Your gotta capture me to set me free.....

Life is crazy busy....everyone gets that.  My freedom has always been traveling and it is the only way I can unhook and refresh.  When I am home it is non stop day, night, this, that....our little getaways feed my soul....I have to be captured and taken away to really be free to relax ad enjoy.  It would take me a month to document this trip on my blog and I kept a daily dairy and took what seems like a thousand pictures....so only posting so of my fave faves!  2 countries, 7 states, 1800 miles from car rental  place.

We got to stop in Harmony, PA....I went there for years while working and loved the little village and all the shops....and it's very weird history.....unfortunately or fortunately the shops were closed and it was early a.m. but I did get to drive thru and soak some of it up.

 
 

A Celibate Society - who thinks of these things?

The famous cemetery with solid stone revolving door....it still moves....

 Beautiful slate wall surrounding.....

 We love stopping in small towns and driving the streets, eating locally (and boy do they always know we are strangers....kind of a hush when we walk in).  Lots of color in the Northern PA village....

 And I loved this church that was in town square.....

 Niagara falls (Canada side) was amazing....mesmerizing and hypnotic.  I stared for hours and hours....

 We had an awesome room with a view.....

 And walked and walked on the front waterway for hours....

 I could not get enough.....

 So after we were out for awhile we just pulled up a chair and toasted the view.

 Vermont - heartstopping....by far my favorite place and most colorful.....and the covered bridges - too many to count.....each one unique and amazing and I dreamed one night that I had started a project to fix them all....

 I want live here:

 Country stores with fresh produce and local specialties....

 Gorges with gorgeous views.....spent hours here......

 Brilliant Brilliant Reds

 I picked up several of these and dried them.....

 Maine was nice

 Kennebunkport was just as sweet as I thought it would be and was the most crowded place of everywhere we visited....

 Again, incredible views....

 A Lobster haven....we bought a lobster buoy from here and put it on our patio....

 And the fresh lobster.....we could not get enough....the rustic, the better....

 $20.00 for these two, pick and cooked right in front of you....

 Quaint....Quaint....Quaint....

And Salem, Mass....too much fun.....

 It just so happened I planned the itinerary about the Biz Baz Festival....or as Steve says, it there is a festival within 1000 miles she will find it!

 Loved the tribute to the witches....am going to re-read the Crucible....

 Old Old graveyards.....

They take their witch heritage very seriously! 

  Amazing street signs....

 Weird Halloween decorations....Zombie babies....

 So disturbing yet so fun in that environment....home, not so fun.

House of 7 Gables....what a view those witches had!

 Amish Country - always educational....

 No electricity....loved the chickens in the yard and American Flag on porch....

 The farm we stayed on was harvesting tobacco...by hand, by horse....

 And hung it daily in the barn to dry.....

 That's a lot of tobacco!

 I wanted to buy this from their little shop but had absolutely no use for it....and believe me I thought it out!

 Our hotel room!

 Hershey Factory....

 Old Bell towers everywhere....I want one...

 Crayola Factory - I love the smell of new crayons....

 Beauty beyond compare....

 I did not want to come home....I will never be caught up....I will never have enough time to do everything I want to do and need to do....but one thing I will do is take another trip - waiting to be captured at any time!

 

End of Summer Catch Up....

Rocky's face says it all.....'really? crossing the desert to Scottsdale again?"

 

 Yes, it's true - another dash across the desert and this time for my brothers knee surgery and to take mom to post op eye surgery appointment....there is no slowing this girl down!

 I always enjoy my brothers toys....we both share a love for vintage autos....

 His collection mainly in trucks....

 Usually ones my dad had in the past...

 and restored to perfection.....also very fun to drive and ride in!

 Between appointments I was able to squeeze in 2 short hours at the Old Towne Shops in Glendale.....love that place.  
 

 Back in the day it was all migrant workers houses and over the years has been renovated into boutiques and restaurants....so nice to see how things can change for the good!

 Lots of inspiration in some of these stores....

 Visual overload....

 ....and so fun.

 My brother recovered very nicely and after a few days it was back to San Diego.....and a few projects that I had not finished.

 I needed some outdoor pillows and could not find anyone colorful enough....so I found these vinyl placemats and had some pillow filler...so I stitched it up.

 And stuffed them.....

 And it is just the pop of color the chaise lounges by the fountain needed! Next up:  Some yellow mums in those empty pots....it never ends....

 And with all the visual inspiration from the Glendale shops I had to drag out my Halloween decorations.....the boys table....

 The countertop in the kitchen.....

 The lazy Susan on the dining room table holds all the 'smalls' I have collected over the years

 The coffee table in the living room is the 'Witches station'...

 ....a little vignette by the front door......

 My witches hat garland....that's my mom's dog peeking at me....she and my mom came home with us for awhile....

 The entry way leading to the front door.....

 And was also happy to be home for this little all star's game....my little pitching phenom....

 He is a great role model for his little brother, who is also a fearless catcher....

These two always fun and entertaining.....as catcher Brody yells 'Play Ball!'

To Quote Brody - "I didn't see that coming!"

I have been crossing the desert a lot, in fact, too much lately.  My mom has had some eye issues and I want to be at her appointments, surgeries, etc.  The upside is to visit Adam and Shannon and lots of other family and friends in the area.  Fun to drive around old places and just drop in new ones (in between doctor appointments!).

 

On one of my trips I was so hoping to see a monsoon....they used to scare me to death when I was little, but now they are the ultimate entertainment when visiting Phoenix in the late summer.....

 

However what I didn't see coming is that it absolutely poured one night, starting at midnight....

 ...and when Rocky needed to go out at 3 a.m. he fell in the pool. There was so much rain you could not see where the patio ended and the pool began.  Good thing I was watching him!  And guess who had do dive in after him - that would be me.  Didn't see coming a swim in my pj's at 3 am in a rainstorm.....

 My little guy was in shock!  We got out the blow dryer and made sure he was pretty dry and then he just sulked the rest of the night while it rained and rained. 

Then by morning it had rained more in Phoenix than ever recorded in history....here is a picture a few blocks from The Addie's place....I imagine these drivers did not see this coming!

 So after the roads were back open and safe we had to dash home to catch up with our boys!  They are playing fall ball and it is a very interesting program they have near where they live.  In the a.m. professional ball players come and give them a skills clinic.  In the afternoon they play actual games.

Brody was picked as team captain for the first game:

 He wanted to be catcher....he was so excited!

 He looked so little behind the plate and he hung in there, played so well and had 2 awesome hits.  At his age they bat off the pitching machine.

 Dylan moved up a level to where they now use pitchers - so he decided to be one!  He has amazing control and accuracy and loves any sport with a ball.  He threw a few warm up pitches....

 At this age he can pitch 2 full innings and he had no hits or runs against him (he also had a good fielding team supporting him).  He even struck out all hitters in one inning.  A pretty good start and the smile on his face was priceless.

 A very proud mommy and daddy looked on.....

 And one thing we saw coming and wanted to enjoy was having our neighbors over for a happy hour to thank them for putting up with our mess and dust all summer!

It was a fun and relaxing evening.....and Rocky enjoyed a patio that was dry!