Change and Wanderlust

We came to change and wanderlust honestly in our family. How? Welp before I share that I will welcome new readers and describe the purpose of this blog and post.

Small Spaces Special Places 

Welcome new readers! Each year, I select a theme for my weekly paintings. This year’s is “Small Spaces Special Places.” Why? I have been surprised, even delighted, with the small spaces in our house that have captured my eye.

Also, there are the special places I see on my daily dog walks. Each morning, rain or shine, I love getting outdoors and looking for things to paint. Sometimes, we venture on the road and I share paintings of special places from these trips, too.

If you think you will enjoy a weekly dose of unique artwork and musings on life, sign up here for this weekly blog. Let’s get to this week’s topic!

Change

When I was seven and my sister a year younger, we and our 4 other siblings and parents, piled into a station wagon to points west. The trek out west lasted a month. Along the way from Massachusetts to the wild west, we saw Salt Lake, Glacier National Park, Banff in Canada and more. It was a blast! It was crazy! We sibs still talk about that trip to this day.

So I think that excursion was formative in helping us imagine change, travel and adventure in our lives. Thanks Mom and Dad!

Wanderlust

Then as an adult, I could see a big birthday (you know a birthday with a zero in it) looming ahead. My younger sister and I would meet in New Mexico. The plan? Drive from Sante Fe to the DH Lawrence Memorial to Angel Fire to Chaco Canyon and back to Sante Fe. The light and landscape in this part of the world is so brilliant and vast. We hiked Chaco Canyon the day after the big birthday. While hiking we saw a couple along the hike. They were ‘walking’ their cats on leashes along the canyon ridge. We had a brief chat with them as they loaded their kitties into their camper. Here’s a photo of me and my sis shortly after that hike on the edge of the canyon.

At that moment I knew someday I would hit the road with any critters in tow. Guess what gentle reader? Here we are 30+ years later. And, Mr Himself, our dog, Chloe, and our ancient kitty, Oppie, are traveling with us, too.

Week #1

Our plan is to hike and kayak our way up the east coast. I also have panels to paint small scenes. I will share photos, stories, drawings and paintings. The bonus? Seeing dear friends and family along the way.

Shout out to Powahatan State Park in Virginia. The campsites are tidy, large and wooded. The James River is nearby for kayaking and canoeing. We stayed there the first two nights of our trip. The highlights include a flash of a white ‘critter’ (a fox? a coyote?) run right by us followed by a startled scream from me. We were walking in pitch dark at about 9:30 pm at night. The star speckled night sky? Gorgeous! We immediately heard a coyote chorus. We loved the beautiful sights and sounds that night.

Have you ever left a place wishing you could stay a bit longer? That is definitely how I felt as we zipped up back roads to visit our friend, Kathy Stewart, at her home/studio in rural Virginia. She treated us to a delicious meal and woosh we were on our way to New Jersey. Here’s a pic of the three of us just before our departure north.

Winding River is a Bust

Our next campsite is a bust but we had no where else to go. There were ramshackle unoccupied RVs and the sites were right next to each other. The bathrooms were ancient but, thankfully, clean. We hiked in several amazing places in New Jersey, watched our pals, Damian and Sachelle, surf in the crazy waves off the Jersey shore. Met them for some yummy Italian and completely forgot to take pics of them. But the memories live on! Next up Massachusetts; my home state.

More Change

Fall season is my absolute favorite time of year in Massachusetts. We have not been here this time of year in ages. We arrived late Friday night and the leaves have not started to turn yet. Woohoo! We hope to see the leaves change as we visit and wander north over the next six weeks. So even though this week’s post is a bit late, I will be writing updates about this adventure we’re on.

Here’s one of the oak leaf drawings I did this week. It’s colors represent the change we anticipate seeing as the fall unfolds.

You and Change

What about you gentle reader? Do you have a favorite season that represents something significant to you? If so, which season of the year is it? Why is it your favorite season? Please do share in the comments below and thank you, as always, for reading along here today!