Spring Break

I just realized I hadn't posted about my Spring Break. We took the kiddos on a road trip where we explored the Oregon Coast, Redwoods, and stayed in a treehouse! It was such fun, I think we'll repeat the same trip again in five years, when PrincessGirl can be more of a participant. Zip-lines and dune buggy rides were not her cup of tea this time out.

I used my camera as an excuse to get a little alone time every day. When you pack five people into a minivan or a hotel room, you do need some brain space every now and again. Plus, this was my first completely work-free vacation since...well, since I can recall. No computer, no alphasmart... It felt odd not to be writing. I think I took more pictures because of it.

All of my kids are animal lovers, so we worked in the Sea Lion Caves, West Coast Game Park and Great Cats World Park. The kids loved the hands on features at the West Coast Game Park. They could talk to a parrot, pet a baby leopard and lion, feed the wandering goats, and we even saw a joey in a wallaby pouch!

Even though it was raining when we explored the Redwoods, we didn't let that dampen out day (natch). We took our time at Trees of Mystery, which explains the history of the forest, as well as letting visitors see it from above with an arial tram. Since the rest of the world thought rain and forest exploring weren't a good match, we managed to score extra rides over the tree tops.

I think the kids could have really done without Hubba Bubba and I narrating every drive with "Wow, isn't that gorgeous? Look how beautiful."

If you ever have a chance to sleep in a treehouse, give it a shot. Of course I can say this because I slept in the cozy rooms at Out n About Treesort. But the kids had an amazing time there. They had horses, so my girl was in heaven. And the boys were counting the hours until they could do the zipline course and tarzan swing. It was really the highlight of their trip.

Pikes Place with the Samhain Set!

Lots of people are heading to Seattle this weekend for the Emerald City Writers Conference. There's lots going on, but most of it within the walls of a hotel in downtown Bellevue. These events often roll like that - you see the inside of airports and hotels...and not much else!

In order to share her love for her city, Shelli Stevens (who happens to be a New York Times best selling author, natch) offered to play tourguide for a few of us. She took us to lunch at Cutters, a fantastic restaurant next to Pike's Place with amazing views of the water. The weather even cooperated -- maybe too much! Tera Kleinfelter (who happens to be the assistant managing editor of Samhain, ha!) wound up blinded by the sun and had to wear fancy schmancy shades throught the meal.

Lunch was faboosh. I think we all orderd something with crab on it. When in Seattle seafood is a must!

Next it was on to Pike's Place for some exploring. The artistry showcased at the market is amazing...and so is the food. I grabbed up some grapes to munch on while I'm in my hotel room writing...and coerced everyone into getting cheesecake at The Confectional. We were all full from lunch, so we got them to go. I know they'll all be thanking me tomorrow.

Karen Erickson had a change purse full of quarters, so we all took our turn at the fortune teller. Mine warned about gossip (fitting for a conference weekend, me thinks) and Shelli's needed a dictionary to transalte. Seriously...none of us knew what it meant, and we are professional wordsmiths!

We snagged a dozen of the famous mini-doughnuts...which are good, but not as great as when they are warm and the sugar is melting off them.

Shelli made us check out the gum wall (ew) and I found a friend in Marty Matthews (Samhain's author liason extraordinaire) because she was as grossed out by it as I was! That thing gives me the creeps. I want to get out my UV wand and decontaminate it...but I don't think it is possible.

After that...Shelli was stuck with the bag of doughnuts! No one wanted to eat!

The magic shop had a a different fortune teller - and this one seemed to have more experience so Tera tried for a different fortune. AND... She got the same thing. Beware of Friday the 13th! Freaky!


I wonder what other trouble we'll get into this weekend?

Write Away Weekend -- Day Three

One would think that after two nights of working post-midnight would call for sleeping in...but all three of us had our computers fired up by seven! Talk about using every minute!

Sunday Agenda

Jumpstart Your Mind :: Caffiene is a writer's friend. It can get words on the page even when the writer has had very little sleep. Coffee or tea, hot or iced, pick your poison and get to work!

Fuel Your Writing :: m&m's. The breakfast of best-selling authors. Really.

Ready Set Write Finale :: It may take four tries to figure out where your book opens, but once you know, you can write forward. See you soon, #1K1HR.

