Nancy Pennick's Blog - Posts Tagged "travel"
Follow Your Dreams
Seize the day! Take the bull by the horns. Figures of speech, also known as similes, are often used to encourage or make a point. They sound better than someone telling you to try again or don’t give up which is still good advice. I much prefer “Follow your Dreams”.
I recently read that an author should have a tagline after their name. I’ve been toying with Nancy Pennick, Follow Your Dreams for awhile and don’t know if that works or not. It’s supposed to help the reader remember your name and recognize your brand. Who thought I’d have to learn marketing when I started writing.
After a career in teaching, I never thought I’d begin a second as a writer. My dream was to live the quiet, peaceful life and catch up on the things I always wanted to do when I worked, like traveling and organizing the closets.
One of the things on my to-do list was to head out west so I began researching where I’d like to go. The Grand Canyon was a definite must and I was open to other locations. Since we have a timeshare, I decided to take advantage of staying at their resorts.
Our trip was aptly named “Out West” and we began our journey in Santa Fe, New Mexico. There were five of us on this leg of the trip. We started off in downtown Santa Fe, parking next to a broken meter. The meter police happened to be strolling by when we realized it wasn't working and he said we were fine. Imagine our surprise when we returned to find a ticket on the windshield. Welcome to Santa Fe!
We had covered a lot of ground on that sightseeing adventure, ending at the Loretto Chapel with its magnificent spiral staircase that looks like it has no visible means of support. That town, rich in art and history, left us with a feeling of truly being out west from the pale red stucco buildings to the southwest art dotting the landscape.
While in New Mexico we visited Sandia Peak in Albuquerque and took the tramway to the top of the mountain.
It grew dark on the way back down and gave us another perspective of the mountain. A quick day trip the other way took us to Taos and ended that part of our journey.
We hopped in the car for a short six hour drive to Sedona, Arizona. It was unlike anything I’ve ever seen. The road taking us into town was wrapped around a mountain, filled with twists and turns. We screamed like we were on an amusement ride as we descended, later laughing about how it really wasn’t all that bad. My favorite part of being in Sedona was that some of the rock formations had names. Coffee pot was my favorite and as you see in the picture, it really does look like one. Then there were characters from the Peanuts gang, Lucy and Snoopy. She's up top and he's lying on his back on his doghouse.
It was finally on to the Grand Canyon, which I've already covered in another post, and won’t bore you again with details. The final leg of the journey was Las Vegas where we were joined by other members of the family. It was an overwhelming place but once we got used to it, we loved it. We called the Paris Hotel home for a few short days getting to travel to the top of the Eiffel Tower. Anything’s possible in Vegas!
After we returned home and back to normal, I sorted through endless pictures, proud I fulfilled one of my dream trips. Those photos would always remind me I did it.
Just recently a Home Goods Store opened in my city. My sister and I strolled through the aisles and we came across a wicker head of a bull, horns and all. Really, we did. I had to stop and admire it. I told my sister if someone bought that they literally could take the bull by the horns. We had a good laugh and moved on.
But think about it. Isn't that a good reminder in life? If you really want to do something like change careers, learn to dance, travel out west, go back to school or write a book, you should do it. No one’s stopping you. Take the bull by the horns…or as I like to say, follow your dreams.
I recently read that an author should have a tagline after their name. I’ve been toying with Nancy Pennick, Follow Your Dreams for awhile and don’t know if that works or not. It’s supposed to help the reader remember your name and recognize your brand. Who thought I’d have to learn marketing when I started writing.
After a career in teaching, I never thought I’d begin a second as a writer. My dream was to live the quiet, peaceful life and catch up on the things I always wanted to do when I worked, like traveling and organizing the closets.
One of the things on my to-do list was to head out west so I began researching where I’d like to go. The Grand Canyon was a definite must and I was open to other locations. Since we have a timeshare, I decided to take advantage of staying at their resorts.
Our trip was aptly named “Out West” and we began our journey in Santa Fe, New Mexico. There were five of us on this leg of the trip. We started off in downtown Santa Fe, parking next to a broken meter. The meter police happened to be strolling by when we realized it wasn't working and he said we were fine. Imagine our surprise when we returned to find a ticket on the windshield. Welcome to Santa Fe!
We had covered a lot of ground on that sightseeing adventure, ending at the Loretto Chapel with its magnificent spiral staircase that looks like it has no visible means of support. That town, rich in art and history, left us with a feeling of truly being out west from the pale red stucco buildings to the southwest art dotting the landscape.
