is not something that I've taken many of. We took one when I was eleven or twelve years old. We drove four hours to Las Vegas and spent a day there. My sister and I spent all day in the pool. By that evening, I was so burned I couldn't wear anything except the bathing suit. OUCH! The next morning, I developed tonsillitis. Oh, joy.

We moved on, taking the next couple of days to roll through Reno and Carson City. Nothing spectacular to report there. We cruised through Lake Tahoe and ended up visiting friends in Sacramento. This was nice. They had a pool. My burn and tonsils had both mellowed. We went to a zoo. Now, I'm like totally terrified of snakes. I don't even like pictures of them. Guess where my dad made me go with my sister? You got it, the reptile house. Joy of joys. I was so thrilled to get home and prayed we'd never take another vacation. Fortunately, we camped instead.

Fast forward, I was now 50 years old and my youngest daughter is the only kid at home. She has never been to Disneyland. I decided it would make a nice Sweet Sixteen/First Family Vacation gift to her before she grew up and left home. I planned it all out in secret. We'd stay at the Disneyland Hotel for two nights and have access to Disneyland and California Adventure. This was going to be awesome.

I didn't want her to know where we were going, other than spending the night at her grandmother's home in Huntington Beach, a two and a half hour drive from home. That way we could see my in-laws and be within thirty minutes of Disneyland instead of driving the couple of hours to get there. I decided to tell her that we were going to Los Angeles to get her braces. The dentist had mentioned that she could use them to straighten one tooth that is a quarter of a turn around so I thought I'd use that idea to cover our true destination.

Jena, Steve, & Jenevie @Disneyland 2008

Mr. Mechanic Husband (no sarcasm here. He's the best mechanic in the valley) checked the car over the day before, and made sure everything was ready for the trip. Tune up, doughnut size spare tire, clean windows and all. The next day, we were ready to roll at 1pm. Moping all the way, Jen climbed into the back of the car and we were on our way. Being a nervous passenger, I drove. We made it ten miles and blew a tire. I pulled over on the side of the freeway and Steve jumped out to take care of the problem. He had the tire changed in no time but when he let the car down, the spare went flat. (really?)

An officer pulled up and called roadside assistance for us. We waited fifteen minutes for the man to come air up the spare. Husband apologized profusely for the flat spare. I knew he had checked it. I'd seen him do it. No problem. We could stop in the next town, about nineteen miles down the road.

A forty-five minute wait gave us two new tires and a one hundred twenty dollar expense I hadn't planned on. I decided to let Steve drive. I'd had my fun already. (not!) So back on the road. Twenty miles later, the car died. It just died. Now, this isn't usually a problem. It does it all the time. I simply have to drop it into neutral, hit the key, it fires up, pull it back into gear, and on we go. It's been doing this for years. It's such an intermittent problem, no one can find out what it is. It's why we got the car cheap. Only, this time, it decided not to start again. Luckily we were traveling down hill and were able to coast the last couple of miles to the off-ramp and into a Denney's parking lot. So far, it took us an hour and a half to travel forty miles.

We sat in the parking lot until the car cooled down. Steve looked it over and couldn't find any problem. After careful consideration, we decided not to go on into the heavy traffic on the 5 freeway. We decided to roll down the windows, turn off the air conditioner, and take the car back home. We'd rent a car and start over. After twenty minutes, Steve tried the key and she started up. Praying, we had no problems all the way back home.

We headed to the first car rental place we found. They wanted a credit card. I didn't have one. I'd paid them all off. They wanted a utility bill to prove where I lived. I get all my bills via email (going green has its drawbacks, I've found). They wanted a $300.00 money order. Hmm. Off to the house to dive into the shred bag for an old utility bill. Found one! Off to the bank for the money order. Back to the rental office. They decided since the utility bill was from three months previous, it wasn't good enough. I offered to pull up my account on their computer to show them, but they didn't want me to touch their computer. (sheesh)

Before I totally lost my cool, my husband pulled me gently out of their office and we headed for another rental company.

