#i went on a road trip with my dad and we went to the redwoods

[nataliedanovelist]

GF & MvsM - Wanna Talk About Dinos?

This crossover was inevitable. It just works too well. Maybe one day i’ll write a fic about how the folks at Gravity Falls handled the robot-apocalypse. Probably shrugged it off. “Eh. We’ve had worse.” Haha! What if Stan and Ford, cuz they were out sailing, had no clue what happened and when they came back they were like, “Wait, what?”

For now, please enjoy this fic of Aaron making a new friend...

(credit goes to @stephreynaart for her OC Jacob) ~~~~~~~~~~ “Hi, would you like to talk to me about dinosaurs?”

Aaron asked this question more times than he could keep track of, but that wasn’t going to stop him from asking it. It started as a dare from his big sister two years ago, but now it’s a fun hobby. When fifth grade isn’t overwhelming him, scaring him with mountains of homework and horror stories about how hard middle school is going to be, and when he’s run out of YouTube videos to catch up on, he is on the hunt for fellow giant-lizard-lovers like a hungry Ceratosaurus.

“No, okay bye.” But it did get a little tiring to always cross out names and phone-numbers on the phone book with red ink. Hey, a dinosaur of a way to find phone-numbers was appropriate. He read the next number, dialed it, and after a ring or two he asked, “How would you like to talk with me about dinosaurs? No, okay thank you.”

Aaron crossed out another name and sighed, taking a break since he reached the end of a line of numbers. Maybe he should just be grateful for Abbey and accept that no one else wants to talk about the Jurassic Period. Or the Cretaceous Period. Or the Triassic Period. But then a big, old, gray-tinted ad distracted him. He grinned, thinking it would at least be fun to give them a call, and he dialed the number.

Private home phone-numbers were fun, but businesses were also fun! Poor, bored workers would gladly talk to him rather than crabby Karens, and they got paid for it! So Aaron smiled as the phone rang, and he grinned when someone picked up.

“Thanks for calling the Mystery Shack, you’re talking to Mr. Mystery himself! How may I befuddle or bewilder you?”

“Hi! How would you like to talk with me about dinosaurs?”

“Oh, dude! I’d love to, but I’m scheduled for a tour of the Oddity Museum in three minutes.” The man said, and Aaron grinned continuously, because it sounded like Mr. Mystery really wanted to talk with him about dinosaurs. “But hey! Can you hold on for one minute, I think I know a guy!”

“Yeah, sure mister!” And Aaron was greeted by the sound of a catchy jingle about buying t-shirts and mugs and snowglobes. He smiled and wiggled his feet along to the music as he looked outside at the beautiful late-fall afternoon, entertained while he waited.

~~~~~~~~~~

Soos was on the hunt. He planned out the house in his head. Abuelita was taking a nap upstairs, Melody was organizing the upcoming tour, and Stan took Jacob out for ice cream, so he might be…

The owner of the Shack grinned when he stopped at the doorway and saw the man he was looking for, sitting in Stan’s chair, reading a book.

“Uncle Ford!”

The old sailor smiled up at the young man. “Yes, wh-...”

“Do you think you could answer the phone for me? I have a tour and I think this customer’s request is right up your alley.”

“Uh… sure, but w-...”

“Thanks, you’re the best!” And Soos was gone before he could address Ford’s confusion.

Ford was a bit lost, having little to no business with business, but he had learned at this point to trust Soos, so he picked up the phone beside him and was immediately greeted with a sweet, “How would you like to talk with me about dinosaurs?”

Ford grinned and closed his book. “I would love to! All three periods are equally as fascinating to study, but the Triassic contains some of my favorite dinosaurs!”

A young voice gasped on the other line. “Mine, too! Everyone thinks the Jurassic period is so great, and it’s pretty cool, but the Triassic gave us Plateosaurus and the Brachiosaurus!”

“That’s very true! You know, it’s very interesting, maybe depictions don’t include feathers at all, which is a bit frustrating, but perhaps after the news has spread they will incorporate more feathers on merchandise and textbooks.”

“YES! That’s what I wanna do when I grow up, help draw better-accurate dinosaurs!”

~~~~~~~~~~

The phone rang on Sunday. The Shack was closed today, so Stan lazily answered it and was greeted with, “Wanna talk about dinosaurs?”

“Sixer, phone for you!”

Ford ran into the living room, elbowed his twin out of the chair, and took the phone. “Hello again, Aaron! Now, where were we? Right, so Australopithecus. … No, I don’t think… Oh! No, homo habilis was erect, Australopithecus was never fully erect.”

“Maybe he was nervous.” Stan groaned, getting to his feet.