Explore Settings :: If you go to the beach and don't get your toes in the sand...you're not allowed to return. I don't make the rules. We took the mandatory walk because we didn't want to be blacklisted. Thes are the sacrifices we make for art. 

But seriously, setting needs to be as well-thought out as your characters. Let your character look around their environment, not just in front of them. Yes, the ocean is beautiful, but so are sandy beaches, sandstone cliffs, logs of driftwood, and even weathered staircases. Don't let your setting get flabby, make it work!

Sendoff :: We had such a fabulous, productive weekend. I think we'd all planned on getting more words on the page, but we all shifted gears and instead of focusing on word count we focused on making our stories as strong as they could be. We may not have pounded out the pages, but now that we know where our stories are going...we'll rock.

We agreed we must do this again. See you in January, Blessings By the Sea!

Las Vegas

I love Las Vegas the way some people love Disneyland. I'd spend a weekend there every month if I had the time, and the money. It brings back childhood memories of swimming pools, buffets with exotic foods (like pineapple and shrimp, ooh-la-la), and arcades. Now, there are the actually exotic restaurants, shows and attractions.

Of course, when most people think of Vegas, they think of gambling. And I spent a fair amount of time hunting for my favorite slot machine - Invaders From The Planet Moolah! You can play it for pennies, and I always make money. But, since I play pennies, I win pennies.

We did a Craps lesson...and were utterly confused. We did a blackjack lesson...and I quickly learned that I need to practice on the machines before I start betting $5 a hand! Jeff did a poker tournament, but I think we're both more comfortable betting change than dollars.

All of the shows don't allow cameras...but we really loved O and Phantom of the Opera.

We treked to the end of the strip to check out the last day of the Sahara, which closed while we were at Stratosphere...a big problem, since we needed to go through Sahara to get to the monorail back down the strip!

At Stratosphere, Jeff had to try the rides he'd seen on TV. I hadn't seen the program, so I said I would do the one that looked like a roller coaster. Little did I know...it launches you off the side of the building and dangles you there!! Jeff did the one that twirls you beside the building, and the one that blasts to the top of the tower. Can't say I'll be trying either!

 

One of the attractions on my to-do list for this trip was Sigfried & Roy's Secret Garden @ The Mirage. I wanted to take pictures of the animals, plus the weather was so gorgeous I wanted to be outside!

We could get amazingly close to the dolphins. They don't have show times, but interact with the trainers and the 'trainer for the day' participants often. Some day, I want to get in teh water with dolpins. But...not in a tank. Maybe in the ocean.

 

The big cats rotate through viewing exhibits, spending most of their time in their own lair. The white lions were gorgeous, and the white tiger cubs (born at the facility) were quite playful.

Any city with  dozens of posh restaurants is bound to have some haute cuisine (natch). We had a great time tasting as much as we could. We learned the pre-show pice fixe meals are a great deal, and a wonderful way to see what a reataurant is all about. With just a few options for apps, entree and desert chosen to expedite your meal so you don't miss your show, you can get in, get out, and probably come back later for more!

When we saw Phantom of the Opera, we went to  Pinot Brasserie @ The Venetian. The pre-show menu was very limited so we ordered the same thing - salad, filet, and croissant chocolate pudding...wait, Jeff opted for ice cream over the pudding. Shocker.

When we saw O, we went to Fix @ Bellagio. This was our favorite restaurant of the entire trip! We decided to order different things from the menu and share. For starters, we had the creamy tomato soup with goat cheese grilled cheese and the Fix version of a Caesar salad. Delish. Next came truffle penne and filet mignon. Amaze. We finished up with cake and shake (chocolate cake & an espresso milkshake) and banana doughnuts with chocolate and peanut butter dipping sauces. Bliss!

Another favorite was Spago @ the Forum Shops. We went for lunch, but instead of getting lunch, we opted for 3 appetisers instead so we could try more things. The quesadilla was our favorite, though both the calamari & chicken sausage pizza were great.

 

 We also made quite the breakfast find in The Sugar Factory @ Paris. Red Velvet pancakes anyone? What about french toast with carmelized bananas and two kinds of chocolate sauce? A brie and ham crepe topped with apples and toasted almonds? Eggs Benedict on scalloped potatoes instead of a soggy English muffin? Next time we're in Vegas, we'll be there every day before noon!