It was after 5:30pm by now, with all of the running around. I was afraid everything would be closed and we'd not get a car that evening. Our reservations at Disneyland were for the next morning. I didn't want to be driving instead of checking in. Jen still didn't know. She was sitting in the waiting area when we got to the counter at Car Rental Office #2. I made sure she was not in ear shot and prepared for battle. I had to have a car.

"We have reservations for Disneyland and need a car. I don't have a credit card and I don't have a current utility bill. What can we do about this?" I was firm. I wasn't going to take no for an answer. I needed to give Jen a nice vacation and so far it wasn't working out so well.

The tall gentleman behind the counter smiled at me and said, "No problem." It took the wind right out of my sails. He continued, "Let's see what we can do. And if I can't get you a car, I'll drive you down when I get off work at 6." WOW! I like this guy! He tried to run every VISA debit card  I had but none were accepted because they were not "credit" cards. I was losing hope. He was positive. "Do you know anyone that would lend you a card since it's only to get it, not to pay for it? You can pay with the debit but I need a credit card to let you have a car."

"My mother, but she's twenty miles away."

He handed me the phone. "What's the number?"

"She couldn't get here before you close."

"What's the number?"

We got my mother on the phone. I explained the problem to her. She agreed that she wouldn't be able to get there before closing. It was already 5:45. I relayed the information to Mr. Gentleman. He held out his hand for the phone. He spoke to my mother for a moment, pleasantries and such. He shocked me by asking for my mother's permission to use her card. He assured her no charges would go on it. I don't know what Mom said but he started writing. He filled out the information, told my mother what a wonderful person she was, and gave me back to phone. My mother said, "Sign my name," and she hung up.

I stared at the man as he turned the papers to me and handed me a pen. He smiled. I smiled, signed and gave him back his pen. "We didn't do this," he said. "Now, let's get you on the road." He lead us out to a nice economical, clean, wonderful car. Again, WOW! We shook his hand and thanked him over and over. (Sidenote: I've rented all needed cars from this man for the past five years, with my own credit card I might add.)  We dashed back to the house to drop off my car, switch the luggage and were back on the road by 6:30pm. We arrived at my in-law's home a little after 9pm. It took us eight hours to make a two and a half hour trip. Gratefully, my mother-in-law had prepared a nice meal for us.

Jena with Jenevie California Adventure 2008

Jen was still grousing the next day when we got into the car to go to the "dentist". She was sulking in the back seat right up until we stopped in front of the Disneyland Hotel. Her eyes popped and she got a Minnie Mouse voice for a few moments, squealing her excitement. We spent the first day exploring Disneyland. She and her dad rode the rides and I found near-by shade to sit and read. I have MS and can't ride the rides but they love rides and I love reading, so it all works out. Steve developed a migraine halfway through the day but he rode all of the rides with her anyway... except Small World. He didn't think he could handle that one with a migraine.

Day two, we explored California Adventure. Day three, we shopped Downtown Disney and then drove to Huntington Beach for dinner and swimming with my in-laws. After the terrible beginning, our first family
vacation turned out to be a batch of wonderful memories. We went again the next year, but Jen keeps asking when she's getting those "braces" again.

Sidenote: Steve hates to go to the dentist so Jen suggested that I tell him he's going to Disneyland!

I hope all of your vacation adventures are filled with wonderful memories, relaxation and no stress.

For your reading pleasure, please hop on the bus and travel with ShadowsForge, the 80s British rock band as they travel the U.S. and the U.K. finding love and adventure in the series by Jena Galifany available at Whiskey Creek Press.  Three Times a Hero, Trials on Tour, and Retaking America are currently available for $2.99 each.

Cheers!
Jena

A Walk on the Beach on Hot August Nights by Amber Leigh Williams

Lil Jake showing the tourists how to
stay cool on the beach....

I live on the Gulf Coast and today the heat index was 107 degrees. Having lived here all my life, I know a thing or two about hot August nights. August happens to be my least favorite month of the year, not because it usually means summer is coming to a close. Around here, summer weather doesn’t begin to fade into the autumn months until mid-October if we’re lucky. August is hard because it tends to be the hottest month of the year. Humidity might make summertime air feel like soup around these parts. In August, it’s more like molasses. I look forward to football season for more than just sport. Those cool, crisp days of autumn are something I dream about from the end of May through September.

