It's Good to be Back

After a long summer hiatus, I am back. It was a busy summer, with trips to California, Illinois, and the Lake Michigan shoreline.

 Indiana Dunes State Park is my new favorite August day trip from Fort Wayne. After driving just over two hours, a family can pay $5 for parking and play in the clean waves of the oceanic lake. My husband said he was expecting the familiar taste of salt water when he dove under, and it doesn't happen. Stress free swimming - no spiny things underfoot, no jellyfish or sharks. Just beautiful big sky views and sparkling water.

It was so dry in northern Indiana the summer of 2012, there were no fireworks in Leo over the Fourth of July. Instead, they were rescheduled for August, and they were wonderful over the reservoir - we could see them twice their size as the full reflection of the display was projected on to the still body of water in front of us. It brought the magic of summer to life, and gave us another set of memories to cherish.

We met up with family in rural Missouri, where we hiked and swam, and the children watched a penguin movie projected on a big screen outside on a beach in the evening while they swam in the water. I made a trip to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin for a get together with childhood girlfriends. Lake Geneva was impressive, ringed in expensive estate homes and drenched with social history. The wealthy from Chicago and other nearby towns and cities have made this a playground since the 1800s. Lovely restaurants and shopping top off the good vibe to this scenic town.

Hopefully I'll be back to posting on a regular basis. I have a new idea for a writing project, so I'll be spending a lot of time in the near future starting my work on it. In my story, a 50-year-old woman rediscovers a package of 27 love notes and letters that were passed to her between classes by a high school boyfriend long ago. She had saved the notes but forgotten about them over the years, as they were buried with other old papers in a cardboard box. But as she re-reads them, she gets a new window to the past and to the precious joy and hope that blooms with young love. It gives her a new perspective to her life and to her long-time love, who is not the author of the notes. I may not have time to blog as much while I write my story, but I'll keep you posted on my progress.

 Thanks for reading, and I hope to see you again soon. I've missed writing, even though I had a memorable summer. It feels good to be home.