Ford shot him a look as thankfully the young boy on the other end didn’t catch that and happily shared some more fun-facts about homo habilis.

~~~~~~~~~~

While most college students were excited for Spring Break so they could get drunk or lose their virginity, Katie was excited because her family had planned a special secret roadtrip. She was careful to keep up with her family and talk to her parents and brother frequently, but Aaron had a hobby he wasn’t talking about that his parents found out and were thrilled about. Aaron had made another friend.

Rick and Katie did some research and the tourist attraction sounded right up their alley! In the middle of the woods, tons of weird stuff, and a fun roadtrip filled with diners and attractions. They decided to surprise Aaron, and they made up a lie that they would spend Spring Break in California with Katie so she could show her family around San Francisco, when in actuality they would be traveling up the state to the Redwood Highway and see the oddity place, and maybe even allow Aaron to meet his new pen-pal. Or, um, phone-pal.

So after bombarding Katie with hugs the Mitchells threw her luggage into the car and drove off. Aaron turned to Katie and excitingly asked, “So where are we going first? Can we go fix the Golden Gate bridge by painting it gold?”

Katie laughed and ruffled his hair. “Maybe later, right now I wanna show you guys this fun store right outside of town. Here, check out the videos I made for my classes!” And she pulled out some airpods and gave one to Aaron.

“Cool!”

Rick and Linda smirked at each other as they drove north. By the time they reached a little diner in Redding, CA, it was very clear to Aaron that they weren’t in San Francisco anymore. “Come on, just tell me where we’re going!” The boy begged as he fed Monchi a fry.

“The best kind of prizes are the surprises.” Linda quoted.

“Eric, Deborahbot5000, where are we going?”

“Sorry, Aaron, we cannot give that information.” Eric said, he and the other robot sitting politely in their seats, happy to be a part of the social interaction.

“Yes, Mother will bury us if we disobey.” Deborahbot said matter-of-factly.

“What?! No I won’t, sweeties.”

“Won’t you ground us?”

The family laughed and Aaron let the topic go; if he was honest, he loved a good surprise. The big family stopped in a motel just at the California-Oregon border, and the next morning after muffins and coffee and orange juice they were on the road again, passing dozens of trees that made Rick feel at home. Katie happily recorded the trip, trusted to be the documenter for another fun roadtrip, with hopefully not as much mortal peril.

Aaron watched as they left the highway for a simple road, and they passed a big sign. The boy gasped and caught what was happening. “No WAY! Really?!”

“You know, I hear this Mystery Shack even has a Sasquatch.” Rick commented while Linda pulled out a pamphlet from the glove box.

“It says here it’s full of odd things you’ll never see anywhere else, even a dinosaur footprint…”

“Wasn’t there a rumor of there being a Bottomless Pit?” Katie asked, pointing her camera at Aaron to get his reaction.

“Thank you thank you THANK YOU!!!” Aaron cheered, hugging his Dad’s neck and kissing his Mom’s cheek.

“Hey, no worries, buddy.” Rick eased, fixing his shewed glasses. “We wanted to see this place, too!”

“Why don’t we eat a quick lunch and then we’ll take the backroad for the attraction? There’s a coupon in here for a diner made from a giant log!”

And so after being served by a pretty blonde teenager at Greasy’s, they drove through town to get to the backroad. Signs made them confident that they were going the correct way, as well as Eric and Deborahbot5000’s GPS. Then as they turned a corner, a big triangle-shaped building came into view. Aaron grinned at the giant sign with a missing letter. People were already leaving, arms full of souvenirs and one or two already wearing their new hats or t-shirts. Once Rick parked in the Free Parking Lot, Aaron spilled out of the car and ran for the shack, but he stopped.

Katie caught up to him and patted his back. “You cool, man?”

Aaron shrugged, holding his hands in front of him and his shoulders up to hide his face a bit. “I-I dunno… What if… What if he doesn’t like me?”

“Hey, I get it.” Katie admitted. “When I first met my friends I was really nervous. I had talked to them online for weeks and I was worried it wasn’t gonna be what it was all cracked up to be, but it was. Your system worked! You found another dino-lover! You earned this moment. Just take in a deep breath and be yourself, cuz you’re a pretty cool dude.”

Aaron smiled up at his big sister. “Thanks.”

Trusting Eric and Deborahbot5000 to watch Monchi and make sure he used the bathroom, the Mitchells went inside the shack. On the porch there was an ice cooler, a sign reading schedule times for tours of the Oddity Museum, a Help Wanted sign, and two rocking chairs with a game of checkers between them.

Inside the store a few customers filled up the gift shop, alongside t-shirts, snowglobes, a vending machine, a door beside ti that read Employees Only, a bookshelf full of comic on one side and old newspapers claiming alien sightings on the other, a fish tank holding a monkey-mermaid, and barrels full of spaceship keychains and dino claws. A new section called Camping Stuff caught Rick’s eye, selling backpacks, lanterns, flashlights, batteries, canteens, and compasses. Katie opened a comic called Lil’Stanley and laughed at the swears, taking a pic and sending it to her friends’ group chat. Linda looked into the barrel full of patches and grinned at all the fun designs, while Aaron stared happily at the mer-monkey.

The Employees Only door opened and closed and Rick watched as a man in a suit, fez, and eyepatch walked up to the lady at the register and kissed her cheek. The woman smiled lovingly and left while the guy who resembled a gopher checked a customer out. Rick waited until the buyer left to approach the register, leaning an arm on the counter.

“Welcome to the Mystery Shack, dude!”

“Thanks! So, this is gonna sound weird, but my son Aaron talks to a guy here about dinosaurs…”

“No way!” The owner interrupted excitedly. “Good to see you, dudes! I’m Mr. Mystery! Wow, you guys came a long way, huh?”

“Nah, only from California. My daughter is attending art school there.”

While the men chit-chatted and Linda joined them, Katie noticed a guy walking up to Aaron and looking at the mer-monkey. She smiled and tried to read the comic without being too nosy, but she kept her senses on her brother.

“Hm, quite fascinating, isn’t it?” The man in the blue hoodie said. “But I think my favorite is the fossilized footprint. Could be Nanuqsaurus hoglundi.”

“The Polar Bear Lizard?” Aaron clarified, touching his chin as he looked at the dino-print, his back to the man he was talking to. “Maybe, but they’re from Alaska. It’s possible plate tectonics did cause some fossils to be relocated here, but it could also be a Nanotyrannosaurus lancensis footprint.”

“The Dwarf Tyrant? Could very well be. Would you like to talk about dinosaurs after your tour?”

Aaron’s eyes widened as the voice was finally familiar to him. He turned and looked up to find an old man smiling up at him. He had fluffy gray hair with a white stripe running around his scalp, wrinkles by his eyes due to smiling, a cleft chin, glasses, and wore a blue hoodie with a maroon sweater underneath. His hands were behind his back and he smiled down at Aaron warmly, while the boy was jittery and overly-excited. He took in a sharp breath and had to fight every muscle to keep from leaping through the screen door. 

“H-H-Hi…” He peeped. He cleared his throat and tried again. “Y-Yeah, sure! I’d love to! I’m Aaron! Er, wait, you already knew that.” And he held out a hand to shake.

His phone-pal, Ford, chuckled and got on one knee to be eye-level. “Greeting, Aaron! It’s nice to formally meet you.”

Aaron shook his hand and noticed something. He had six fingers on his right hand. A quick glance told Aaron he also had six fingers on his left hand. Aaron grinned with sparkling eyes at his new friend, while the old sailor smiled warmly at the boy that reminds him of his niece and nephew when they were young.

#GF #mvsm #mitchells vs the machines #gravity falls #ford pines #soos ramirez #aaron mitchell #katie mitchell #rick mitchell #linda mitchell #eric and deborahbot5000

[jimakuchan]

And They Were Roommates...

Part Fifty

The village of Gaipan was a sleepy town, surrounded by a gorgeous landscape filled with some of the tallest redwood trees Zuko had ever seen. If it weren’t for the stressful situation he found himself in, he might have taken a moment to appreciate the beauty of the sun sinking into the horizon amongst the tree tops.. but unfortunately now was not the time to take in the wonders of nature around him. 

“Uncle would be so disappointed” Zuko thought to himself. Iroh always chastised him for not appreciating the little things in life, but everything happening right now was not a little thing. It was a very big thing. A possibly life changing thing was about to happen to Zuko, and despite the pep talk Aang and Sokka gave him, Zuko’s leg was shaking from nerves. He could feel his hands clamming up, his knuckles turning white from how hard he was clenching his fist, and his entire body was on edge... waiting for the other shoe to drop. 

The entrance to the camp sight was just around the corner, and Katara was taking her time with driving on the uneven dirt road. It took everything within Zuko’s power to not yell at her to speed up. His friends were here doing him a favor, he needed to be patient. He took a deep breath in, holding it in his lungs, relishing in the burn before he let the air escape out his mouth. Memories of the text conversations running rampant in his head, the fear that he was too late sitting comfortably in the forefront of his mind. 

“Just stay calm, everything will be alright” Zuko heard his mother’s voice in his head, but it felt like a lie. How long had he been lying to himself? About his feelings towards Y/N, his family, his friends, Spirits his life? Everything felt like it was spiraling out of control. What was that exercise Aang taught him again? In for four out for four? Mindfulness? Zuko couldn’t remember and frankly didn’t really care to at the moment. 

“We’re here” Katara’s voice echoed throughout the SUV. Zuko felt it then, the drop. His stomach was swirling inside of him and he felt the bile rise up his throat. It was now or never. Zuko felt so sure of himself when he sprinted outside of the apartment earlier today, where did that energy go?

“Are you okay man?” Sokka placed his hand on Zuko’s shoulder, a reassuring touch that he so desperately needed. It grounded Zuko, and he started to believe the lie his thoughts told him moments ago.

“Yes” Zuko replied, Sokka furrowed his brows but didn’t comment on it any further.

“Okay then let’s go!” Sokka’s face broke out into a wide grin, how he managed to stay so calm and collected all the time was beyond him. 

“Yea go get your girl Sparky!” Toph shouted from the middle seat. Zuko looked around at the faces of his friends, hope filled all of their eyes. He wished he could have an ounce of their faith. With a deep sigh he exited the car, taking his first step in the dirt and looked at the campsite around him. The rest of the gaang followed suit soon after. 

“Do you know what cabin she’s in?” Suki asked as they were walking towards the small campsite. A litter of log cabins surrounded the large fire pit in the center. It was a pretty decent place for a corporate retreat, something Zuko might even consider doing in the future. That is, if this all ended well. He didn’t think he could handle visiting the place where he was painfully rejected within a business setting.

“Not sure I just know it’s the women’s cabin. I’m sure we could ask someone.” Katara answered. She sounded sure of herself, but the way she was fidgeting with her bag gave her away. She was nervous too, and that’s when it dawned on him. Jet. The bane of their existence was here, and Katara hadn’t seen him since he caught him cheating on her with Y/N. Zuko admired her bravery. He had talked this out with Y/N, how much what Jet did to them hurt her, but he didn’t dwell on it too much with Katara. The possibility of running into him must be bothering her. Aang must have picked up on Katara’s nerves too, because he went to go hold her hand and kissed her cheek. Katara smiled at the gesture, and Zuko hated the jealous feeling that crept into his gut. 

He wished he could be that way with Y/N, to hold her hand and kiss her cheek when she was feeling down. Did they know the gift they possessed? To be unapologetically affectionate with each other? They must know. Zuko could see it when they looked at each other. He just hoped that he could have that in his future with Y/N.

“Over there! That’s Y/N’s cooler on the porch!” Zuko looked to where Suki was pointing. The cabin to the far left of the fire pit must be hers. The bright red cooler filled to the brim with stickers sat neatly next to the front door of the cabin; he could see the bright yellow EI sticker she bought from Ember Island on the front. Before he even realized his feet were moving, Zuko sprinted towards the cabin. He nearly tripped on the rickety steps on his way in. With a bit too much of his strength, Zuko slammed open the cabin door.

“Y/N?” Zuko shouted inside. The cabin itself was decent, four beds lined the back wall with a wide window separating each pair of beds. The bed next to the window had Y/N’s duffel bag resting at the edge of it. A kitchenette was to the right, filled with the snacks Y/N bought for the trip. To the left was a small table with a few chairs, Y/N’s travel mug sat on top of it in the center. Yep, this was definitely hers.

“She’s not here” Zuko nearly jumped out of his skin from the voice that sounded too close to his liking. He turned around to see a short woman with a blunt bob haircut. Her bandana was slipping off her forehead nearly covering her eyes, where she wore an annoyed expression on her face. Smellerbee.

“Where is she?” Zuko asked mirroring the other woman’s annoyance. He didn’t have time for small talk.

“You think I’m going to tell a total stranger the location of my coworker? You must be dumber than you look.” Smellerbee responded with a huff. Zuko narrowed his eyes at the small woman in front of him. If this was any other circumstance he would have been grateful that she was protecting Y/N, but at the moment Zuko only felt rage.

“I’m Y/N’s roommate and I need to talk to her. It’s important.” Smellerbee looked at Zuko like she’d rather be anywhere else than where she was, and it was really testing his patience.

“She left to go to the lake with Jet awhile ago. You follow that path behind the cabin and it’s a straight shot.” 

“Thank you” Zuko brushed passed Smellerbee and ran towards the path, nearly knocking into his friends in the process. He could hear the shouts of his friends behind him, but Zuko didn’t pay any attention to them. It was like he had tunnel vision as he ran through the trees towards the lake. The wind whipped through his long dark hair, sweat forming at the tip of his brow. The trees blurred together as he raced down the path. If Zuko was paying better attention he might have noticed the rustle in the bushes to his right, but he wasn’t paying attention at all. So when he collided into the hard body in front of him, Zuko was knocked flat on his ass.

“Spirits watch where the hell you’re going!” Zuko could recognize that voice anywhere. That arrogant tone only belonged to one person, and it was the last person on Earth that he wanted to see.

“Jet” Zuko gritted out through his teeth.

“That’s my name don’t wear it out” He responded with a curt laugh. Jet stood up and brushed the dirt off his pants and extended a hand to the man on the forest floor. Zuko took it as Jet helped him to his feet. He might hate the guy, but he didn’t want to give Jet the satisfaction of knowing his mere presence bothered him to no end.

“Where’s Y/N?” Zuko asked, aggravation flooding his voice. Jet didn’t respond at first, and just stared at him. He eyed Zuko up and down, as if to size him up. Jet just laughed again, and Zuko was one step away from punching him in the nose. 

“Oh wouldn’t you like to know?” 

