This weekend, I had an edit to do on my second novel, A Sweethaven Homecoming. It's releasing in early August, and I'm thrilled I got to revisit these women, their scrapbooks and explore their stories a little bit more.
But by Sunday night, I was near meltdown state and Adam knew exactly what I needed: to get out of the house and away from my computer.
Let's face it, writer friends...sometimes we need someone to hold us hostage to make us quit working.
One of the things I have loved about living here in Colorado is that we have access to so much beauty. This is the view at the main intersection near our house:
Gorgeous, right?
But beyond that, we're less than an hour from both Boulder and Estes Park with Denver just a little bit farther away. Now that we're moving, we've started our "before we move" list...things we have to do before we head back to Illinois.
Something about it is a little bittersweet.
Anyway. Yesterday, we made the drive up to Estes Park. Spotted this guy (and three friends) along the way:
Whenever there are cars pulled over on the side of the road, you know there's an elk or a big horn sheep or something equally as cool hanging out in the woods.
Driving into Estes is pure magic:
I mean, it really is breath-taking.
And yes, it gets my writerly mind racing. Most stories I write start with two simple words... "What if...?" The next sentence is often met with a scowly look from my better half, at which time I continue to search for MORE "what ifs..." just so I can set a story in such a remarkable spot.
Yesterday, we had the good fortune of being in town for Memorial Day:
It was beyond cool.
Perhaps you'll remember about my dad being a war hero (something I didn't really even know until about a year ago...he doesn't like to brag.)
Maybe Memorial Day means a little more to me now. Maybe I can be especially grateful that we aren't remembering him, but thanking him.
Memorial Day in Estes Park meant an Art show in the park, lots of tourists and a ton of fun.
And my borderline agoraphobic self didn't even have a meltdown. Go figure.
We ate at an overpriced restaurant...
(where the food, sadly, wasn't even really that good...)
And talked about this new adventure we're on...
And I realized how thankful I am that I got to spend two whole years living in a place that allowed me to breathe again.
So, what about you? What do you do when you need a change of scenery?
