The fourth, and most recent trip to Philadelphia was only a few hours long, and I didn’t really see anything except for the inside of our event walls.  But let me show you what I did see the last 10 minutes of our trip.

So these images I was able to capture through the passenger window on the way out of town leads me to believe that Philadelphia has quite a story that I haven’t experienced yet.

Tell me what I’ve been missing and what I need to make sure I see the next time I’m in town!

And how do you get more “Hustle and Bustle” than New York City?

Even the skyline seems to vibrate with a certain energy.  And when you look out at those iconic buildings from across the way in New Jersey, you can imagine all those people, going in all of those different directions, with different agendas and different lives from your own.  And although you may not want to live any of those particular lives, you want to be part of that collective energy.  Because once you step off the train onto that platform, once you reach the sidewalk in front of Madison Square Garden, or Times Square, or any of those iconic locations, you pause, take a deep breath and you look up, before you are immediately enveloped into the crush of people and start walking twice as fast as you normally do.

After visiting NYC for the equivalent of three months over the last three years, we finally stepped inside into a different type of hustle and bustle.  A place where it’s okay to walk slowly, a place where you are encouraged to pause and get lost in the moment, and a place where it’s acceptable to take a break and rest a while (some go as far as taking a quick power nap, although I’m sure they say that they’re just resting their eyes).

The Metropolitan Museum of Art (The MET)

The MET

Sketch Classes in Greek and Roman Art

Artistic Pottery

Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas

A Whole Lota Silver

Gold Masks and Sculptures

Modern Art Sculptures

A Modern Art Cat

A Lone Silhouette

Four hours later I was about ready to sit down and take a nap.  Sometimes you could feel the seriousness of the art like a physical weight on your shoulders.  So after getting a brief second wind in taking in the quirkiness of the Modern and Contemporary Art galleries, we were museum’ed out and vowed that Asian Art, Egyptian Art, Islamic Art and Musical Instruments would have to wait until the next time.

Some Dizzying Contemporary Art

And also like every person that goes to the zoo as a child, as an adult, I just had to go back and experience it all over again.   Luckily, the animals were enjoying the cool weather and the light mid week crowds to give us a little face time.

Leopard in Deep Contemplation

Kissing Camels

Buddha Panda

"Winnie the Pooh" Panda

"Going Gorilla"

Cheetah!

Dinner Time!

San Diego's Baby Giraffe

Bird(s) of Paradise

Even though there was a chill in the air during a trip to San Diego in January, it was still sunny, it was still flip flop weather, and it was still San Diego.

I’ve been procrastinating to write this post and put up some photos from our week in San Diego, but I just found my inspiration – COLD COLD COLD weather.

Welcome to Winter in San Diego:

Longest Pier on the West Coast

A boardwalk and beach still filled with flip flop wearing crowds (wearing a light sweater and a scarf for decoration), surfers challenging the waves and playing chicken with the pier pillars, dogs and their owners playing on the beach, skirting the waves, and then giving up and just committing to frolicking in the water, and a laidback breezy California attitude.

Even during a cold spell, the sun still shines and the water still sparkles.  It’s hard to imagine what the rest of the country is experiencing with snow storms, ice pellets, and a grey cloud cover that can’t help but make you feel a little grey and lackluster.

You can imagine my delight and surprise, when a walk along the downtown harbour, unearths this discovery.

The Times Square Kiss

A Vintage "Bob Hope" Scene

I’ve heard that people say, “wherever you are, whatever the weather, the weather’s always better in San Diego”.

I can’t say that I disagree.

When you are constantly traveling you do meet some great people, but I’ve always been a firm believer in friend chemistry and the fact that great friends can’t be found in all places all of the time.  You can’t decide to just pick up a new one.  In fact, the planets have to be aligned and there has to be just enough spark and just enough interest on both sides to form a true ‘two peas in a pod’ friendship.