“I don’t have time for your bullshit Jet, just tell me where she is” Zuko took a step forward, towering over Jet’s figure. He took great satisfaction in the gulp Jet took when he did. “Good” Zuko thought to himself, “I hope you’re nervous you fucking prick.” 

“I’ll tell you where she is...” Jet paused, and Zuko’s patience meter dropped to a near zero. “Eventually...”

“You will tell me now. I’m not taking no for an answer” Zuko clenched his fists, ready to force his way past Jet if he was going to waste his time. 

“Let’s have a chat first, man to man. It’s been long overdue...” Zuko was about to walk past him when Jet grabbed onto his wrist. “Besides... I have some information you’d want to know concerning Y/N” 

Zuko could feel his heart sink at such a simple statement. Information. He knew that Jet couldn’t be trusted, but Zuko couldn’t resist his curiosity. He turned around to face the man he loathed, a smug look painted his face as he dropped Zuko’s arm.

“You have 2 minutes, don’t waste it” Zuko crossed his arms across his chest, waiting for the other man to speak. Jet tilted his head towards the fallen tree off the side of the path, beckoning Zuko to follow. The silence was thick as they both sat on the rotting tree, rays of remaining daylight peaking through the trees that surround them. It was eerie, how quiet it was. Just the whistling wind around them to break up the unforgiving silence. 

“I know you hate me, but I just want you to listen for a bit. Then you can be on your merry way” he began, Zuko just stared waiting for him to continue. Jet took a deep breath, fiddling with the toothpick between his teeth. Gross.

“I just wanted to apologize to you, for what I did. It was fucked up and I’m sorry” That... was not what Zuko was expecting, his eyes widening in surprise. So this was what he wanted to discuss? 

“I was.. an angry person back then. I felt like you’re family personally ruined mine. To be fair I was right, but it was just your dad. Not you. It wasn’t your fault that your dad and his company evicted my family. Hell he kicked out his own son, why would he care about kids from the projects?” 

Zuko remembered the day Jet found out who his father was. Before then they were friends, two boys pissed at the world and the cards they were dealt in life. They use to sneak out at night, and roam the streets; stealing booze from liquor stores, smoking pot in parking lots, and just relishing in the feeling of being young and angry. Zuko felt that Jet was the first thing that was his and his alone. Jet chose to befriend him, not out of obligation because of his sister, at least that’s what he felt at the time. They shared secrets in the dark, with only the neon lights of the city keeping them company. Yes, Zuko never told him who is father was, but he did tell him a lot of the abuse he faced. How he was afraid to come home and face his father’s wrath. How he used to wish for anything to stop the pain. He cried in front of Jet that day, and Jet held him and told him he felt the same. That all changed when Jet found out about Ozai. He called Zuko to come out like normal, but instead of the promise of cheap thrills he lead him to an alleyway and beat the shit out of him. Zuko held his own, and eventually got the best of him, but the price of winning the fight was losing his best friend. He told himself he’d never forgive him for what he had done that night, and now the same boy, now a man, is next to him once again with the sun setting around them asking for forgiveness. 

“Fuck man you were my best friend.. and I threw it all away for what? Something completely out of your control? Because of someone you hated as much as I did? Losing you is one of my biggest regrets.. close second is what I did to Katara and Y/N” Jet hung his head low, his shoulders tense as he hunched over. Zuko didn’t know what to say at that moment, stunned into silence. He understood what Jet was feeling, succumbing to anger is much easier than processing other emotions: sadness, guilt, pain. Over time the anger just becomes a part of you, and it lashes out. Jet didn’t have anyone to help him move on from that like Zuko did.. he was alone. 

“I’m so fucking sorry Zuko. I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness.. like I don’t deserve Y/N’s.. but I want to try and be better. I know my apologies and promises in the past have been empty and hallow.. but I can’t keep doing that shit anymore it’s exhausting” Jet looked at Zuko then, his eyes shining from unshed tears. Jet was asking for forgiveness now, like Zuko had done many years ago. 

“I forgive you. For what you did to me..” Jet visibly deflated, finally releasing the breath he had been holding in, his body sagged in relief. 

“I don’t know if we could ever be as close as we were before... but if you’re willing to try I am. On a few conditions...”

“Name it” 

“Stop acting like a total ass to Y/N. That shit needs to end” Zuko requested.

“Done”

“You also need to apologize to Katara, she’s one of my closest friends and I can’t be friends with you if you haven’t done that. She won’t forgive you as easily as I did, and she may never do and that’s her right. You still need to though, it’s what she deserves.” Jet visibly shivered, an angry Katara was a terrifying sight, but he nodded in agreement nonetheless. 

“And finally you need to tell me where Y/N is” Jet laughed at this, but it wasn’t the smug laugh he used before. It was genuine this time.

“She’s sitting at the dock by the lake, at least that’s where she was when I left her.” He nodded and put a hand on Jet’s shoulder, the two men shared a moment of peace before Zuko went to stand up. Before he walked away Zuko turned to Jet and put out his hand, his way of extending an olive branch to the man he once called his best friend. Jet accepted it with a smile and they shook on it, what ‘it’ was neither of them knew.. but it was something. Change? Moving on? Something along those lines.

Zuko was the first to let go and turned to walk down the path, the sun light fading quickly. Before he got too far Zuko remembered he had one more thing to ask. 

“Hey Jet!” Zuko shouted, Jet turned around surprised.

“What?” he shouted back.

“You’re not dating Y/N again are you?” Zuko questioned, he needed to know before he made a complete fool of himself in front of the woman he loved. Jet let out a full belly laugh, nearly folding himself in half. Zuko quirked an eyebrow, unsure of what was so funny.

“Is that why you hauled your ass out in the middle of nowhere? You thought I made a move on her? Nah I wanted to apologize like I did with you. As if she’d ever take my ass back.” Zuko sighed with relief, but before he turned around Jet spoke again.

“The only bones she wants to jump are yours!” Zuko felt the heat rise to his cheeks, a smile growing on his face. He only hoped Jet was right as he ran further down the path towards the lake. 

As Zuko ran towards the lake the smile never left his face. He couldn’t ignore it anymore, Y/N definitely felt the same as he did. He could do this, he could finally tell her how he felt. With newly found confidence Zuko ran as fast as his legs could carry him. He could see the lake through the trees, he was close, so close to her. One more turn and he’d be there. 

When he finally made it to the small beach surrounding the lake Zuko whipped his head around desperately trying to find the dock. It was getting dark, both the sun and moon shared the same sky when he saw it. Saw her. 

Y/N was sitting at the edge of the dock, her feet dipped in the inky black water beneath her. The golden light of dusk shined on her hair as it swayed with the wind, her skin glowing as if she was made of stained glass. Zuko took a moment to admire her from afar as she sat blissfully unaware of his presence. He slowly walked towards her, gathering every ounce of courage he had.

“Y/N!” Zuko yelled out as he got closer to the dock. Y/N jumped, clearly surprised at his sudden outburst.

“Zuko? What are you doing here?” Y/N asked as she pulled her feet out of the water. She slowly stood up, trying not to put too much weight on her bad ankle. 

As Zuko got closer he thought about what he was going to say to her. He thought about how she took his breath away when he first laid eyes on her, how her smile lit up her face. He thought about all the little things he loved about her, how her nose scrunched up when she laughed and when she was annoyed. How she liked to dance around the apartment in her pajamas when she was stressed out. How she put way too much much sugar in her tea, and how she cried when she watched videos of baby ducks. He loved how much his Uncle loved her, his friends, and even though she would never admit it, his sister as well. He loved how she was patient, not only with others but with herself as well. He loved that she knew how to bring the best out of him, and how she was the reason he reconnected with the gaang. In such a short amount of time she became one of the most important people in his life. He wanted to tell her all of this and more.. but instead he said:

“I brought you the bracelet I made you” Zuko reached into his pocket and fished out the friendship bracelet he made with Kiyi. It was a pathetic little thing really, the pattern was inconsistent and the knots at the end were way too big, but he made it for her because he loved her. 

“You came all this way... to give me a bracelet?” Y/N asked, her head tilted to the side in confusion. Zuko wanted to smack himself, he barely even started and was already failing miserably.

“Um no that’s ugh, not the only reason” Y/N was looking at him waiting for him to continue. Zuko could feel himself drowning. “Why is this so hard? It’s simple. Three words. I. Love. You. Wait should I say I’m in love with you instead? Y/N says I love you to her friends all the time. What if she says I love you back but she means it in a friend way? I don’t mean it in a friend way. Shit I’ve been quiet too long. Say something you fucking idiot!!”  

“Zuko are you alright? Are you coming down with something you’re really red” Y/N raised her hand to feel his forehead but Zuko caught it. She furrowed her brows together, her eyes piercing right through him as he stood their awkwardly holding her wrist. The sky was turning dark, the only source of light was the moon that rose above them. It was late and he was wasting precious time. 

“Fuck it” Zuko said as he dropped her arm taking a step towards her, closing the insufferable distance between them. 

“What are you talking abou-” Y/N was interrupted with the feeling of Zuko’s lips on hers. It was chaste, but not without feeling. Instantly Zuko melted into it, her lips were as soft as he imagined so many times before. The skin on her cheeks felt warm under his hands where he gently held them, but before Y/N could even register what was happening Zuko pulled himself away, gracefully resting his forehead on hers. Zuko opened his eyes to see Y/N’s eyes blown wide in surprise,

“I’m in love with you. Spirits, I’m so in love with you Y/N” Zuko wished he had a camera then, because the look on Y/N’s face he wished he couple capture forever. He tried to memorize the details of her face, the way her eyes sparkled in the star light, the little gasp she let out that he could taste on his tongue, but most of all he wishes he could capture the smile she gave him. It fit her so beautifully in a way that only she could. She let out a little laugh, the one that made her nose scrunch up in the way he adored. 

“What took you so long?”  Y/N wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed all over his face, every inch she could. She kissed his lips, his cheeks, his nose, his eyes, his scar, his lips, his lips, his lips, over and over again until they were both gasping for air. Y/N’s heart was so full she felt as if it would burst at any moment. 

“In case you couldn’t tell, I love you too Zuko” Y/N giggled in between kisses. Zuko wrapped her arms around her waist pulling her closer to him. Even then he felt it wasn’t close enough. Zuko slowly felt his way up her back, trailing his fingers up her spine, touching her in the way he always wanted to. One arm remained tightly wound across her waist, while the other caressed the base of her head. Y/N gently moaned at the feeling and Zuko swallowed it. He wanted to take everything she was willing to give, nothing more and nothing less. Zuko wondered if she could feel his heart pounding in his chest, as Y/N wondered the same. 

They were in their own little world, completely oblivious to everything around them. Zuko and Y/N weren’t paying attention to the fact that they weren’t alone anymore. Neither of them heard the splash towards the other end of the dock, or cared to notice Sokka flailing in the water with Katara standing above him looking very pleased with herself.   

________________________________________________________________

A/N: FIFTY CHAPTERS AND THEY FINALLY KISS!!!!! CAN I GET A HELL YEA!!!!! This series is my baby and I'm so beyond thrilled that we made it!! I really hope you guys enjoy this chapter 💕

Tag list:

@firelordtea​ @silverreading​ @inyourdreamshannahk​ @onesmokinbabe​ @cece-lives-here​ @coldlilheart​ @leel-lol​ @coconutsaiyan​ @justahockeylover​ @riespage​ @hariosborn​ @mochminnie​ @reallyimpossibleartisan​ @beifongsss​ @etoile-luna​ @iknowrocknroll567​ @akariblue​ @fandom-phaser​ @loganrwebb​ @gaysludge​ @royahllty​ @theblueslytherin​ @nerdynstoned​ @beautifulfound​ @astralsaf​ @titaniafire​ @thewintersoldierswaifu​ @baekstans​ @duh-dobrik​ @svveet-peas​ @obi-one-kbone-me​ @lucyrocks86​ @trashmouth-toziers-world​ @joy4joji​ @bands-r-my-heros​ @gothjuulpod​ @darkskin-buttercup​ @maybe-a-fangurl​ @394pitterpatterpotter394​ @rainbowombat​ @spookities @sara5208​ @savy-girl​ @welovediaaxx​ @roseart-crayons​ @theonlyprincessoftheworld​ @justaboringoldcannibal​ @yikesfandomtrash​ @extra-suga​ @fangeekkk​

#atla #avatar the last airbender #zuko x reader #atla fanfic #atla fanfiction #atla fandom #atla social media au #atla smau #avatar fanfic #avatar fanfiction #avatar fandom #avatar smau #avatar social media au #zuko fanfic #zuko fanfiction #zuko social media au #zuko smau #zuko x fem!reader #zuko x y/n #zuko x you #social media au #smau #zuko #aang #sokka #suki #katara #toph #jet #atla and they were roomates

[tinytourist]

Rotorua Rafting Roadie

To celebrate Greg and Kieran’s 24th birthdays the crew got together for another roadie (road trip). This time, our destination was Rotorua. On Friday, we attempted to leave work early to beat traffic. We met up in Rotorua for dinner and most of the group settled for Mexican food while Aidan and I chose to get some top notch curries at Royal Indian Tandoori.

After the standard grocery trip, we made it to our beautiful Airbnb in Lake Tarawera complete with a sauna, spa (hot tub), and picturesque lake view. We were eager to take advantage of the amenities so we hopped in the spa and gazed at the stars. The moon lit up the lake and the Milky Way was visible thanks to the minimal level of light pollution in NZ.

We dried off in the sauna and hopped upstairs for some crumpets and Marmite. So Kiwi! Kieran ended up pelting the crumpets at a wall of glass and broke a few of the fancy glasses in an attempt to toss them to Theo. Luckily we haven’t been charged for them yet!

Naturally, the next activity of the night was beer pong. At one point Jeff threw a ball several meters away from the table into my shoe and convinced me to do a shoey. Theo joined in so I wasn’t alone. It was a cultural experience.

The next morning we woke up to a beautiful view from our porch, made a big brekkie, and got ready to go mountain biking in the Whakarewarewa Redwood Forest. It probably wasn’t the best idea for me to go as I can barely ride a regular bike, but it didn’t occur to me to say no.

Aidan was being a real mate and stayed back to look after me as I continuously ditched my bike around tight turns and practiced mounting it. After walking my bike back to the shop, we met up with the whole crew for some snacks and a toasty foot soak.

Back at the house Greg started prepping a nice BBQ dinner while the rest of us relaxed. After dinner, Taylar brought out a homemade chocolate cake for the birthday bois.

Aidan’s hair had been growing out since before lockdown so Jeff brought his clippers to give him a fresh cut as we all watched intently. Somehow we convinced him to get a mullet and it didn’t even look that bad. Aidan is the only person I know who could actually pull that cut off. We finished the night with a round of American vs. Kiwi beer pong and Jeff refusing to do a shoey.

