Adventuring: Beauty in the USA
I'm home from vacation and I can't wait to tell/show you all of our adventures during our time in the United States! We flew to Las Vegas three weeks ago and rented a car and toured through Arizona, California, Utah and Nevada. Three weeks is a long time to be gone, and while it's nice to be home, we are already remembering with nostalgia our favourite parts of the journey. My children are 8, 10 and 12; perfect ages to travel and adventure with. They are game for anything and we hiked, swam and splashed in the ocean, went to car shows and shopping centres, stayed up late in our hotel room watching reality TV (the kids love a show called "Prospectors"), tried American candy and took hundreds of photos. I got to "flyboard" on Lake Havasu which is an amazing experience! Some of my favourite moments were spent poolside, painting scenes from our trip while the kids splashed.
A few towns made me want to move. Monterey, California; SUCH a beautiful place! We drove up the coast from Ventura to Monterey and California just seemed like such a place of excess with everything blooming and abundant. Not to mention that Monterey is a haven for artists; galleries, art events and some of the best artists in the world. I do sometimes feel very remote; tucked away in northern British Columbia, hundreds of miles from all the excitement. Thank goodness for the internet!
We spent a few days in St. George, Utah. Another truly beautiful spot, majestic and peaceful. While we didn't get to Zion National Park, we did make time to hike in Snow Canyon and Red Cliffs Conservation Area. Both beautiful spots and I took many, many photos. I just love the contrast of red cliffs and blue sky!
I'm looking forward to showing and telling you more as the days go by. Family vacations are few and far between for us; it is always hard to find the money for travel and I am so thankful that my art business has made this easier. It really does strengthen our family bond to be able to spend "fun time" together and I like that I can be less focused on the "work" of raising three children (homeschooling, chores, behaviour training, discipline) and throw the schedule away and just have fun. We have many places we want to visit before they all grow up and it becomes harder to do stuff all together. It will happen before we know it! I want you to know that every painting you buy or watercolour course you purchase not only helps me to build my art business, but it helps bless our family and I appreciate it more than I can say.