And let’s be honest.  Friendships are a lot of hard work.  It’s not enough to click ‘like’ on someone’s photo, to text them once in a blue moon and say, ‘what’s going on? ‘ and not care that you don’t receive a response until 3 weeks later.  To all of my friends out there – that three week lag time pains me!  I go on a rant about long distance friendships, one-sided efforts and why do I care SO much.  That is, until I get that phone call/bbm/text from you, that reconfirms why we are indeed such great friends.   But by the way, call me anytime, regardless what time zone I’m in – if I’m sleeping I won’t pick up, but I will sleepily look at my phone and smile, knowing that you’re thinking of me.

No, a friendship cannot survive on social media alone.  Well, they can, but I’ve realized over the last few years that keeping that strong emotional bond that you had with your childhood or university friends, where you spent 20 hours a day with a person, could finish each other’s sentences, and really just didn’t want to have any special moments without them, can’t be sustained with a quick catch up every once in a while.  Yes, you do marvel at the way that you can pick up where you left off even though it’s been months since you’ve talked, and maybe even years since you’ve seen each other.  But when you’re not in someone’s day to day life (and often you aren’t) then you hear the quick highlights like (yep I finally travelled to Africa – that was fun – and then I met the man of my dreams, blah, blah, blah, he proposed and a year later we got married.   So here I am, a wife and mother of 5.  That’s about it, what about you?’  And since you’re not part of the day to day lives, a lot of times you resort to reminiscing about those youthful times when you stayed up all night watching Disney movies, sang karaoke and they kicked you off the stage or when you curled up together on the couch, post graduation but pre-career wallowing in self pity, but still positive because you were about to embark on a Project Runway marathon.

So I guess what I’m trying to say, is if a friendship is important to you (and again, it’s hard to make those really special new friendships when you’re travelling all the time), it is so important not just to play catch up but to actually create new memories.  Yes, it could be as glamorous as a Vegas weekend where you have to kick yourselves out of the hotel room because it’s just so much fun trying to learn the ‘Single Ladies’ dance after a box of wine. (Yes, I did say BOX).  Or it could be as cosmopolitan as jetting off to LA for a “Ladies Who Lunch” weekend, which just happens to coincide with the Glee concert.

Ladies who Lunch (at Universal Studios)

But, it could be just as easy as having a few good friends over to your house in a very rare moment in time when you can all get together, to eat, drink and stay up until 3am making sundaes and chopping up candy with a mallet (or meat tenderizer…whatever) – just because that’s all you want to do.  It also doesn’t hurt to play Taboo and reestablish all of those memories, especially if you’re playing against people who don’t have your intense friendship history.  They wouldn’t even know what to do if you yelled out, “Fiona apple!  Song that we sang at the top of our lungs at a McDonalds drive thru!  Aka. Paper Bag”.

Yes, that is a meat cleaver...

The morning after 3am sundaes...a little rough but the view was great!

Not that I want to get into that whole new years resolutions thing, but it is the start of a new year, and yes, although life is busy, don’t you just feel giddy at the thought of spending some real quality time with your friends?  Even a phone call that lasts 10 minutes (that doesn’t consist of negative ranting) seems to have long lasting residual effects on my happiness level (which all those around me appreciate).

So here’s to spending some great time with friends, and being able to reminisce about these new memories as long as you’ve reminisced about the old ones.  Oh, and remember to take photos….and keep them somewhere safe – you’ll want to remember these times!

It happened when I was surrounded by 600 hot air balloons taking off and it happened on December 16th.

Dec. 16th at the Tacomadome

When was the last time you didn’t have to sway back and forth like a metronome trying to see a concert between the heads of the people in front of you?  I don’t think I will ever experience another concert where my 5′ 2 1/2″ stature will have a complete unobstructed view of the stage.  And I LOVED it!  It was like a private concert and you forget that there’s close to 20,000 people behind you.  And…you get to see something you would never know was happening…the cameramen taking a break and chilling by the stage with a little portable espresso maker and some dark chocolate.  Pretty cool…

Well you can imagine how excited I was when we planned a trip away from the beach and into the mountains to Big Bear Lake, Southern California’s skiing destination.  WINTER WONDERLAND here we come!!  So for the trip I packed my Canadian snow boots (to mark my territory and leave Canadian maple leaf foot prints everywhere I went), a heavy poncho, my leather coat, my leather gloves, a wool wintercoat (just in case), and my cool winter hat that I wear about 1 week a year.   You can imagine the looks we got as we left the hotel lobby, which was full of flip flop wearing families on their way to Disneyland.  To give you a fair comparison, Nathan was wearing a sweatshirt.