On Sunday morning the time had finally come for us to go rafting down the world’s tallest commercially rafted waterfall on the Kaituna River.

Greg made me sit in the front of the raft with him. During the first two falls I inhaled a ton of freezing water which felt like it went straight to my brain. Greg even has a video of me saying “I’m not about this” before we began our descent and “This is not good times” when we landed.

I was able to switch to the back of the raft before we hit the 7 meter (23 ft) high waterfall which made it so much more enjoyable. I almost fell out at the bottom of the falls but managed to pull myself back in the boat in time. The photographer captured that exact moment - see the back right side of the raft.

No roadie would be complete without a little frisbee and footie, so post-rafting we popped into Theo’s Dad’s beachfront house for some tea and a hello before hitting the beach. Aidan’s mullet & mo enjoyed being unleashed into the beach breeze and sunshine before being stuffed back into the car for the long ride home.

#new zealand #white water rafting #kaituna river #rotorua

[iamonlyhereforthefreefood]

I’m kinda at a point in life where I’ve saved up so much money that I could take like 4 trips in the next year without going broke. And that’s what I want to do, I missed out on the last year and I want to make up for lost time.

#ok to be fair i did go on vacation last year #i went on a road trip with my dad and we went to the redwoods #but still most of the year was incredibly boring... i want to travel! #i'm vaccinated and ready to start living my best life again

[omnigawker]

Short Story: Camping in Oddwood

Here’s a story I wrote some time ago, would like to hear what ya’ll think.

In any case, here we go:

In the middle of a forest of tall redwoods lies an open red truck next to a make shift campground in the making there was a group of four.

There were two girls, one blonde and the other scarlet, who were busy carrying sleeping bags and cooking materials from the truck. Near the front of the truck, there was a man who looked and checked every fine part of the hunting rifle before him before he loaded it with its rounds and walked off into the forest. Finally there was a boy who couldn't help but eye the gun loading man nervously as he carried the frame parts for the tent.

The boy, named Janus, still couldn't get over the fact that he said yes to Rosie's invitation to the Durand family camping trip for the weekend and more so over the fact that his foster mother had let him go along. He simply wanted to spend the weekend with his comics but he might as well roll along with his decision. His half-thought out, impulsively made decision.

Well, at least he gets to hang out the girls, Rosie and Lilli, some more. They made for good company even if they had their scary dad hovering nearby. He could never forget the stare down that man gave him when he first came over to their home to say hi.

So, silver linings. At least the man left as soon as he loaded his gun.

"Hey Janny," Janus gave out a huh before a green fedora made for the outdoors, complete with a cape at the back, struck Janus' head with soft puft, "Do you mind bringing my dad his hat?"

Janus looked over the hat with a raised eyebrow before he looked at Lilli the blonde, "Why me?"

"Because I'm going to be busy sparking the wood and I gotta make sure Rosie doesn't try to bring a bear cub to the camp again."

"Ha-hang on, again?"

Lilli simply rolled her eyes and gave him a soft punch to the shoulder, "Just go Janny." and with that Lilli went back into the campground, calling out to her sister.

Janus could sigh in exasperation and walked into the forest only to stumble a bit with a choked whine when he heard Lilli call out to him.

"Oh and try not to get shot!" there was laughter followed by a smack, "Ow!" "Be nice!" "Jeez, I was just joking."

Janus glared back at the camp before he moved along into the forest, nervousness in his veins once more.

Fortunately it didn't take long for Janus to find the Durand patriarch due to his bright orange jacket but the boy stood back from the man as there seemed to be something off about him.

The man was standing there, his rifle slung over his right shoulder, talking to the empty air as he rubbed the sides of his head, "Da, cred cava fisic erit en paulo naside quin potius prefer sa-mi tin distanta shonen tano kyorio tamochimasu Mlock," he tensed, his hand reaching for the rifle, "Pendeat, cineva aliquis?"

Janus wasn't sure what to make of the words that came out of the man's mouth but decided to speak up then and there, "Um Mr. Durand I got your ha-"

Durand turned on a dime, leveled his rifle and took aim at Janus, his finger nearly squeezed the trigger.

Janus trembled with his hands up under the piercing copper eyed glare that drilled into him and the pointed rifle barrel aimed at between his eyes. He could see the bullet down the barrel.

There was a brief moment of silence before Durand sighed and lowered his rifle, "Damn it kid, I thought I told you to stay at the camp," he made to berate the boy some but paused when he saw what the boy was holding and nodded, "Is that my hat?"

Janus shakily held out Durand's hat as he stuttered, "Y-y-y-you forgot this at the camp."

Durand held the bridge of his nose before he took the hat from the boy's hand, "Thank you and I uh…apologize for the aim," Durand slowly patted the boy's shoulder, "An old habit that won't be leaving anytime soon. Again, sorry about that."

Janus fidgeted with the towering man's hand on his shoulder before looking up to him.

Perhaps having sensed the boy's discomfort, Durand simply stated, "Alright, I'll take you back to the camp," he gave the boy another pat on the back, "And I expect you to stay out of trouble with them for the rest of the trip okay?"

Timidly, Janus nodded in agreement and said nothing on the short walk back.

After Mr. Durand left Janus with the girls yet again, the boy was busy setting up the tent. At least the instruction manual for that was easy to follow.

But then Rosie called him over while waving an odd looking fruit in her hand, "Hey Janny look what I got here," she pressed it into Janus' slack hand, rather oblivious to his small wince, "I always forget the name of these but they're sooo good."

Janus gave the hairless and prickly fruit that was shaped familiarly before turning to Rosie with a raised brow"…Is this a kiwi without the fuzz," he looked at the fruit again, "and more spikes?"

Rosie opened her mouth to answer but then Lilli chimed in, "Those? Yeah but those are the best," the blonde then puckered her lips and made pop with them at the mere thought of the kiwi's taste, "go ahead, just bite into it."

"Just like that?"

"Yep, spikes and all Janny, now sink your teeth in it."

"…Really?"

The girls only nodded in kind although Rosie was rather enthusiastic about it.

Quite frankly, Janus was not convinced but not wanting to hear some more teasing from Lilli he hesitantly sank his teeth into the fruit, mindful to not let the spikes get in between his teeth. That would be rather uncomfortable.

The fruit's meat was soft and chewy compared to the rather tough, bumpy, and somewhat prickly skin but the juice of the fruit was what really struck Janus. Quite literally as the boy flinched from the flavor's punch its citrusy sweetness was tinged with a slight bitterness that caused the back of his throat and the whole of his tongue to dance to its tunes.

"Holy smokes," was all Janus could say albeit rather drowsily.

"Oh just wait until you try some raspberries that are actually blue," Rosie sucked in the air in satisfaction, "Nothing like that lie they sell on the candies."

Janus smiled at the thought of that, even if everything was beginning to warp and distort like a funhouse mirror reflection.

Then he blacked out and fell backwards onto the dirt.

A splitting headache was the first thing that Janus felt when he came to. Well, that and his tongue was itching for some more of those hairless spiky kiwis.

"Huh, I think I should get some more blue raspberries," Rosie's voice was heard though it sounded more warped and distorted, "You know, to even out the taste?"

A teasing giggle was heard, "Man, you must be such a light weight with a little fruit huh Janny?" Lilli laughed a lot more at that.

Janus' retort died within his mouth and replaced with a stuttering gasp when he looked up drowsily and saw that the girls had coppery fly eyes and their mouths were replaced by the dripping mandibles of spiders.

So Janus did what any sane person would do when surrounded by bug people that are very likely looking at him as something to eat; scream like a bat out of hell.

But the reality of the situation was that Janus was just seeing things, probably because of that kiwi. Shame he doesn't know that.

"Oh shoot!" Rosie dropped the basket of berries before she ran into the truck for supplies, "Time for that special jelly daddy taught us to make!"

"Yeah no kidding," Lilli was barely able to hold down the thrashing boy by his arms, "Now will you hurry up!" She received a black eye from one of his flailing arms for her momentary distraction, "He hits pretty hard!"

Rosie immediately made it back with a small pot, a bottle of water, a wooden masher, and a small bag of purple herbs, she went to work with the berries and "I am sosososososososososososo sorry about this Janny!" Rosie cried out as she mashed together the actual blue raspberries, herbs and water into a drinkable jelly.

"What are you three doing right now?"

The kids froze at the sound of his voice, even the tripping out Janus.

"He-hey daddy," Rosie giggled nervously as she hid the cup of medicine behind her back, "We were just playing."

"Ye-yeah we're just messing around," Lilli hugged Janus' head with a sheepish grin, "Ain't that right Janny?"

Janus screamed again in response.

The only thing that Mr. Durand did was to slowly face palm himself, "Damnit kids..." he sighed before he saw the tools in Rosie's hand, "Give me the pot, you're doing it wrong."

Then he fixed everything up and they all agreed to never speak of it again.

The rest of the weekend passed by and it became time to head on home.

"Are you sure your dad's going to be okay with uh that?"

Rosie nodded enthusiastically as she protectively held the caged viper to her chest, "Daddy always says that as long as I can take care of it, I can keep it." the viper was all coiled up and its head hidden beneath it.

Janus could only nod dumbly at that train of logic although he could've sworn that the viper gave him a smug smirk from underneath its coiled form.

"For about a few weeks before dad calls animal control," Lilli drawled out as she tapped away on her tablet, "You have no idea how many 'pets' she's had." she chuckled to herself as if she heard a joke.

Janus was about to inquire as to what she meant by that until Durand called out to them, "Alright kids, let's get going!"

So there they were, Janus at the back looking out the window a seat away from Rosie cooing over her new pet viper while it coiled itself in its cage. Lilli sat up front in the passenger seat pouring all of her attention into her tablet, no doubt looking up a web article that had nothing to do with the outdoors. Then there was Mr. Durand behind the wheel, his coppery gaze focused solely on the road ahead.

All the while, the truck gently rocked with every minor bump on the road as the trees zoomed past the window.

The boy wasn't sure where things between him and the Durands were going to go but he knew this for certain; he's never camping with this family again. Even if he was offered a steaming pie of those hairless kiwis, prickly trip outs included

#short story #outdoors #kids #odd #friends

[mystic-scripture]

New Fic: Rough Riding (Sons of Anarchy)

Chapter 1

Wattpad | FF.net

Chapter 1: Welcome to Charming

California highways were always the best for long drives, especially to motorcyclists. The long stretch of road seemed endless, the wind playing across the rider’s face and tangling poorly prepared hair. The power of the bike vibrating through the very fiber of their being, there is no losing the sense of danger that teases at them flirtatiously as they ride faster, harder, and on more twists and turns than they ever dared before. Unless it was a drive to clear one’s mind, you’ll find a smile hidden behind the eyes of any rider, unless they have shades on to hide their joy from you. Hidden behind the badass biker scowl there is always a joy for the ride.

At least that was the feeling for the woman, her brother and her friend. Two of whom were  trapped in a van that held their bikes along with supplies belonging to the third boldly speeding ahead of them on his own Dyna. Both girls glared at him, wanting to have the cool night air skim across their skin and not deal with the stuffy rental that smelled of gas station sushi and the aftermath of such bad decisions. They had been in the car for so long that they’d gotten used to it, but every pit stop they were slapped with the putrid odor while Tank rode freely, his wavy, shoulder length hair billowing behind them as he stupidly rode sans a helmet. A further insult to the girls and how they were trapped.

“We better get there soon.” The passenger grumbled, her youthful, pixie-like face hardening with her frown and her pool water blue eyes hardening at the tanned figure in front of them. “Or I’m stealing his Dyna at the next stop.”

A brief and rough snort escaped the driver’s throat as she tried to imagine it. “I’d pay money to see that, not gonna lie. You know Tank won’t go easy on you because you’re a girl.”

“I can take him.” Came the defense with a seemingly indifferent bob of the shoulders.

“Ren, he’s got a foot and I’m pretty sure a little more than a hundred-fifty pounds on you.” A fuller bottom lip pushed past it’s top lip in a concern pout. “He also has, ya know… a rep when it comes to fist fights.”

“You say that like we don’t either.” Thin lips pulled upwards mischievously, Siren’s voice still unaffected. “Besides, I was our Sergeant at Arms, wasn’t I? Thanks for The lack of faith, Vix.”

Vixen Tirado let out a tired sigh, running her hand through a mess of chestnut brown hair. She new perfectly well how capable the raven haired girl was. Her rail-rod thin frame mixed with her youthful face and short stature made it easy for people to underestimate her. No, Vix knew better, but she also knew her brother; he wasn’t named ‘Tank’ for no reason. After a moment of careful thought, not wanting to insult the only female she’d opened up to, she let out a small sigh with an airier laugh this time.

“I mean he does lack the agility and reflexes that you do.” She offered a sidelong glance at the girl smirking next to her. “But if anybody is gonna knock my bro on his ass, it’s gonna be me.”

Both women laughed at that, Siren fully aware of the sibling rivalry that was known to get physical. Vix was never a tomboy,  nor was she a girly girl, but she refused to live up to the Old Lady Example of her mother or any of the sweetbutts that she was subsequently raised by. No, she was going to ride on her own, and made sure she found women that felt the same way. Her brother, though sometimes concerned about what other men would say, always supported her in this, and taught her everything their dad taught him. Thus begat the never ending competition.

“Okay, that’s fair.” Siren nodded, turning to look out at the span of desert around them. “When he invited us to join him on his run Charming I thought I was gonna get a decent ride in. Not this delivery bullshit.”

“Yeah, or that he’d have a brother or two,” Vix grumbled, amber eyes checking her mirrors for what felt like the millionth time this trip. “But no, he tricked us into this fuckery. They must be using up all the prospects for something else.”

“And here I thought it was that SAMRO finally decided to go Co-ed. Or that a certain Tacoma resident was missing you.” A pale hand went to cover a doll-like face that held no real innocence in the mock expression. “Oh shit, did I say both of those out loud?”

Vix let out a snort, shaking her head at her friend’s eccentric ways, doing her best to. “You know you did, ‘mana.”

“Oh, I must have struck a nerve! The spanglish begins.” Though Siren new that her friend was simply calling her a sister, she needed to live up to the name. “I mean, it’s great that you are bilingual, it helps me to understand your tolerance level.”

