A song to melt with…

Life’s been good to me…

Looking back, way back and a little further… I realize, life has really been good to me in all shapes and forms. I realize that I’ve been lucky, I’ve pretty much reached every single goal I’ve set, I’ve loved and been loved, I’ve lived and traveled. The best moments are still yet to come.

I’ve…….

Walked Washington DC from beginning to end, twice.
Walked the Museum of Modern Art in New York for five hours
Visited Niagara Falls and CN Tower in many occasions
Swam at the hidden waterfalls at the peak of Rincon de la Vieja Volcano in Costa Rica
Did a fishing trip through Nebraska and down through Wyoming
Watched the Sea Lions play and rest on the shores of of California
Walked Chinatown in New York, Toronto and San Francisco
Ate a platter of yummy crab legs on a dock in Baltimore, Maryland
Walked in and back out of the crater at the Turrialba Volcano in Costa Rica
Got lost in the fog on Georgian Bay at night walking in the lake
Drove across Bay Bridge and Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco
Walked downtown of Salt Lake City, Utah
Visited the tomb of an ancient Indian chief and antique shops in the countryside of Delaware
Drove down the windy road of Lombard Street in San Francisco
Did geocashing in New Jersey and found the largest icicle ever
Walked the Barra Honda caves in Nicoya, Costa Rica
Walked at sunset with my feet in the water at Laguna Beach, California
Slow danced on the deck of the Detroit Princess at sunset over the Detroit River
Rode a dirt bike inside the Mojave Desert, Red Rock Canyon and Sequoya National Forest in California
Walked the streets of Las Vegas 4 times, attractions and parties included
Rode the California coastline from San Francisco to Los Angeles down through Big Sur
Snowboarded Breckenridge, Vail and Keystone in Colorado
Rode through fields of cacti in search of snow in Arizona
Walked the streets of Buenos Aires, Argentina
Stood at the famous Loveland Pass in Colorado
Walked the whitest beaches and the colorful streets of the Art Deco District in Florida
Did a long weekend drive down from Toronto to Maryland
Kayaked the lake at the Arenal Volcano, Costa Rica
Visited every single Aztec pyramid from Guatemala to Mexico
Did a family road trip with my parents around Central America, from Costa Rica to Nicaragua, El Salvador, Belize, Guatemala and Honduras
Walked the beautiful hills of Park City, Utah
Climbed the pyramid of the Sun and of the Moon in Mexico
Visited the oldest cowboy bar in Prescott, Arizona
Snowmobiled the Rocky Mountains in Colorado
Had relaxing drinks at the top of the GM tower in Detroit, Michigan
Walked every single dock in downtown San Francisco, California
Walked the streets of London and Manchester in the UK with a short illegal stop at a local pub
Visited the German town of Frankenmuth in Detroit

But best of all, I’ve had the love and the company of 2 great people in my life: my kids… absolutely nothing beats that!

A few pics of some of my travels:

Love is…

Loving all those little things that make you You…

“I love that you get cold when it is 71 degrees out. I love that it takes you an hour and a half to order a sandwich. I love that you get a little crinkle in your nose when you’re looking at me like I’m nuts. I love that after I spend day with you, I can still smell your perfume on my clothes. And I love that you are the last person I want to talk to before I go to sleep at night. And it’s not because I’m lonely, and it’s not because it’s New Year’s Eve. I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.”

Quote from the movie “When Harry Met Sally”

Left and Leaving

My city’s still breathing (but barely it’s true)
through buildings gone missing like teeth.
The sidewalks are watching me think about you,
sparkled with broken glass.
I’m back with scars to show.
Back with the streets I know.
Will never take me anywhere but here.
The stain in the carpet, this drink in my hand,
the strangers whose faces I know.
We meet here for our dress-rehearsal to say “I wanted it this way”
wait for the year to drown.
Spring forward, fall back down.
I’m trying not to wonder where you are.
All this time lingers, undefined.
Someone choose who’s left and who’s leaving.
Memory will rust and erode into lists of all that you gave me:
a blanket, some matches, this pain in my chest,
the best parts of Lonely, duct-tape and soldered wires,
new words for old desires,
and every birthday card I threw away.
I wait in 4/4 time.
Count yellow highway lines that you’re relying on to lead you home.

by The Weakerthans
Song discovered, as usual, thanx to my beloved Greggie

Laundry

“It’s better to have loved and lost than to have to do forty pounds of laundry a week.”
~Dr. Laurence J. Peter

Photos taken by Ann Brampton | Washboard Laundromat | Kern River, California | May 2010