We started the road trip with some Christmas music to get us in the holiday spirit.  As we passed people with the top down on their convertible, it just seemed wrong to be listening to Silver Bells on the radio.  So we decided that we wouldn’t turn on the Christmas music until we saw snow.

So I waited as we wound up the California mountains, and waited some more, and waited a little more.  ’Is that snow?  No, wait, it’s just the way the sun is hitting those rocks…’  Finally!  We found snow, but only in the areas that the sun couldn’t get to.  One side of the street some snow and ice, and on the other side, dry grass and desert looking dirt.

Coming from Vancouver, Canada I think I expected a snow-covered winter village (like Whistler).  As I was shedding layer after layer of clothing, I realized that perhaps my expectations were too high, but what can you expect 90 minutes from the beach?

We did finally find some snow and a lake with a layer of ice.  I didn’t realize that ice could make so much noise, but it rivaled the quacking ducks.

Icy Big Bear Lake

Big Bear Lake Photo Op

Enjoying the View

And, although I didn’t get to trudge along snow covered trails, marking my territory with maple leaves, we did take advantage of a little lighthearted snow play (no snow angels though).

Snow Ball Fight...Kind Of

Taking Advantage of the Snow

A Little Fun in the Snow

When you have a moment of inspiration and you have to tamp down the excitement you feel after writing a blog post that felt like it wrote itself, you feel nervous.  You hesitate before you hit ‘publish’.  When you finally send it out there, you wait, and you check your dashboard, and you wonder why no one is commenting (even the people that are related to you).  And then you feel a little bit vulnerable, like maybe you said a little too much.

The ‘Dear Me: A Letter to My Sixteen Year Old Self‘ post was my ‘I can’t wait to post this blog because I love it and it’s probably the best post I’ve written, but I feel so vulnerable because it’s personal and more than my  funny little travel stories’ post.  Considering how much I loved the post, I was a little sad that I didn’t get any comments within the first few days after I posted it.

Inspiring Sights

Coincidentally, I wrote that post while I was flying from Denver to LA, and the post was Freshly Pressed while I was flying from LA to Seattle a week later.  And the response has been amazing!  Three days and almost 10,000 hits later, I am overwhelmed at how supportive people have been to write comments, share their own stories and feel inspired enough to write their own letters to their eleven, sixteen, eighteen year old selves.  No, we don’t think that literary time travel actually exists, but we do think about how cool it would be if it did.  Writing this letter to yourself, regardless if it is to a younger or an older self, is all about reconnecting with yourself.  You’re able to remember the uncertainties and sometimes unstable emotions of your youth and also give yourself a pat on the back for all of the successes and obstacles you’ve overcome since then.  It is personal and it is emotional and I am touched that so many people were able to identify with my experiences.  Because, there really is no bigger frustration than dealing with a frizzy mane that you can’t control

So Thank You! to everyone that took the time to read my post, to ‘like’ it, to comment, to those who have become new subscribers, and good luck with your own letters to your past selves (or future selves), to the teachers who have been inspired to bring this exercise into the classroom, and to the 15, 16, 17, 18 year olds that connected with this letter and maybe have a little bit of a different perspective on the life they’re living and the future they have to look forward to.

Traci

A little trip along the Pacific Coast Highway started off our beach tour with a view of Malibu.

Malibu along the Pacific Coast Highway

We took a little detour to Fred Segal in Santa Monica and got the ultimate LA experience.  We got to watch the paparazzi in action!  A photographer with a huge telephoto lens was sneaking amidst the cars in the Fred Segal parking lot.  We followed the path of the camera and it led us to an odd scene of a guy, standing next to his maserati with a woman who had a box full of clothes in her trunk.  She kept taking clothes out of the box and putting them up to him.  Weird, getting fitted for clothes in a parking lot.  Turns out it was the lead guy from Hung.