Her response was a nod coupled with a small hum of affirmation, leaving the other girl to turn on the radio and sing along with the music. Siren was known to babble at times, leaving Vixen to quietly listen and add to the conversations as she saw fit. She knew that her friend didn’t have a lot of people to talk to, and though Vix didn’t say much, what she did have to say usually helped to sort all the noise in Siren’s head.

About eight songs later, they both straightened up at the redwood sign coming up to the right of Tank. They both turned to each other with smiles on their faces in spite of their previous complaints. The small town of Charming opened up to them, small shops lining the streets, and giving way to houses and more business related real estate. Free of commercial real estate, the whole town was full of small businesses and family stores that have been around forever. Their town slogan wasn’t wrong, the name did adequately say it all. Vix was sure there was more to the town that met the eye, based on her business here, but the look of the town was quaint and homey. Siren seemed more than a little excited about it while Vix prefered being back in Tacoma with the long runs to go shopping and the open air around everything.

They soon pulled up to Teller-Morrow Automotive Repair, turning into the open gate with ease. Vix jumped out of the cab as soon as she took the keys out the ignition, stalking her way over to Tank so quickly, her hair came up in down in a ripple of waves around her shoulders. She waited for him to back his bike into the line of other bikes, with her hand held out expectantly.

“Have a nice drive?” He smirked, his hardened face opening up with the expression.

“I had a drive.” She responded, looking pointedly at her empty palm. “I’ll have a better one when my Harley is free from being stuck with whatever we brought here.”

Tank gave out a deep, but jovial laugh, keeping the keys she was looking for tucked away in his kutte. When she ground her teeth at him in annoyance, otherwise not moving, he let out a sigh, a tired hand running through wind-tangled strands. Stepping around the bike, he wrapped a burly arm around her lean frame, squeezing her close for a second before releasing her.

“Gotta talk to the Prez and the SAMTAC contact first, Cyn.” The timbre of his voice meant to be more calming than his normal gruff tone, but it set her on edge even more. “Can’t have you two opening the truck without them. Already took a chance bringing you here.”

“Right, and I’m sure it had nothing to do with the fact that Koz was away and you had no one to babysit us.” Vix punched him in the shoulder. “ Which is really not needed given that we are only a couple years younger. Also, cut it out with the real name shit, I have an alias for a reason.”

“You and I both know that Melly would have ended up needing you to bail her out, or you’d get into a fight after drinking too much, and without any Sons to have your back…” He sighed. “Look, I get that you miss your charter, I do, but they’ve been patched over by a group you didn’t like, so you left. You need to start following our rules again.”

“I didn’t even get to wear the full rocker, Tank.” She crossed her arms, not liking to be reminded of that. “Stupid Steel Sirens stole away my chance.”

“They also would have taken Melly’s name away from her if she stayed, so don’t act like you’re the only one who gets to be angry.” A large hand gripped her shoulder briefly. “But come on, she’s staying by the truck, talking to their prospect it looks like, let’s get this done and we can figure out accommodations.”

“Great, another thing I could have done had I gotten a chance to ride.”

The woman’s grumbling was akin to a teenager, not someone twice as old, but Tank took it in stride, letting out another chuckle as he lead his sister toward the clubhouse. The lounge opened up to a gameroom with a bar to the side, and a set of large double doors closing anyone who didn’t belong to the club out of church. In it sat the redwood table that the Sons of this charter sat at for votes and important meetings. His sister would never see the inside of that room, no matter how much she wished she could. It was a big part of their old man’s life, having been one of the first Nine before moving to Tacoma to start off the Washington charter.

He felt his sister stop next to him, her body rigid and full of tension. He held back the need to hold her, knowing that it would only make things worse. They haven’t been to Charming before, or if they have, they were too young for her to remember anybody, so it confused Tank as he watched her reaction. When he followed her gaze he instantly new why, and cursed himself for not asking who it was.

Standing at the bar, a shot in his hand, stood his brother in club as well as charter. Baggy jeans rested on his hips, his knife holstered where it should be, and a gun on the other side. He wore a grey reaper crew t-shirt under his kutte, with his patches sewn in place with care in spite of their dirty state. Around his bald head coiled an inked Snake, one that she’d done herself, giving him two pairs of dark eyes to look at her.

They both stood unmoving, the mostly empty room becoming tense. To anyone observing they looked relaxed enough, but Tank knew them both far too well to let it stay how it stood. Moving his hand to clear his throat, he was saved by Siren bursting through the door with Clay in tow. How the small girl knew who to find, he’d never know, though his guess was that she fluttered her eyelashes at the prospect who was close behind them. Pointing to Tank, she smiled and whispered something to Clay before breaking into a skip and stealing the SAMTAC member’s shot.

“Heya TK,” She greeted, downing the shot with a grin. “How’s Cali treatin’ ya?”

And just like that, whatever hold they had on each other broke. Vixen’s body relaxed a fraction of an inch, and moved to introduce herself to the Prospect (Half-Sack he heard him introduce himself as) and Clay. Tank let out a sigh, moving to his brother, and wrapping an arm around his surrogate sister thankfully. As he reached them, they were in relaxed conversation.

“That was the last of the good stuff, Kid.” There was a frown stretched across his features before he turned to Tank. “‘Sup Killa?”

Tank clasped arms with Happy Lowman, giving his brother a friendly pat against the back. “Wishin’ I’d asked Koz who they sent down here before agreeing to this. Would have brought different company.” It wasn’t quite an apology, he didn’t need to give one, but he hated to see his two families collide like this. “Or given out proper warnings.”

“Can’t avoid each other forever.” Hap shrugged. “Haven’t really talked since the patch over.”

“That’s because you’ve been more Nomad than SAMTAC.” Siren said. A fresh bottle of tequila in her hand. “Found more of what you call the good stuff for ya, Hap.”

“Whose side you on, Reddy? Cuz honestly I just got mixed signals.” Tank joked, accepting a shot glass from the petite woman.

“She’s on the side of whoever helps her at the time.” Hap smirked, taking the bottle from her and pouring drinks. “Or she’s jus’ good at the whole neutral thing.”

“To quote something Vix taught me…” the girl said, looking to her friend for a second her eyes the only indicator of her worry. “¿Porque no los dos?” (Why not Both?)

“Yeah, yeah” The boys laughed her smug comment away, before Hap ruffled her hair and they followed Clay into Chapel. The doors closed behind them, and Siren moved towards her friend.

“You good? I know I made a joke about it, but I honestly didn’t know he was here.” She bit her lip, and looked into the amber and olive tones that swirled dangerously in Vix’s eyes. “Judging by the conversation I just heard, I know that Tank wasn’t trying to pull one over on you either.”

Vix nodded slowly, blinking as she turned away from the closed doors and started to move outside. “Well, it’s like you both said, He’s been more nomad than anything, but we can’t avoid each other forever, can we?”

Siren paused for a second, simultaneously shocked and guilty that she had heard it. After recovering, she trotted after her, wishing that just this once her friend would open up and talk to her. “It doesn’t mean you have to be okay with it, or that this Club business has to force you into it.”

Vix laughed at that, opening the truck door and pulling her old kutte around her shoulders. She always took pride in the life, and dressed the part, something that earned her respect among the boys, and jealousy from all the sweetbutts. She’d pulled most of the club official things from it, the Daring Divas of Tacoma- hell as far as they knew even the Daughters of Chaos- no longer existing. She kept her charter patch on though, as well as her Daughters of Discord one that proudly marked her as a woman who’s killed for her club before. The back no longer bore the rockers, but instead was a collage of biking and other patches, the two on her left breast the only thing that showed her old loyalties. One the right there was an embroidered fox that’s tale wound around her biking name.

All the other girls would see it as her asserting dominance, or pretending to be someone who was more than just a hang around, but Siren new better; This was Cynthia Tirado’s armor just as much as it was a second skin. The other girl pulled her hair out from under the collar and walked up to her friend, pulling a pack of smokes out and a lighter.

“Care for a Cig?” She offered, nodding her head towards the picnic table that sat outside the clubhouse doors. “I know I could use one after that drive.”

“Somehow, I doubt your sudden craving of the Nicc is just from that ride.” The paler girl mused, following in her footsteps anyway.”

“It would just be the ride if you and Tank would stop poking the bear.”

Vixen spoke plainly, wrapping her lips around her cigarette, taking a long and heavy drag from it the second it was lit. She sighed out the smoke, stepping onto the bench and sitting at the table. She offered Siren the box and lighter, knowing that she’d take one. The brunette wasn’t much of a tobacco smoker, but she always kept a box around for social situations or ones like this where she didn’t have a joint on her. The two sat in silence, Siren clearly wanting an elaboration on the comment, and Vix tried to figure out what that was. Relying on the calming qualities of the cancerous stick, she blew the most recent drag’s smoke to the side, turning to face her friend.

“Hap and I are fine; have been for years now.”

“Oh, yeah.” Ren droned, puffing out a smoke with a look stating she didn’t believe her. “Sure is easy to say that when you’ve both spend the past five years apart. Him going Nomad right after it all and you throwing yourselves into prospecting into the daughters. And the two of you doing your tattooing shit, and random hookups with people you both pretend are the other.”

The final thing was said with a knowing smirk, making Vixen groan out. She wasn’t one to openly talk about things, let alone her complicated past with the Tacoma Killer, but Siren was too goddamn observant for her own good. She took a few puffs before stamping out the quickly killed cigarette in the ashtray next to her hip. Vix talked about very few things, but the Happy case was a thick file tucked in a small cabinet along with her daddy issues and emotional detachment. They were red tapped as confidential until a yet to be determined date.

“We all have have our coping methods.” She said, feeling her skin prickle around her shoulders uncomfortably.

“Doesn’t always make them good or effective.” Siren stamped her own cig out, a small frown pulling at her delicate features. “Listen, Cyn all joking and banter aside you know you can always-”

“Talk to you about my deep seeded issues and relationship related trauma,” Vix finished for her, having heard the speech too many times. “I know, Ren. I just can’t.”

“You say that, do you really-”

“Enough Ren.”

This time the comment was snapped, ending the train of conversation. She ficked her lighter on, dancing her fingers back and forth across the flame. She waited out the various faces her friend made, and the stammered attempts to restart the conversation, her face devoid of motion as she took in her surroundings. The lot at this point was mostly empty; two or three non club bikers and the prospect working in the garage and more than the people they’d seen worth of bikes lined up in a row. Vix wanted hers out of the back of the truck along with whatever the hell her brother was delivering to the mother charter.

Her eyebrows perked up as a Caddy rolled in and an older looking woman jump out before the vehicle had fully stopped. The men came out, including the owners of the rest of the bikes, meeting her halfway. The conversation was hushed and quick, but there was an urgency in all of their forms. Tank turned to the girls at the table, muttering something to a blonde with a clasp of the shoulder. As the group disbanded, the older Tirado made his way toward them, his face taking on the more dangerous look of something serious happening around him. Vix stood up to meet him halfway, tucking her things into her kutte and her hands into her back pocket.

“That looked more important than an emergency car repair.” She stated watching the woman and the blonde take off. “Those the rest of Morrow’s family?”

“Jax never took Clay’s name, and Gemma tacked it on to the Teller, but yes on both accounts.” He jerked his thumb to the warehouse. “You and Melly hang out here for a bit. I gotta take the cargo straight to the customers, and then meet up with Jax at St. Thomas if he needs anything. Gonna be a longer stay than I thought.”

“Oh good thing I packed my saddle bags then.” She nodded. “You better take care of my goddamn bike. I’ll behave up here as that mandate is followed.”

“Wouldn’t have it any other way, Sis.” He smirked, dropping a kiss to her temple before hugging Siren. He muttered the next into her hair, but Vix still heard it. “Make sure she doesn’t cause trouble, yeah? Fuckin’ trip is gonna be long enough without her making things worse.”

“Course.” She chirped, earning a glare from the other woman. “I’ll even make sure she doesn’t hussle the people here too hard.”

“Great, first I’m places under club arrest by my brother, and now getting all possible fun ripped away by my sister.” She spun on her heel with a frown, marching off towards the club house door. “Guess I’ll just drink myself into a coma or something equally as boring.”

“Love you Vix!” Tank called out, laughter clearly in his voice.

“Fuck you too, Tank.”

#fic: rough riding #juice ortiz imagine #juice ortiz x oc #juice x oc #Vixen Tirado #siren reddy #tank tirado #fd: sons of Anarchy #fd: soa #ocapp #oc appreciation #ocappreciation #oc app

[gralli-journey]

New Zealand to South America!

We are so sorry it has been over 4 months since our last update! Here is a video we made of our whole 5 months in New Zealand: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x94vegd5jFQ&feature=youtu.be

Our final 6 weeks in New Zealand were wonderful. We continued exploring the North Island and got to spend 3 weeks volunteering with 2 different families. 

In exchange for 2 hours a day of manual labor (landscaping, construction, gardening exct) we got to stay in one family’s cottage overlooking the Tasman Sea.

The family ran a surf school and blow-carting business so near the end of our time when the weather let up we were able to surf and cart a bit!

From there we spent a week with the kindest family that operate a kayaking business on the coast. We shared all of our meals with them, often sitting around the dinner table for hours sharing meaningful discussion. The morning would always start by moving the cows around and shoveling their poop, then usually some painting and other maintenance around the house. In addition to sharing meals with us, they shared their bikes, kayaks, paddleboards and their social lives. We played soccer with their league, joined them at the pub, went to dinner with their friends and even attended a bridge card game lesson!

After that week of rest and beautiful cultural emersion, we met my sister Victoria and her friend Holly in Auckland and handed off our van Nelly off to them! It was sad to say bye to Nelly, but so good to see Victoria and Holly take her. The next day Alli’s mom and dad (Roger and Karen) and youngest brother (CJ) flew in and rented out a mansion on wheels, which we affectionately named Taj as in Taj Mahal. We moved out of Nelly and into Taj and then all of us including Victoria and Holly road tripped around.