While in New Mexico we visited Sandia Peak in Albuquerque and took the tramway to the top of the mountain.
It grew dark on the way back down and gave us another perspective of the mountain. A quick day trip the other way took us to Taos and ended that part of our journey.
We hopped in the car for a short six hour drive to Sedona, Arizona. It was unlike anything I’ve ever seen. The road taking us into town was wrapped around a mountain, filled with twists and turns. We screamed like we were on an amusement ride as we descended, later laughing about how it really wasn’t all that bad. My favorite part of being in Sedona was that some of the rock formations had names. Coffee pot was my favorite and as you see in the picture, it really does look like one. Then there were characters from the Peanuts gang, Lucy and Snoopy. She's up top and he's lying on his back on his doghouse.
It was finally on to the Grand Canyon, which I've already covered in another post, and won’t bore you again with details. The final leg of the journey was Las Vegas where we were joined by other members of the family. It was an overwhelming place but once we got used to it, we loved it. We called the Paris Hotel home for a few short days getting to travel to the top of the Eiffel Tower. Anything’s possible in Vegas!
After we returned home and back to normal, I sorted through endless pictures, proud I fulfilled one of my dream trips. Those photos would always remind me I did it.
Just recently a Home Goods Store opened in my city. My sister and I strolled through the aisles and we came across a wicker head of a bull, horns and all. Really, we did. I had to stop and admire it. I told my sister if someone bought that they literally could take the bull by the horns. We had a good laugh and moved on.
But think about it. Isn't that a good reminder in life? If you really want to do something like change careers, learn to dance, travel out west, go back to school or write a book, you should do it. No one’s stopping you. Take the bull by the horns…or as I like to say, follow your dreams.
These Books were Made for Walking
My books recently tagged along on a hiking adventure. They were excited to go and leave home the first time without me. It’s all they could talk about for weeks on end.
Actually they didn't really have to do the walking; they hitchhiked along in my niece’s backpack. She was kind enough to take them when she and her father hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. As a favor to me, she took pictures of them along the trail. I’d love to hike it myself, but I don’t think I’d ever make it back out alive or with two good knees. It’s all uphill, I’m told.
On the trip she’d have to carry a backpack filled with 25 to 35 pounds of supplies which turned out to be more like 50. Two more pounds would be added because of the books, but she took them willingly.
Being a talented, creative girl I had no doubt she had big plans for the books. I decided they would provide entertainment for the travelers since there’d be others in the group. I was sure my niece would use any and all ideas…as long as one of them wasn't to toss the books into the canyon. It turned out the couple that joined them on the trip were seasoned hikers and mountain bikers. They were very fit and forged ahead without the group at times. I’m sure they did want to throw the books into the canyon after all.
She chose a one-day down and two-day back up package. They camped overnight at the bottom of the canyon and then again halfway up Bright Angel Trail at Indian Gardens. It was a trip of a lifetime and one I’m she she’ll never forget.
I am going to end this post with a summary of her trip in her own words:
Holy crap, y'all. We made it. We freaking made it. This was hands down the hardest thing I have EVER done, ever. I literally sobbed when I got to the top.
If this is something you want to do, go for it- but do not underestimate the canyon or overestimate your ability.
Actually they didn't really have to do the walking; they hitchhiked along in my niece’s backpack. She was kind enough to take them when she and her father hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. As a favor to me, she took pictures of them along the trail. I’d love to hike it myself, but I don’t think I’d ever make it back out alive or with two good knees. It’s all uphill, I’m told.
On the trip she’d have to carry a backpack filled with 25 to 35 pounds of supplies which turned out to be more like 50. Two more pounds would be added because of the books, but she took them willingly.
Being a talented, creative girl I had no doubt she had big plans for the books. I decided they would provide entertainment for the travelers since there’d be others in the group. I was sure my niece would use any and all ideas…as long as one of them wasn't to toss the books into the canyon. It turned out the couple that joined them on the trip were seasoned hikers and mountain bikers. They were very fit and forged ahead without the group at times. I’m sure they did want to throw the books into the canyon after all.
She chose a one-day down and two-day back up package. They camped overnight at the bottom of the canyon and then again halfway up Bright Angel Trail at Indian Gardens. It was a trip of a lifetime and one I’m she she’ll never forget.
I am going to end this post with a summary of her trip in her own words:
Holy crap, y'all. We made it. We freaking made it. This was hands down the hardest thing I have EVER done, ever. I literally sobbed when I got to the top.
If this is something you want to do, go for it- but do not underestimate the canyon or overestimate your ability.