August nights however do offer somewhat of a reprieve. As the sun slips beneath the horizon, the mugginess might hang around in the air in its absence but the temperature drops to the balmy mid-seventies or low eighties, and suddenly it’s the perfect opportunity to take a walk on the beach. We bring our flashlights and our sense of wonder as the waves whisper to us in the dark and the sand cools the bottoms of our feet. We look for not just shells but we comb the beach for crabs, sea turtles and starfish, which are more likely to be out and about now that the multitudes of people have vacated their natural habitat.

Lil Jake enjoying a summer
weekend on the lake...

Night fishing is something else we do here on the coast. I remember August nights on a brother-in-law’s boat weaving our careful way through the bayou to the sea where we could drop our shrimp net. There’s a bridge that straddles the line between Alabama and Florida not far from home where night fishing was once very popular. It wasn’t just a chance to catch some grub, however. It was an opportunity to rub elbows with people from all walks of life. With the current running fast through the channel and the lights shining on the water from above, it was easy to see all manner of sea creatures floating by: eels, sting rays, crabs, and hordes of shrimp. The best part was making it back home late into the night for a midnight feast.

While the brutal heat of August chases anyone with any common sense into the comfort and air conditioning of their homes, it’s hard to stay indoors at nighttime. My favorite thing to do on hot August nights? Sit on the back porch in Adirondack chairs or a wooden swing with family members and friends sipping ice-cold sweet tea and enjoying the moment. Especially blissful are August nights at my family’s lakeside cabin in northern Alabama. Late night boat rides through the butter-smooth, warm, fresh water underneath a sparkly curtain of bright, silvery stars might even put one in the mood for romance! It certainly does for me....

It’s your turn, Roses! What is your favorite summertime activity to do by night? 

ALW

www.amberleighwilliams.com

Suspense and Adventure Create Heat in August by Rolynn Anderson

Hot is relative.  A hot August on the Pacific Coast of British Columbia, where I am presently cruising aboard INTREPID (picture, below), is somewhere in the upper 60 degrees.  Smoking hot is a day that reaches the 70’s.  As I write this blog post, what’s really hot is the fishing up here in Ocean Falls, B.C.  It’s a ghost town, a company mill town peopled with 5,000 in the 50’s; presently six people and lots of bears call it home.   My brother, Brian, is with me and he always brings out the fisherwoman in me.  The salmon are running up the Martin River, so we’re catching those lovelies in the day (in the ocean) and smacking down salmon for dinner.  Now, salmon fight on your line…nothing hotter then playing a salmon, especially if they get the notion to head out into the deep, deep ocean.

Hot also is the halibut fishing up here at Ocean Falls.  I’ve been gathering gear and strategies for catching halibut for the last ten years and I’ve practiced by catching all sizes of flounder (which is the halibut’s family).  It seems that the stars and moon are aligned for me to catch one this year, I can feel that heat. (I'm worried about catching too large a halibut, because I'd have to 'subdue' it before I could safely bring it aboard.)  I will report next month about my success (length and poundage cited; subduing described).

We’re having an especially hot old time with dolphins and whales.  Seems like the White-side Pacific Dolphins are particularly playful this year.  When the hum of our boat catches their attention, they ride our bow (we travel 7.5 knots) with glee.  I love it when they turn sideways to look up at me standing on the bow-sprint of our boat.  I wonder what they think of the blond-haired tall woman waving madly at them and squealing when they perform acrobatics.

In the end, I guess it isn’t about temperature as much as it is about the intensity of the fun we have in our summers.  Something new and different…something to write home about.  That’s what’s hot to me.   How about you?
Follow our boat adventures  on http://steveandrolynn.blogspot.com/

You can follow our daily progress, or lack there of, at http://tinyurl.com/3mhj7gz

Check my website at http//www.rolynnanderson.com