long time no see

I know! Yeah, I know. I'm sorry. It's been awhile. My excuses are: I'm on vacation, and I don't have my camera cords with me so I can't share any pictures. Does that pass? Can you forgive me? Ok, good. So yes, I can't share any pictures quite yet because I stupidly left the cords that connect my cameras to my computer in Telluride (although I swear I packed them - like, I can see myself doing it and can visualize the moment, but whatever). And to catch up, I will do a quick rundown so as not to bore you:

Drove to Berkeley. Was a super long and desert-y (talking about dirt and ugliness for days, not dessert with chocolate, ice cream etc which would have been MUCH better). Stayed in Barstow which is such a sad place - fast food central. Charlotte hogged the bed.

In Berkeley, went running which was TONS easier at a normal altitude (I could run for days! More or less...). Went running too much and messed up my knee so it is resting. Ate amazing food - went down our checklist of the places to hit - Indian, Zachary's, Whole Foods, Indian again, and...rinse and repeat. Bought clothes. Cheap stuff. It was gratifying. Enjoyed having two dogs around. Witnessed time fly by while really doing nothing. Really, was I there for a whole week and a half?

Flew up to Seattle. Stayed with dad. Went for lovely walks through the forest with him and Ollie the dog. Ate too much good food - including the Webster staple - crab. Drove down to Portland to see Megan and her parents. Loved it! Who wants to move there with me? (FYI, I'm serious - let me know if anyone is interested) Fit a lot into the two days I was down there: ate, had a massage, exercised (twice!), saw a movie so stupid we cried while laughing, checked out the downtown, drove around the inner suburbs, worked on planning the reunion. Then headed back up to Seattle (on a drive where people actually obey the 60 mph speed limit! Amazing!). Went for more walks. Went to Goodwill for starting up my vintage clothes selling and holy cow had the best time ever. Goodwill is my new best friend. Found amazing stuff.

Now I'm in Maui! With the best hosts ever - Leah and Jason. Been beaching, hiking, dogging (aka, playing with Scout, their beautiful golden retriever), swimming in the ocean, basically loving it all. It's so beautiful. Today went on a hike in a crater at 8,000 ft altitude! Crazy! It felt like being back in Telluride. Even the park service entry guy said I should feel at home having come from Colorado.

Anyways, I was thinking last night just how happy I am to have made any decisions I have made which have brought me here. Here, meaning being on vacation and seeing friends and family and being happy. I'm so happy to be able to do this and feel so fortunate since I am loving life at the moment. To think that a year ago I was still very undecided.

Alrighty, more to come I promise. I have been taking a few photos so once I get those on my computer they will be yours to see!