We all headed up north to the tropical part of New Zealand where we were blessed with wonderful weather. We scored amazing free camping in our Nelly and the Taj right on the beach where we kayaked and played in the waves and then the next night headed to a hut that we had all to our selves!

After a few days we parted ways with Victoria and Holly to meet back up with them later, that way we got alone time with both our families. With the Gilberts we continued on in Taj hitting the natural glow worm caves, and hot water beach, both of which were incredible. Hot water beach was especially magical, we arrived for sunset at low tied and began digging a big hole in the sand. Before long we had a deep pool that was filled by a thermal spring flowing under the sand! CJ and I figured out a rhythm of playing in the ocean waves for a few minutes, getting cold and then warming back up in the hot pool and repeating on and on. What an evening.

We stayed with the Gilberts for 10 nights, 8 in the Taj and 2 in huts. We shared the essence of our New Zealand travels with them and had an wonderful and bonding experience.

We got to spend our last 6 days in New Zealand with Victoria and Holly. We rented a small campervan and toured around with them exploring wine country, more hot springs, and one final New Zealand Hut. We also went ahead and sold Nelly so that Victoria and Holly wouldn’t have to deal with that, they then rented a small campervan for the last 3 weeks of their travels and it all worked out fine. We lost about $1000 on Nelly but she was a good van, a great home and a true companion for our 5 months of travel.

At the end of our time in New Zealand we spent an average of just $65/day, a bit over our target of $50/day but still under $10k for the both of us for 5 months. Not bad considering that factors in health insurance, losses on the car, phone bills and so on. We are so happy with the experiences and memories we have. If you ever want to hear about how to travel cheaply and simply, we would love to share out travel philosophies and experiences with you. 

We left New Zealand on June 30th. Honestly, in the last 3 and a half months we have been many different places. The focus for us after New Zealand, was to connect with friends and family around the US and Canada. To commemorate our 5 months of living in a van, we did spend two weeks in Bali snorkeling, scuba diving, eating out and exploring the tropical island on a scooter.

Our transition back into the US started very slowly, as we spent two weeks in Hawaii with the Garvins for family vacation! We spent a lot of time snorkeling, swimming, relaxing and talking with one another. It was beautiful to spend quality time with family we hadn’t seen since Christmas. 

After Hawaii we started a month long road trip up the west coast. We got to see and connect with many of Alli’s college friends in Oregon, on the way to Vancouver for Alli’s cousin Nehamiah’s wedding! Connecting with people who know us deeply was something we longed for after our solo time in New Zealand. After the family focused wedding, we traveled with two of Alli’s brothers, Josh and Bryan, over to Calgary Alberta for a camping trip with the Gilbert’s high school friends.

Once we reconnected with everyone in Canada, we made a trip to Seattle to see Victoria. It was lovely to spend quality time with Victoria in her world, as well as connect with other friends in the area. Once we were in Seattle, we wanted to look around the west coast for potential places to settle once the year of traveling is over. We visited places like Spokane, Boise, Eugene, and Bend, looking for a smaller city to grow roots. We didn’t find a place that drew us in at this time, so we decided to spend the month of September in Redwood City California with my parents. Basing ourselves in Redwood City was intentional, to connect more with the Garvins, as well as figure out if we wanted to keep traveling or settle down soon. After resting, spending time in Yosemite, San Louis Obpsio, and Smith Rock Oregon, we decided we had enough energy to travel to South America before the year is over!

On Oct 18th, we will be heading to La Paz, Bolivia to spend a month volunteering and  living with a host family. I will primarily volunteer with an organization that teaches locals how to farm on their property (urban farming). November is their spring so I’ll be planting and maintaining the community garden and hopefully helping with some irrigation and construction projects.

Alli will be focusing her time helping out at a day center for women in the sex industry, getting to know the women, and even leading workshops on woman’s health! I will also help out there but with more of a focus on building maintenance. Alli will help out with the urban farming a little bit, as there is a vibrant local and international staff that we are excited to meet.

After Bolivia, we will head down south, VERY south, to Chilean Patagonia where we will be for around 3 weeks. We plan on lots of backpacking and camping, including a 10 day trip in the Torres Del Paine national park. Patagonia is known for its stunning and untouched natural beauty, Alli and I have dreamed of visiting for years and we are quite excited to finally go.

When we return home in early December, we aren’t sure what’s next! There are amazing job opportunities for us in the Seattle and San Francisco area, but we are also looking at some smaller towns. We’ll keep you posted!

Love,

Gralli

[there-must-be-a-lock]

What abouttttt....Baby, Garth and Balthazar?

Baby/The Impala: Plan a road trip, where would you go?

Ooh I like this one. I have done several road trips around most of the US but there are a few places left on my bucket list. Right now the #1 thing I want to see is the Meow Wolf installation in Santa Fe called House of Eternal Return. Look it up, it’s incredible! Funded by all these sci-fi artists. I’d also do some light stalking of George R R Martin while I was in Santa Fe. Then I’d go to Havasupai Falls in Arizona. My dad has been EVERYWHERE and that was one of his favorite destinations. A few years ago I went from the southernmost point of California to see Salvation Mountain (this is totally where that scene in Long Way Home came from) and then drove all the way up California, up the 1 along Big Sur, up through San Francisco and the Redwoods all the way up to Oregon. That was an incredible trip I’d like to do again with more time to explore/more money cause we slept in a car the whole time. 

Garth: If you could settle down anywhere, where would it be?

I answered this one yesterday so I’m going to copy and paste! 

Exactly where I am :) I have traveled around the US and Europe a whole bunch, I grew up in New York and went to college in Boston, and I have never ever felt at home ANYWHERE except this tiny little town in Virginia. I visited once and unexpectedly fell in love and I moved here a couple months later. It’s been about four years now. No regrets.

Balthazar: What is your song of the week? Like one you have been listening too all the time or that fits your mood.

Tiger Teeth. Listened to it on repeat for a few days and woke up this morning with it STILL stuck in my head. I love Walk the Moon and their whole new album is wonderful. I’ve also been listening to the Spotify version of Wildflowers, by Miley Cyrus, and a lot of the Gaslight Anthem, especially American Slang. 

Supernatural Asks

[privateplates4u]

Celebrity Drive: Doobie Brothers Guitarist Patrick Simmons

Quick Stats: Patrick Simmons, guitarist/vocalist, Grammy-winning Doobie BrothersDaily Driver: Late model Toyota Tacoma (Pat’s rating: 10 on a scale of 1 to 10)Favorite road trip: highway 128 from Cloverdale to MendocinoCar he learned to drive in: 1953 ChevyFirst car bought: 1962 Ford Falcon Although Doobie Brothers’ cofounder and guitarist/vocalist Patrick Simmons collects his share of old motorcycles, there is one car that he bought years ago that’s still his beloved classic ride. “It’s a Cadillac, which are pretty cool cars,” he says about his 1949 Cadillac. “I saw a hot rod made from that car, and I fell in love with the lines of the hot rod. This is before the internet. I found it in Hemmings Motor News and made an appointment to go look at the car, and it was the car I was looking for, and I bought it. I’ve had it for over 30 years.” Although he considers Cadillacs to be pretty cool cars, Simmons also rates it a perfect 10. “Just a fun car, fun driver,” he says. “It’s probably a car I shouldn’t own still. When I moved to Hawaii, I took it with me because I was so in love with the car. and I had an Austin Healey 3000 that was my fun, sporty car—the last model of the Austin Healey.” He says the Austin Healey would’ve been a perfect car to have in Hawaii, but he sold it before he moved because he wasn’t going to have a garage and only wanted to have one car, so he shipped his Cadillac. “I’m glad I did because I love the old car,” he says. Even though the Doobie Brothers are on tour all the time, Simmons manages to maintain the Cadillac. “I start it every time I’m home,” he says. “I left it for years and didn’t drive it, and I regretted that because then it became undriveable. So for a couple years I worked on it and rebuilt a number of assemblies on the thing and now it’s running well. I’m still tweaking on it. I’m replacing the insulation on the doors. That kind of stuff I do because it’s easy, and it’s something to do.” Toyota Tacoma Rating: 10 Simmons rates his relatively new late model Toyota Tacoma a perfect 10 because these pickups have been so reliable for him. “I’ve been driving Toyotas for years,” he says. “I bought a brand-new Toyota in 1990, and I put a couple hundred thousand miles, and it performed well. I moved to Hawaii and through the years, it started getting body rot and still drove great. Finally I had a friend that needed a car, and I gave it to him. They’re still driving it. That’s good testimony to the drivability and longevity of the vehicles. I had a Previa. Same thing, drove that Previa till we drove the wheels off it.” Simmons says Toyotas handle well: “I’m a maintenance guy, so I maintain my cars and that probably adds to the longevity. There’s nothing I could tell you that’s been bad about the car. It’s been very reliable, fun car to drive, if you think driving’s fun. I do.” He lives out in the country and always had horses, so a pickup was a must. “The utility factor is huge for me—being able to haul stuff,” he says. “I put motorcycles in the back, too. I can put a Harley in the back and haul it wherever I need it to go. I’ve done that a lot. I live out in East Maui, as you go out to Hana. We’re out in the sticks. I grew up in Northern California and lived in Santa Cruz. I had a Toyota back then. too, back in the ’70s. Always been a country guy.” Car he learned to drive in Simmons grew up in San Jose, where he learned to drive his dad’s 1953 Chevy. “I got to drive it a lot, so that’s pretty cool,” he says. “It was a great car. My dad taught me, and you took Driver’s Ed in California. It was an easier way to get your license and lowered your insurance rates. I was happy to do that.” Back then learning to drive around town was easy because there was a lot of open countryside. “It was a whole different thing. A lot of orchards, mostly, and vineyards,” he says. There is one late memory driving through the streets of San Jose that’s indelible in Simmons’ mind. “I once drove that car in reverse from a place I worked all the way home because the transmission went out,” he says. “I had to drive it in reverse home about four miles. It was an early power glide transmission, and the band had loosened. The band—it’s a tightening mechanism that can affect the engagement of the automatic transmission.” Simmons had a job at a gas station. “My mother and father went away for the weekend, and they told me not to drive the car while they were gone, but I did anyway, and I ended up at where I was working,” he says. “I drove down there to hang with some friends, and the car wouldn’t go in drive. This was about midnight hanging out at the gas station, so I had to get the car home before my parents got home. So I drove the car in reverse all the way back home.” He was just 16, and Simmons says they were having more fun than usual, as teens can do hanging out late at night. “I couldn’t decide whether I should be driving with traffic in reverse or on the right side of the road that I should be driving on, in reverse though,” he says. Simmons ended up driving with traffic in reverse. “I figured it’d be better than having a head on with oncoming traffic,” he says. “I couldn’t believe I made it back in one piece. I was so lucky.” Simmons drove his dad’s Chevy all through high school, and when it came time to go to college, he needed his own car when he moved downtown to the campus at San Jose State. Photo: Andrew MacphersonFirst car bought Simmons bought a used four-door 1962 Ford Falcon, which was white with a red interior. “It was such a great car. These days it’s a classic. Those cars all of a sudden have value,” he says. “For years they were just an ordinary car. But like so many cars now, they’re collectible. I went and looked at cars. I just started driving cars, and that was one that caught my eye. It was affordable and something that was in my price range.” He ended up driving the Falcon for a long time. “Really a good car. Good mileage. Dependable. I’ve been so lucky with cars,” he says of the Falcon, which had the gear shift on the steering wheel, like his dad’s Chevy. “Mine was an automatic, that was a luxury.” In college Simmons was in a fraternity, and the Falcon was the necessary vehicle to transport him and friends to wherever the action was away from campus. “We went up to the Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco a lot because that was the cool psychedelic hangout,” he says. “So I would pile a lot of people in my car and head up to San Francisco. I was the guy with the car.” He sold the Falcon to a friend and bought his first pickup truck, a circa mid-1960s International. “I loved pickups,” he says. “I always wanted one, but they were more expensive. It was pretty old. I was in a band, but I had animals back then. I had goats, and I needed something I could haul hay and feed with. And motorcycles. I’ve been doing the same thing for a long time.” The car Simmons regrets he sold Some people hang on to a car for its emotional attachment, and others have regrets of a car they never should have let go of for the same reason. “I’ve had a lot of cars,” he says. “Probably my biggest splurge was a Mercedes 300 SL Roadster that I should never have sold. I traded it for a tractor.” He bought the resplendent 1960 roadster that matched his rock star status in 1977, when the Doobie Brothers were at the peak of their fame in the early days. It was also a year after the Best of the Doobies album came out, which has sold more than 12 million albums and helped him buy that splurge car. “It said 1960 on the title, but I’ve been told that sometimes the title didn’t match when the cars were made,” he says. “They match when the cars were titled. So when they made them in Germany, they made it a limited run and some of those cars sat in warehouses until they actually sold them. But it only had 14,000 original miles. It was the most amazing car. I never should have sold it.” Simmons surmises his Mercedes was actually built in the 1950s. “That was a great car. Bought it at a vintage car place,” he says. “It was an amazing car. I never should have sold it.” Back then, Simmons paid $34,000. “They’re way up there in value,” he says. “I needed a tractor. I made a few bucks on it and turned around and bought a tractor,” he says. “We were doing real well, I never would have bought it earlier. I tend to blow a lot of money, mostly on old motorcycles. I’m a old motorcycle guy more than anything.” Favorite road trip “I love driving up to Mendocino, California where I lived for a number of years,” he says. “There’s a wonderful drive, Highway 128, which goes from Highway 1 right near a little town called Cloverdale, and you take it all the way out to Mendocino.” Simmons still takes this drive a lot because he has a house in Mendocino. “It’s a fabulous little drive through the redwoods and through the hills and comes out at the