Over 2,000 days ago, we set out on an adventure to experience beauty, to capture the breaths of the journey, the whispered moments, the tingling feeling you get in that instant when the sun rises and the mountains cast long shadows reaching for miles.

Other than Beauty and The Beast, this blog is our only real estate, the "X" in The Cloud where we hoard our long-winded treasure.

Whenever the cellular gods provide even a sliver of a signal, we reach into cyberspace to gather our memories and assemble them into a portrait of our experience. Problem is, in the most beautiful places, the cell signals mostly suck.

The Living In Beauty blog is almost five months behind and we are currently heading north into cellular deserts. At this rate, a year from now we'll be a year behind. We need a montage to put the squeeze on Old Man Time.

The post Fast Forward appeared first on Living In Beauty.

Jim wanted balloons.

As if anything can embellish an idyllic New Mexico sky, every year on Jim's birthday week, hundreds of hot-air balloons punctuate the stunning Albuquerque landscape.

In 2020 we had loose plans to attend the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, but the pandemic grounded the event for the first time since it began in 1972, Jim's High School graduation year.

Time Flies, the official theme for 2021, peaked Jim's enthusiasm. He would celebrate his 67th birthday at Fiesta regardless of travel hurdles and reservation complications and the risk of infection as the new variant released its latest offspring into the population. But the major hurdle, was me.

The post Birthday Balloons appeared first on Living In Beauty.

Barbecue is technology that does not border on religion: it is religion.

That's not far-fetched. The first barbecue in biblical history ignited a blood war between brothers.

To escalate a situation, show up with a dead animal, a grill, and fire starter. Differing opinions about the orthodoxy of all three items and arguments about how to employ them will commence shortly.

Barbecue also brings out the best in people.

See, there's that religion thing again. If, by the time the carcass hits the grill, feelings are not irreparably damaged or knives drawn, then all anxiety will suddenly and mysteriously subside as if lithium has been released into the atmosphere.

Music, beer and horseshoes will emerge from car trunks, and the kids who are not teething will cease to cry.

The post Fire & Bones: Kansas City Barbeque appeared first on Living In Beauty.

Call it faith, wizardry or universal wisdom, Jim's travel philosophy is a beautiful fact.

The next enchanting two-week vacation is never more than four hours away. 4-3-2 is our address. This travel-wonder mojo holds us in thrall as we make our bed (literally) on America's highways.

A back road Sunday drive leads to every new-to-us destination. Usually, we have the luxury to choose between city, suburb, countryside and maybe, if we're lucky, a smattering of wilderness. Only rarely do we find all of those attributes in one location.

Introducing Jester Park in Granger, Iowa.

The post Campground Review: Jester Park – Granger, Iowa appeared first on Living In Beauty.

"So, what happens when you get sick?"

It's a good question and is, by far, the most frequently asked.

First, we call our doctor and schedule a tele-medicine visit.

If the decision is made to seek urgent care, we know where to go. Illness or injury is never a planned event, so as we enter a town we note the location of the closest emergency clinic and veterinarian and then, touch wood.

There is no good place to get sick, but some places are better than others.

Door County, Wisconsin

The post Pulling Through In Door County, Wisconsin appeared first on Living In Beauty.

The Upper Peninsula of Michigan is commonly called The U.P., or The Yoop, and those who live there, Yoopers. Any Michigander who lives below The Mackinac Bridge is a Troll or a Flatlander. All other tourists are Fudgies. Try not to be offended. Yooperland is a unique culture with its own deities, a place where terms of enchantment if not endearment are toll for the Big Mac.

Last December, at Gulf Shores State Park, Jim gave me The Yoop for Christmas. He presented it in a mapped route – our 2021 adventure – from Alabama to Christmas, a small town on Lake Superior.

Since childhood, Longfellow's Song of Hiawatha has captured my imagination. For decades, I have longed to see The Shores of Gitchee Gumee, and I would remain patient. Like all of Jim's gifts, the Upper Penninsula would take a while to unpack.

The post From Mackinac to Christmas appeared first on Living In Beauty.

In late June, at Ohiopyle State Park up in the dreamy Laurel Highlands, Beauty and The Beast worked their Wally Byam magic again transporting us and all of our worldly gear up to Geneva-On-The-Lake, GOTL, a vintage summer resort in Ashtabula County, Ohio.

The summer of 2019 on Maumee Bay and Put-In-Bay convinced us to adventure more in The Great Lakes region and particularly on gorgeous Lake Erie.

She's shallow and temperamental but this wild-child of a lake is a favorite with us. Erie's reputation for carefree summertime leisure is an American legacy. The long days and tranquil starlit nights hold judgement over tight muscles, strained backs and every manner of toil with all its cruelties. Warm sand consoles aching arches and the tender breeze weighs in with a healing carress. It all feels too good to be true. And it is.

The post Going Places appeared first on Living In Beauty.

Stepping into the leafy green hillside forest, serenaded by the journey songs of creeks, rivers and streams, our senses tingled with Shangri-La Syndrome – the feeling of awakening into a dream.

Standing before the Old World grandeur of the river corridor we indulged our eyes and retraced our steps over the last few days. How did we land on this scenic perch in the Alleghenies? Magic portal? Transporter? Time travel?

Alas, no.

The post Ohiopyle High appeared first on Living In Beauty.

My throat swelled as the ferry pulled away from my beloved Okracoke Island, but Jim pumped his arm in triumph,

"Cha-ching! We're going to Shenandoah National Park."

Snagging a one-week reservation for a prime spot at a highly coveted National Park during peak season, a month in advance, as the pandemic plods on is Classic Jim The Superlative Admin.

Though covid put the kibosh on our laid-back no-reservations travel style, the nationwide run for them thar' hills didn't even muss up Jim's ponytail.

The post Campground Review: Shenandoah National Park, Big Meadows Campground – Virginia appeared first on Living In Beauty.

Mid-morning, July 18, 2016.

The key turned in the ignition and the Beast eagerly rolled over, launching into a full and satisfying purr. Jim adjusted his seat and mirrors, powered up the air-conditioning and activated “Tow Haul.” 

All systems were go. He paused, ceremoniously, for the command.

After adjusting my sunglasses, I flipped up the visor and holding my gaze on the sparkling San Diego Bay.

"Engage," I said

Jim grinned, responding "Aye, Captain" and pulled the rig south onto the Silver Strand toward the city of Imperial Beach, where we caught Interstate 5 North.

Thus, the first moments of the first day of our five-year mission to explore the world of No Fake Deadlines – Jim's appellation for retirement, Airstream style – had begun at last.

The post The Road, Home appeared first on Living In Beauty.