Up Close and Personal with the Santa Monica Pier

Newport Beach and Huntington Beach were a nice surprise.  It seems it’s too cold for the locals to take a beach day, so we had the beach to ourselves.

Newport Beach

Well…that is except for the birds.  This one was quick-stepping it away as if we were the paparazzi and he was saying, ‘no pictures please.  Can’t a guy take a walk on the beach in peace!?’

Running from the paparazzi

Nathan's Shot of the Day

And of course, there were also the dolphins…

A pod of frolicking dolphins

The last beach that we had a chance to visit lived up to its glamorous reputation.   Laguna Beach sure knows how to take a good photo.

Laguna Beach

Pelican Sunset

Laguna Beach Sunset

I’ve always been a huge supporter of journaling and reflecting on my day-to-day life, not only to sort out the troubling times but also to keep those exciting, adrenaline rush memories alive.   And, most importantly, to get to those ‘AHA!’ moments; because, if you write just to write, whatever you are feeling, without judgment, and with the expectation that not even you will be reading what ends up on the page, you WILL get an ‘AHA!’ moment.

The idea of writing a letter to your former teenage self is such a unique way to reflect on what was most likely a time of self doubt and self-absorption and reflect on all of the lessons you’ve learned since then.

So here is my version of ‘Dear Me:  A Letter to my Sixteen Year Old Self’:

'Six Year Old Traci' - Read this in 10 years - it will be waiting for you!

 Dear Traci,

 You have curly hair!  You have to stop fighting it and accept it.  Yes, it may take you until you are 25 to be able to figure out how to style your hair, but you do finally figure it out, and everyone is jealous of your curls (you even learn how to blow it straight!).  You will one day find your hair stylist soul mate who knows exactly what to do with your mane, and despite what you think now, a ‘wash and wear’ hairstyle that does not require any blow drying will never work for you.  

 It is okay if it doesn’t seem like you have found your clique of friends yet.  Your best friendships are yet to come.  You will have great friends in life.  Friends that know exactly what cartoon bird video to put on to make you feel better, friends that you will stay up all night with for no reason at all except that the conversation never stops.  Friends that encourage you to follow your passion and friends that encourage you to leave your comfort zone, but are protective enough to say, ‘make good choices’ before you embark on a new adventure.

 You will discover that school and grades are not everything.  Yes, you will have a fluke genius moment and get 100% on your first calculus test when you were sure that you had no idea what you were doing.  (It was short-lived and lasted only for that one test).  It is not so much what you are learning, but the work ethic that you learn from your dedication to school and extra curricular activities that keeps you moving forward and rising to the top; and, ultimately allows you to enjoy life to its fullest. 

 Don’t worry.  You end up doing so much more than you ever thought you would.  You do not take the traditional route that you think you are destined for.  You discover a fork in the road that you did not even know existed, and for your willingness to take advantage of the opportunities that present themselves to you and your commitment to take a chance on the unknown, you are rewarded with a career filled with travel, excitement, and a sense of confidence in your abilities that will stay with you always.  Trust your instincts because they have proven to be trustworthy and make sure you take risks, because they always seem to put you in the right place at the right time.

 And boyfriends?  It’s okay that you’ve only had one boyfriend back in 7^th grade (there is another one in your future before you graduate).  You are picky, and you don’t waste your time on crushes.  You like who you like, and if you aren’t absolutely positive that you like him, it means that you don’t.   Unfortunately, you will experience heartbreak but you will also experience a love and companionship that still surprises you.  It’s supposed to be easy, and when you find the right person, it is.  And guess what?  He’s American!

 Love Always,

28 year old Traci

28 Year Old Traci

 I am so glad that I came across the excerpt from this collection of letters.  Feeling a bit of writer’s block lately, this inspired me so much that I felt the need to take out my laptop and write this 35,000 ft in the air somewhere between Denver and LA.  It’s nice to know that with all of the pop-culture, media-diluted content out there, that these pieces are finding their way to people and that a few words from the heart can still make such an impact.

**  This post was Freshly Pressed on December 13, 2011 **