Navarro River, which empties into the Pacific Ocean. Beautiful,” he says. “It’s probably one of the most beautiful places in the world, and I’ve been all over the place, and it’s way up there with beautiful areas.” He loves the drive because in addition to the scenery, the area is sparsely populated. “Probably within 60 miles there isn’t more than 10,000 people. It’s kind of like Big Sur, only with stuff to do,” he says. “There’s restaurants, and there’s a movie theater and grocery stores. So it’s a lot more civilized than Big Sur, but the magnificence of the scenery is beyond beautiful. Highway 1 is a great road also to meander on. I like to ride my motorcycle up there. It’s very isolated. It takes about an hour and half to get there from Highway 101.” Even though he grew up in San Jose, Simmons had never been to Mendocino but had always heard about it. “People always used to say, ‘That’s a great place to go camping and to hike’ and one day I just drove out there and when I hit the coast, I thought, ‘This is it, this is where I want to be,’” Simmons says. “I lived there for nine years, and I thought I’d be retired and that wasn’t the case. I ended up working, so it was a hard place to do what I do from. But some day I might move back there.” Simmons is based in Hawaii now, where it’s more convenient to go on the road for tour dates than Mendocino. “In Hawaii, in 20 minutes I’m at the airport, as opposed to four or five hours from Mendocino. Classic East, West, and Northwest with the Eagles This summer, the Doobie Brothers had hugely successful stadium concerts with the Eagles in the Classic East and Classic West. It was the first time they’d played on the same bill in years, and the first time the Eagles performed since the passing of Glenn Frey. “We had played gigs with them quite a few times through the years because they’re our era. We had records about same time period in the ’70s,” Simmons says. “We considered it a huge compliment to participate—some great music and a really good atmosphere and really felt like a ’60s festival. It was really cool.” The Classic concerts were so successful, the two bands will be playing again in Seattle on Sept. 30 in the Classic Northwest. Although they shared the bill with Steely Dan this summer, the Seattle gig is just the Doobie Brothers and the Eagles. Photo: Kelly A. SwiftThe Doobie Brothers on tour The Doobie Brothers are always touring on their own, having completed a summer tour with Chicago. Throughout September, the band is on the road around the country. In late October, the band leaves for Europe. Simmons thought he was retiring to Mendocino, but life had other plans. “I just didn’t think we’d be getting the gigs,” he says. “We keep working, we keep getting the offers. I like playing and getting the offers. ‘Let’s go.’ We used to do 150 shows a year. We cut back. We’re doing 70-80 shows these days. We’re getting older, creeping up on 70. At this point 70-80 shows a year is comfortable, so we’re lucky to be able to make it work that way.” Simmons doesn’t take it lightly that he’s been able to be travel the world for his entire adulthood, doing what he loves, and being able to bring people back to a time that was simpler. He sees it as a privilege. “It is a blessing,” he says. “It’s not anything that I ever was expecting. I’d play music because I like playing, as a kid. You always dream of being in a band, but more just being in a band. I never thought about what that might bring. It was just, ‘I’ll be able to play with some other people, some other great guitar players and be able to offer something that they might like, and maybe they’ll like me, too.’” For Simmons, this is what it’s all about. “To be doing this after so many years, it is a gift for sure,” he says. “I think that’s why I keep doing it, and why I’ve always done it. It’s like, ‘I don’t want to let it get away.’ This is what I’ve always wanted—to play, have fun, travel.” Although they’ve won Grammy awards, there’s a push to get the Doobie Brothers into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They’ve sold more than 48 million albums, but the band isn’t resting on its laurels. They’re working on new music, and Simmons is hoping for a new album in the spring. “We’re shooting for that, we’ll see. At least we’ll have something we’re working on. So that’s kind of cool,” he says. “We went into the studio and recorded some tunes. Good songs happening. I had a couple, and the other guitar player Tom (Johnston) had a couple songs, and we recorded them. They came out really good—we were really happy.” For more information please go to thedoobiebrothers.com. Photo: Kelly A. SwiftREAD MORE CELEBRITY DRIVES HERE: Singer Chris Daughtry of Daughtry  Geoff Downes, Keyboardist for Yes, Asia, Buggles Actor and World Celebrity David Hasselhoff Drummer John Densmore of The Doors The post Celebrity Drive: Doobie Brothers Guitarist Patrick Simmons appeared first on Motor Trend.

http://www.motortrend.com/news/celebrity-drive-doobie-brothers-guitarist-patrick-simmons/

#Celebrity Drive

[referrina]

My Bucket List

Have One Million Dollars

Visit the Globe Theatre

Visit Madame Tussauds

Go Rock Climbing

Run in a Marathon

Get a professional makeover

Learn to play the Piano

Learn a Martial Art

Try out vegetarianism for 28 days

Learn to fold and origami crane, then make one every day and keep them in a jar. 

Go rock climbing 

Visit the Dead Sea

See the London Eye (or ride on it!)

Go on a Meditation Retreat

See cherry blossoms in Japan

Hit bull’s-eye on a dartboard

Visit a Volcano

See the Mona Lisa

Pose nude for an art class

Get a tattoo- Got my first one 2011, it was the Deathly Hallows symbol behind my ear! 

Get an exotic piercing- Got my nose pierced in may 2010 at the ink shop on independence.

Learn archery

Reach 100,000 views on DeviantART

Attend a traditional circus carnival- Went to see the final Barnam and Bailey show with Allie and her family! The tigers were my favorite part! 

Learn a foreign language

Make a mural/do graffiti (chalk counts)- That time I illegally chalked campus with Cassidy all day. Happened April 2013.

Celebrate my birthday at some other country

Graduate high school- Graduated in May 2009 from the AIS 

Visit all the continents

Have a white Christmas- It snowed one year at 11pm on Christmas day in 2011. That counts! Me and dad went out for a walk in the snow at midnight. 

Write a song/sing it and put it on the internet- I wrote The Date Song in Summer 2012 while ‘dating’ Kyle. It got 10k notes on Tumblr!

Give my hair some kind of color treatment- I got blonde highlights that I died purple in October 2011. Then I dyed my hair under my top layer blonde! I prefer my natural color now. 

Kiss in the snow - Allie and I did this in 2017! It snowed at her old apartment.  

Kiss in the rain- I kissed Kyle in the rain after school circa 2006 while we were waiting for our parents to pick us up. We kissed behind the cafeteria while it was pouring. I remember he smelled like a wet dog and I was worried about my hair the whole time.  

Lose my virginity- I lost my virginity to Jeremy April 5th (the day after Easter) in 2010. It was nice, we had lamb roast after. 

Sing in public- Done it loads of times since the talent show in high school (Feb 2009), but my most notable time was when I sung Ariana’s part in Bang Bang with my a capella club in college (Nov 2014)

See the pyramids

Go to a concert for an underground band- Went to go see HEALTH with Kyle and Jonathan in summer 2010. I also so Motion City Soundtrack’s final show in Nov 2013, and discovered Now, now at the same show. 

Learn how to juggle

Own an I Heart NY Shirt from New York- I bought a black one from my New York senior trip in high school. 

Sleep in a cheap motel- Me, Allie, and Mariana slept in a waterfront hotel for 40$ a night (thats cheap!). It was pretty nice for the price, would try again!

Watch the sun rise- Me, Cassidy, and Lynn Jia stayed out all night one Thursday and saw the sunrise from east deck. 

See some World Wonders:

Great Pyramid Of Giza, El Giza Egypt 

Great Wall of China, Huairou, China

Machu Picchu, Andes Mountains, Peru

Taj Mahal, Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India

The Colosseum, Rome Italy 

Eiffel Tower, Paris France

Leaning tower of Pisa, Italy 

Stonehenge, England

Salar De Uyuni, Bolivia

Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia

Bora Bora, French Polynesia

Angkor Wat, Cambodia

Venice, Italy

Lençóis Maranhenses, Brazil

Victoria Falls, Livingstone, Zambia

Santa Maria dell’Isola, Italy

Sydney Opera House, Australia 

Quinta de Regaleira, Portugal

Montreal Botanical Garden, Canada

See the  Sistine Chapel

Visit some USA Wonders: 

Glacier National Park, Montana, USA

Redwood National Park, California, USA

Yellowstone National Park, USA

The Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA

Mount Rushmore, South Dakota, USA

Statue of Liberty, New York

Seattle Space Needle, Seattle

Walk the Freedom Trail in Boston

Niagara Falls

Drive from Miami to Key West

Visit the Alamo in San Antonio

French Quarter in New Orleans

Ride the Millennium Force at Cedar Point

Visit the Iowa State Fair

Swim in a Great Lake

Walk across the Golden Gate Bridge

Visit Vegas (as an adult)

See the northern lights in Alaska

Go to the State Fair- Went to the state fair September 2013 with Ron, Allie, and Amanda Honey. I ate so much fried food, I got sick when I came home. To this day, smelling onion rings still makes me nauseous. 

Be on a reality TV show

Graduate from college- Graduated with a Bachelors of Science from UNCC Dec 13th 2014

Sleep under the stars- Went camping plenty of times, a few with my dad (May 2015 Kings Mountain, Nov 2015 Cherokee), and most notable with Allie and Jaden in April 2017 (Asheville).

Live past 50

Spend a night in an igloo

Plant a tree

Get a speeding ticket- My first speeding ticket was Oct 2010 going 55 in a 25 zone off of farm pond road. The police officer was nice and only gave me a ticket instead of arresting me. I was also high as a kite, coming from Saun and Tylers house. 

See the sun set in the desert

Go to all 50 states

Milk a cow

Go to a drive in movie

Stay awake for 24 hours

Sleep on the beach

Send a message in a bottle

Visit all Disneylands

Have a picture taken in a photo booth - Did this at work for NH! 

Find a four leaf clover- I have 2 that I found in my parents backyard. I have them preserved between two strips of clear masking tape. 

Watch all Disney Animated Films before 2000

Skinny dip

Get a masters degree

Get a book published

Run though a field of wheat

Wish on a shooting star- Wished on a shooting star on my way home one night from college in summer 2013. It streaked across the sky and I wished that I would find someone to love me. I met Allie that year. 

Get featured in a magazine/newspaper

Have my portrait painted- Allie did this October 2013 and its still THE BEST THING EVER. She drew me in a watercolor with a flower crown!

Swim with a dolphin

Be an extra in a film

Write a fan letter to someone who inspired me- I wrote a fan letter to Marina Herald, who wrong the ‘Through a Glass Darkly’ fan fiction novel which was a HUGE part of my life in 2010. She wrote me back and complimented my art and asked me to keep drawing things for her story because I was as important to the VR fandom as her. It meant alot. 

Learn to ballroom dance properly

Sit on a jury

Stay out all night dancing and go to work the next day without having gone home (just once)- Summer of 2011 I went out with Ashley and her Brazilian friends from NY. We went to no less than 5 bars and I didn’t get home until 9 am, and I had to be at work at Healthy Home Market by 10 on Sunday. I was dog tired all day, but I made it until 6 and passed out at home. It was a good day. 

Go out dancing period for that matter- I’ve gone out dancing a few times since. 

Spend a night in a haunted house

See a lunar or solar eclipse - 2017 I went with my family to the zoo in South Carolina and we saw the solar eclipse! 

Write my own will

Spend a whole day reading a great novel- Summer 2015 I spent all of a single day reading A Thousand Splendid Suns in my hammock. That same summer I spent a day reading A Great and Terrible Beauty, also in the hammock.

Animate something!- I learned how to animate GIFs in 2010!

Go up in a hot-air balloon

Create my own web site

Make a hole-in-one

Make a sex tape

Fly a kite- I flew kites with my friends at Kitty Hawke in April 2013

Ride a mechanical bull- I rode a mechanical bull while in Cherokee 2007 with my family during Christmas.

Ride a roller coaster- My first Roller Coaster was Thunder Road at Carowinds

Adopt an accent for an entire day- 2012, adopted a British accent at work with Healthy Home Market for a Sunday, and literally it was all anyone could talk about and people were SO much nicer.

Fire a gun- Shot my first gun at Megs house in Marion with Cassidy and Lynn Jia. I found it exhilarating, but not something I was good at. Spring 2013.

Climb a tall tree all the way to the top (or as far as you can go!)

Meet someone I met on the Internet in real life- Krystal Johnson, Dec 2013.

Vote- First vote cast during Obama’s second term, Nov 2012

Be on TV/radio - When I was in line to meet Hilary Clinton, NPR interviewed me and put it on thier show! I am still embarrassed!! 

Provide the police with an anonymous tip- Called about a car accident both me and Allie witnessed. The driver ran into an electrical pole during a rainstorm.

Hitchhike

Dance in the pouring rain- When Robbie died, I was alone in the house and I listened to the Edward Scissorhands soundtrack while dancing out in the pouring rain on a summer afternoon, 2008.

Receive a dozen roses- For the first time from Hayden during Valentines day 2013. 

Get drivers license- Licensed driver in NC since Summer 2008. I got my first car (a chevy Lumina) in summer fall 2009 for community college.

See the Ball drop for New Years in Times Square

Donate Blood- Donated blood fall 2013 and faint during a group fitness class the next day.

Witness a miracle

Get Contacts

See a muscial ON BROADWAY- Saw Mama Mia in New York on Broadway, spring 2009.

Make $10 dollars an hour- Myers Park Presbyterian, May 2015

Make $20 dollars an hour- Novant Health, July 2016

Make $50 dollars an hour

Ride in a horse and carriage

Have my fortune told

Own a diamond

Buy a piece of art from a street artist- Bought two prints from a street artist in New York after seeing Mama Mia on Broadway, Spring 2009.

Receive a love letter

Read a book to a child- Read a little readers book to my niece in Summer 2015 to help her with her homework. She is not very bright.

Play in the mud during a rainstorm

Have a snowball fight- Had one with Allie Amanda Honey, Ad, and Meg at their apartment when it snowed, spring 2014.

Go to Japan

Go to England

Go to Australia

Go to Greece 

Read a work of fiction more than 300 pages long- Harry Potter, naturally. But I had read many long books (HP was just the first)

Smoke a joint- Smoked my first joint with Sean and Tyler at thier house on Farmpond road. I also got pulled over for speeding that night.

Drink champagne FROM champagne- My parents brought back Champagne from France and I had a glass when they opened it (Spring 2014). It tasted more or less the same as regular champagne.

Build a sandcastle WITH a moat- Built plenty of sandcastles with my father, the most notable one was a mayan temple we made in the Dominican Republic that a kid smashed once we had left.

Go camping. In a tent.- Camped with my dad in May 2015, and Nov 2015, and then again with Allie in Spring 2016, and again with Jaden and Allie in April 2017. I love camping.

Cook a meal over an open flame- Cooked my first meal over an open flame with my dad on our May 2015 camping trip. I even made the fire. It was hot dogs and baked beans.

Smoke a cigarette- Smoked my first cigarette with Cassidy and Lynn while staying up late on campus, Fall 2012.

Be someones brides maid or maid of honor - I was my sisters maid of honor! 

Learn how to whistle with a blade of grass or an acorn top

Catch a fish- I caught my first fish with my father when I was about 11, and my second fish on my own with Meg on our second solo trip to Marion one weekend at the lake.

Drink Absinthe- Drank authentic Absinthe with India at her parents house in Asheville. It was bitter and made us sweat and text our exes.

Sign up to be an organ donor- Signed up to donate organs in Spring 2017

