Just Read: Love Finds You in Liberty Indiana

Love Finds You in Liberty, Indiana by Melanie Dobson: Ya, what are the odds I'd read another Christian romance? Book club! I have to say this one was a thousand times better than Shadow in Serenity so I'll stop being sarcastic now.

This one actually wasn't so much a romance. Anna Brent is a young Quaker woman with deep abolitionist convictions. Along with her father and housekeeper, she helps escaped slaves on their journey north on the Underground Railroad. Because of this, they keep quiet about their anti-slavery even as the outspoken editor of the local paper catches Anna's eye.

Danger mounts as slave hunters come to town in search of a runaway and her baby who were harbored at the Brent home and Anna gets deeper into the railroad. Meanwhile tensions in the town mount and Anna must weigh the consequences of acting on her faith that God created all people to be free.

I appreciated that as Anna faced various challenges and temptations she evaluated her feelings and seeks to bring herself inline with the truth of the Gospel, but it sometimes felt too simplistic and easily wrapped up. My main beef with this book is that, despite dealing with a heavy subject, it still ends like all rom coms with everything basically coming together like a rom com in the end.

Californivacation Big Sur, part III

Pfeiffer Beach was almost my last stop in Big Sur (I couldn't help stopping at one or two more turnouts on my way north.) It was gorgeous and digging under the first layer of sand revealed purple sand. Not almost purplish but actual purple sand. God is amazing! I would not think to make purple sand.

I could have stayed there for hours on that wide quiet beach. Actually, I could have stayed at Big Sur for a week with a bunch of good books and a friend, of course. A girl can only listen to crazy beetniks for so long.

 I'm not going to lie to you. I thought this rock was a little unsightly.

 I was here.

 See it's purple!

 Heading north again.

 Bixby Bridge, 1932.

Next stop...San Francisco!

Californivacation: Big Sur, part II

I'll only keep Big Sur to three posts. I had just about a day to spend at Big Sur, not enough but I made the most of it, starting with breakfast at the famous and historic Deetjen's Inn. I wanted to stay at the cabins here, but I didn't know when I would arrive until the day of and the cheaper cabins were taken.   Breakfast was the next best thing. 

Everything at Big Sur is expensive as it's not the easiest place to get supplies in, and once you're there, they kind of have a captive audience--something like 2 hours to the next towns on either end.

And yes, I paid $7 for that bowl of fresh, organic berries. Obscene but indescribably good. The sourdough french toast came with REAL maple syrup and their chai tea latte would make Starbucks slap its java mama.

(Again, mind the jump to see all the pics.)

Deetjen's has a one page handout with their favorite trails in the area and the mileage from the inn. Thank goodness, because I was determined to find Partington Cove. A secluded trail with no markers near a turnout marked the spot, it's nearly impossible to find it unless you know where to look. No one else seemed to find it (or be looking for it) so I hit the trail alone. Creeepppyyy.

 A look back...I'd walked maybe 10 minutes along the trail and there was no sign of PCH or any other human beings.

  

 One of the special things about Partington Cove was the kelp forests. Don't you imagine trees draped in long, wet leafy kelp? Well, that's not what it is.

I loved how this picture came out...so I edited it a half dozen or more times! A mini barrage for you...

      

January Reads: The Trilogy, Christian romance & Montaigne

I read 5 books last month, and yes I did pat myself on the back. There are just so many books that I want to read and I bought as many books in January as I read. Oh man. Barnes & Noble's sale table in the front. Have you been there? They have quality books at around $6 each! How can I be expected to not buy them, especially when they're actually on my to-read list. (That's a rhetorical question.)

   

The Hunger Games, Mockingjay & Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins – Several people told me to read these books, but it wasn't until I saw the movie trailer for the first book that I decided to go for it. Unlike other extremely popular young adult fiction that has made teenage girls sweat and fawn, there are no vampires, shirtless werewolves or wizards. So for those of you who haven't read these thinking there was some relation to those other two series (no offense HP fans), trust me when I say--give them a chance. Have I steered you wrong in the past?

