This year, I am trying to increase my awareness of the many good things that happen, which are frequently overlooked by me. To help me, I am joining Ruth Ayers' Celebrate This Week.
My celebration this week is my recent vacation. Here are a few of the things I am celebrating as part of it....
Summer Vacation -
A couple of months ago, I realized that I have not really gone on a vacation in several years. I go to a couple of conferences each year and visit my family in Connecticut twice a year, but no true vacations. So, I decided to see about a possible literary mini-vacation. I invited my sister and aunt to join me. Fortunately, Eastern Massachusetts is not far from Connecticut, and has quite a rich literary history.
As I googled possible places, I discovered that Concord, Massachusetts had a number of homes that belonged to some very influential writers, and thinkers of the 19th century. It was fun to learn more about Nathaniel Hawthorne, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and both Louisa May Alcott and her father, Bronson Alcott.
In addition to a rich literary history, Salem, Concord, and Lexington have a wealth of our country's history too.
Lunch with author, Melissa Stewart -
Melissa is one of my favorite authors of nonfiction for children. During my first week in Connecticut, Melissa and I worked on a presentation proposal. It was a bit like having a week of professional development as we worked through ideas and wrote up everything. It turns out that Melissa lives close to where I was going to be for my vacation. We ended up meeting for lunch at Nashoba Brook Bakery in Concord. Since I failed to take a picture with Melissa, I created the collage below with a few pictures of her books on display at the Concord Bookstore.
Summer and Ice Cream -
And ice cream was another part of our trip. New England seems to have quite a few places that have some of the best ice cream around. (Believe it or not, all the photos below are kiddie cups.)
If you are so inclined, you can check out the rest of my vacation pictures below.