It's hard to describe the books without giving away too much important information, but here goes...

The Hunger Game Trilogy takes place in Panem, a country built on the ruins of America. Made up of 12 impoverished districts, all control is from the ever watchful Capitol--an outrageously lavish place in stark contrast to the rest of the country. Each year 2 young tributes are chosen at random from each district to be part of the Hunger Games, a televised fight to the death.

Our narrator, 16 year old Katniss Everdeen of District 12, volunteers to take her sister's place when she is chosen as tribute and so sets in motion the events of the three novels. Katniss is a wonderfully flawed character--she's tough, a hunter, a survivor, but also honest and not immune to weakness. When she leaves her family and best friend Gale to go to the games, she fully expects to never return.

After a life of hunger and hardship, Katniss has little patience for her fellow District 12 tribute, Peeta Mellark, the son of a baker who once gave her much needed bread and their drunken mentor Haymitch, the only other District 12 winner.

As Katniss and Peeta train for the grueling games, its obvious there is more to the baker's son than meets the eye and while Katniss knows little about him, Peeta has watched her from afar for years. Yet Katniss can't afford to trust anyone because only one person is coming out of the Hunger Games alive, and once they're in the arena it's every man for himself. What follows are ingenious twists and turns as well as the internal struggle Katniss experiences as someone who is tested in every way.

Californivacation: Big Sur (Finally!)

This is the moment you've been waiting for...on this never ending journey from Orange County to San Francisco, we've finally come to the pinnacle, the wondrous Big Sur! 

A hangout of beatniks and nature lovers, Big Sur is a stretch of beautiful cliffs jutting into the ocean. Along the hairpin turns is a jade cove where hobos used to find and carve pieces of sea jade to sell, a beach of purple sand, and hidden trails lined with redwoods. Majestic doesn't begin to describe this striking landscape.

I arrived at Ragged Point, the first stop of Big Sur, as the sun was beginning to set (of course). Made for good pictures but also that I missed the cool jade cove (boo) and had to drive to the middle of the Big Sur area in the dark (marrrr).

(There are tons of pics on this one so be sure to see all of them after the jump!)

 Ragged point

 Majestic

 Another photographer alerted me to the humming birds about 2 minutes from the previous picture. Wouldn't you like to hold this little thing in your hand and tweet at it?

Not a great picture, but an important one. They are not joking when they say to load up on gas before you drive into Big Sur. There was one other place about 10 miles from here which I passed thinking my gas was fine. However the gas gage on my little rental suddenly started blinking at me. It was very dark by this point, my heart started pounding to the rhythm of the blinking, and I turned around to buy some extremely expensive gas. I probably would have been ok getting to my hotel, but I definitely did not want to be wrong and spend the night on the side of the road in the dark, sparsely populated extremely scary Big Sur.

Californivacation: Wildlife

Something you might not expect to find on the rocky coast of California....zebras! I slammed on my breaks when I saw these African creatures grazing on the side of the road (behind a fence, of course).

 But wherefore Zebras? They're descendants of a herd at Hurst Castle, once kept by the eccentric newspaper man. I didn't go to the castle, it was a long tour and I had to make haste to my next destination.

 Nope, these elephant seals aren't dead. They're just snuggling on the beach.

 A sea of seals. They're obviously Californians.

Next stop, Big Sur!

Californivacation: Montaña de Oro State Park

Montaña de Oro. Doesn't that just roll of your tongue like melted gold? While exploring this state park I kept wanting to say it's name with the accent of the guy in the Princess Bride ("Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.")

But I didn't want to get into the bad habit of talking to myself, thus ensuring that I became that crazy tourist someone ran into on a path in Montaña de Oro State Park. It could all have spiraled out of control. Fo sho.

This was one of my favorite stops on a perfectly beautiful day. Lots of pics on this post so be sure go past the jump!

The ever appealing bend in the road.

This post has an undercurrent of surfers.

Admittedly not a good picture but look at the cute little animal. But what kind?

The avant garde shot.