Go to a drag show- Saw a drag show Dec 2011 with David, Jarrell, and Renee at Scorpios.

Watch a sunset, then stay up to watch the following sunrise- Did this with Cassidy, and Lynn on campus. We smoked cigarettes at sunrise, had waffle house at midnight, and drank orange juice at sunrise on east deck.

Meet a Drag Queen- Met a famous Queen City Drag Queen with Violetta at the annual summer heart walk in 2011. Also met two Drag Queens at pride 2016.

Go on a cross-country road trip (at least 3-5 states!)

Learn to surf

Volunteer at a soup kitchen

See gay marriage legalized in all of USA- June 26th 2015 :)

See marijuana become legal in my state

Bet on the Kentucky Derby

Cosplay

Break a world record

Open a Swiss bank account

Start a food fight

Go the wrong way on an escalator - I did this ONCE in New Jersey and I fell and busted my ass. I ripped open an injury on my knee. It was chaos. 

Get buried in the sand- Got buried in wet, cold sand by Allie in Oct 2015 before our parents knew we were dating. It was so ridiculous and fun!

Sleep on a roof

Play hide and seek at night in a graveyard

Kiss someone underwater- Kissed Allie underwater at her friends pool. It was oddly difficult!

Go to a midnight movie premiere- Went to the midnight premier of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 with Liz, Pippin, and Zoe at Concord Mills. Many people dressed up, and there was a fan play before the screens came on. We made a lot of friends and the movie was amazing!

Buy something with all pennies

Be in 2 places at once- On our trip to Carowinds, me, Kat, Joey and Allie stood on the two state lines dividing North Carolina and South Carolina.

Ride on the top of a double decker bus in England

Dress up as Waldo and walk around a crowded place

Be in a musical

Have a song written about me

Ride a horse- I ridden a horse to a spa with my parents, but more recently I rode one of Megs quarter horses both times I came to visit her in Marion (once during Spring of 2013 with Cassidy, and Lynn, and another time during Summer 2013 with Kat)

Go to the spa

Have a pint in England

Go on a helicopter ride

Go to a Mardi Gras in New Orleans

See ‘the wizarding world of harry potter’ in orlando- My parents took me Dec 2013 to celebrate my making the Deans list for a year! It was wonderful, AND I got to meet my internet friend Krystal.

Go to a convention, of any sort- Went to Heroes con Summer 2011 with Raven, Pippin, and Zoe! I bought a batman shirt. 

Go to San Diego Comic Con

Learn to make candles - I do this every fall now! 

Solve the Rubik’s Cube

Go to a SuperBowl

Learn to sculpt with clay, throw pottery on the wheel- Beka taught me how to throw on the wheel during the Raku event in Fall 2015. Allie taught me how to hand build that same year. I prefer throwing.

Learn to knit

Join a roller derby team

Read every novel that has won a Pulitzer Prize in the Fiction Category

Read every novel in TIME’s most influential novels of the 21st century category

Have a threesome

Make a web comic - I made a web comic in 2017! I got 4 issues in before I realized this was NOT for me. Maybe I’ll try again! 

Audition for American idol- Auditioned summer 2012. Did not get in, but had a blast!

Have a tea party with a child- Had a tea party with my nieces in Summer 2016 with my old tea set and yoohoo. 

Try yoga (in a class)

See the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

Try churros- Had Churros from the State Fair in 2013. I have loved them ever since.

Own a real fur coat

Have sex in public- Allie, Caleb, Jason :)

Eat a girl out- Allie :)

Try anal- Caleb :)

Play slots (gamble)

Adopt a kitten - I adopted Anders the same year we put Jinxie down. Hes my baby boy :)

See my name in the credits of something

Go on a blind date- I went on a date with Dale. We saw a movie and got Mexican food. It was awkward, and he kissed me like he was starving for attention back at his car.

Skip school- Me and Courtney skipped school during a fire drill (we escaped from the track where we were all being held). Another time with Renee where we went to the Bistro and said school let out early for exams (it had not.)

Witness someone die

Swim in the Atlantic Ocean- Myrtle Beach with Allie and Mariana, Spring 2013.

Swim in the Pacific Ocean - Did this when I saw Jaden! It was SO COLD!!

Make prank phone calls- Once with Violetta, Audrey, and David, we made prank calls until sunrise.

Laugh until some kind of beverage comes out of your nose- Did this once while eating at crown. It was orange juice.

Catch a snowflake on my tongue- Caught a snowflake on my tongue during the snow of Feb 2013 with my friends. We went outside at night while snowing so meg could get some snow for snow cream.

Write a letter to Santa Claus - I used to do this all the time as a kid. I never realized they probably didnt go anywhere. 

Kiss under the mistletoe - Allie and I do this every year now. Its her favorite thing! 

Blow bubbles in summer- I’ve done this many summers since the first time making this list in 2004.

Go to Disneyworld- On my freshman trip during high school, I got my first kiss from Kyle at Disneyland, during the fireworks event at the castle. Our friends had been tricking us into hanging out together all day, and mysteriously disapeared once the fireworks started. When Kyle kissed me, our friends reappeared an started clapping. A few teachers said it was about time. It was a good trip.

Ride on an elephant

Go water-skiing

See the Northern Lights

Swim in the Mediterranean- Swam on a rocky beach in 2009 while visiting Croatia. Dad tried to eat a raw sea urchin. It was a good vacation.

Have a one night stand with a stranger- Jason, Andy :)

Have one of my videos go viral

Own a Niner Nation shirt- AD gave me her stash of Niner Nation shirts and I think I wore them a grand total of once. My mom also bought me one when I graduated.

Eat at Bistro 49 at UNCC- The Dean of Students is a personal friend and took me here during my first semester in Spring 2012. I had a spinach salad because I wanted to be fancy and could barely choke it down.

Have a bake sale outside the Union- Had a Bakesale for PotterWatch in Spring 2013 with Mariana, Cait, and ANel.

See a concert on campus- Saw Motion City Soundtrack play in the Student Union during my first fall semester with ANel

Go see KEANE live

Go see Tswift Live- Went to my first Tswfit concert March 2013 with Meg and Kat after I had JUST broken up with Hayden. I had a GREAT time, and it was really uplifting.

Go to Amelie’s in the middle of the night.-Me and Cassidy went at 3am and talked to these two guys (both named Keith) til sunrise. It was so weird, but it was good conversation and I’m still friends with Kieth #2.

With friends, create photo evidence suggesting that you went on an adventure that didn’t really happen.

Build forts out of furniture and blankets, and wage war with paper airplanes.

Write a book.

Have that book published.

Play hide and seek in the park.

Drive somewhere unknown and have dinner in a city you’ve never been to. With fake names.

Get both a red card and a yellow card in quidditch- My first Yellow card was in our first game every at Blacksburg Brawl. I pulled a girls hair. My first Red card was at the Greensboro Gauntlet when I knocked a girl unconscious (I had to sit out for one game)

Play a movie you’ve never seen before. Set on mute and improvise dialogue.

Go to the airport, get the cheapest, soonest departing flight to anywhere when you show up, and stay there for a weekend.

In the Middle of the night, drive to the beach, so you arrive just as the sun is rising. Have a breakfast picnic, then fall asleep together. Bring a sun umbrella.

With camera and pair of boots, make photolog of a day in the life of the invisible man.

Write an autobiography

Make pressed flowers

Purchase a house- I bought my first house on September 16th 2016 at 3015 Summercroft Lane for 78k.

Own more than one housing property

Throw Tomatoes at La Tomatina

Visit Area 51

Solve a 100+ piece puzzle

Eat a meal in a really famous / expensive restaurant

Help a complete stranger in trouble

Get a Deep-Tissue Massage

Get a Volcanic Clay mud mask 

Find my way through a hedge or corn maze

Ride in a gondola

Get Married

Go on a Cruise - Did this in 2018! 

Fly first class

Help someone cross something off THEIR bucketlist

Learn the Thriller dance routine

See Wicked- Saw it with my Mom in March 2013 and it was JUST AS AMAZING AS I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE.

See the Phantom of the Opera- I saw it with Renee in 2010 and it was actually REALLY good!

Go to a real Ballet. Dress up.- Allie has taken me to 2 ballets, Peter Pan (March 2016) and Sleeping Beauty (2017)

Do the 365 day project (Take picture everyday)

Make a music video

Be able to do a split

Throw a surprise party for someone Did this for Allie in 2021! it was only a few people but she really was surprised. 

Have a surprise birthday party thrown for you- Amanda Honey, and Allie got me to go outside in the snow while Meg stayed upstairs and baked me a cake! Then we all ate tacos and watched Game of Thrones. It was a REALLY good birthday, because of the snow and the surprise! 

Sing at a Karaoke Bar- Sang ‘You Oughta Know’ at Jeffs Bucket Shop and dedicated it to every girl who has ever been cheated on by a guy. I got everyone cheering and singing along and Allie said it was the best performance of the night.

Audition for a game show

Attend a Murder Mystery Dinner

Ride a Cable Car in San Francisco - Did this during san fran pride when we all visited Jaden. 

Visit Hershey’s Chocolate World

Take a Cooking Class

Visit Toys ‘R’ Us Times Square- Visited during my Senior field trip Spring 2009

Go to homecoming- The only UNCC football game I ever went to was Homecoming. I tailgated with my friends in Fall 2013.

Take a picture with UNCC mascot- Took one with Allie during Fall Fest 2014

Visit the botanical gardens on campus and Bonnie Cones Grave- I did this with Allie and Lucas Nov 2014 right before a graduated for good luck

Join an acapella group- Joined the Finer Niners in Sept 2013 after a girl interrupted quidditch practice to leave to go audition. I went with her with a few friends from the team and I was the only one who made it in.

#Bucket List

[that-he-may-return-blog]

Episode 2: Slugbug

Unfortunately, none of Dipper's questions for the triangle were answered. This was probably due to the fact that Dipper didn't see said triangle for several days, which led his mind to uneasy conclusions- had Bill escaped? Was he back in Gravity Falls and terrorizing everyone? Was he dead? Was Dipper possessed and he just didn't know it-

It also didn't help that Dipper had been having the exact same “dream” every night since the All-Mart incident. He was hesitant to call it an actual dream, sans quotation marks, because nothing really happened- he just found himself in a coniferous forest, alone, for hours on end until he woke up. The entire experience led Dipper to wonder if he was slowly losing his mind. The only proof he had that the All-Mart attack had ever happened was a headline reporting the “Largest Shoplifting Heist of the Century”, listing a number of objects that mysteriously vanished into thin air on September fourteenth.

Of course, nobody knew what had actually happened except Dipper… until now.

“-and that's why everything up and vanished the same day we were there,” he explained. “They literally…” he extended his arm, “walked out.”

Mabel blinked. “So Bill is…”

“I don't know where,” Dipper admitted. “And not knowing is killing me because what if he's murdering people back in Gravity Falls-”

“Oh, he's not,” Mabel said confidently.

“How would you know?”

“I have my ways.” Mabel held up her phone. “Also Candy and Grenda and me made a pact to keep each other updated on the Gravity Falls-Piedmont life 24/7, down to the exact detail, no questions asked. I just typed out your whole Bill monologue and-”

“-don’t send that!” Dipper grabbed the phone, “Mabel, are you crazy?”

“Am I crazy?” Mabel pointed a finger at him. “You're the one that made a deal with a resurrected demon that tried to kill us all.”

“I didn't have a choice-” Dipper said quickly, deleting the message. “Grunkle Ford was counting on me to take care of this because any other option would’ve resulted in an essential perpetual death for at least one person or a literal death for the entire universe!”

“Okay, Mister Let’s-Save-the-Universe over here. Don’t forget that I helped too!”

“Technically neither of u-”

Mabel reached forward and put her finger over his mouth. “Shh...” Dipper scowled. “I understand that you've got that whole conspiracy craving and would probably explode if you couldn’t explain why bigfoot is cthulhu- because I am a caring and loving sister- but… really, Dipper, are you sure this is a good idea?”

Dipper glanced up. “...I don't think there's a better idea,” he said slowly. “But there's nothing I can do about it now- Stan and Ford are probably in the middle of the ocean, and if I went back to Gravity Falls, Bill could probably find his body and start using magic again-”

“Again? I thought you said that in the store he waved his arms wildly and turned a bunch of eggs against you? Using magic?”

Dipper glanced at the wall. “Okay, so, I don't know how it works. Entirely.”

“At all.” Mabel took her phone back.

Dipper rubbed his arm. “Just- I thought I should tell you. Everyone kept too many secrets in Gravity Falls, so the more that's out in the open, the better, at this point.”

Mabel blinked. “Does that mean we should tell Mom and Dad?”

“Uhhh- no. Not… not right now. They'd freak out.”

“This sounds like the premise for an American children’s cartoon!” Mabel grinned, “Mason Pines came home from summer break with a lot of strange souvenirs, but the strangest one is a triangle with a bizarre sense of humor and great fashion sense-”

“That sounds like a show that would try and make Bill likable,” Dipper pointed out. “Too out of character.”

“ATTENTION: THIS IS THE LAST HELICOPTER OUT OF VIETNAM! GET ON BOARD OR REMAIN STRANDED!”

“COMING, DAD!!” Mabel shouted back, grabbing her backpack. Dipper got up and slung his over his shoulder, brushing his hair over his forehead- he wasn't about to take Wendy's hat into a public school, one of the most hazardous places for any material object. Besides, hats were technically against the dress code - not that he had cared in previous years - but hey, at least this was a decent excuse.

The twins headed downstairs to find the house empty save for Waddles, who was napping on the couch, and a note from their mother on the table saying that she would be back in the afternoon; she was probably hanging upside down from a redwood, trying to photograph of a colony of bats. They grabbed their lunchboxes as they darted for the door, Mabel taking a second to slip in a previously-vetoed bottle of Mabeljuice. Outside was the second car, fondly nicknamed The Bug by Mabel, and in the driver's seat was their dad.

Forrest Pines was roughly the height of a flagpole and had nearly the same dimensions, which meant that compressing himself into The Bug involved a lot of doubling over. Dipper would have sworn on his life that his father didn't wear anything but sweater-vests and only combed the back of his hair. Mabel would have sworn on her life that Forrest was an alien from planet Cybernoodle who planned on taking over the earth by hacking RCVs everywhere.

“Who's ready for school?” Forrest called as Mabel hopped over the typical suburban lawn flamingo and into the car; Dipper chose to walk around the flamingo. The flamingo had been Forrest’s idea, and Cassidy had never acknowledged its existence.

“Ready for KNOWLEDGE!” Mabel shouted, slamming the door.

Dipper glanced at her. “Knowledge?”

“Yeah, genius- of the new kids- new kids, new friends, am I right or am I right-”

“You're left,” Forrest pointed out. The Bug pulled onto the road and set a course for Piedmont Public Schools.

Dipper glanced out the window. He couldn't shake the nagging feeling that Bill was too close for comfort- even though he was nowhere to be seen. What that meant, he didn't know, but he didn't like the weight it left on his mind.

After a few minutes of dissonance with Mabel, Forrest, and the radio, The Bug rolled to a stop in front of the school- the twins wasted no time gathering their stuff and getting out of the car.

Forrest leaned out the window. “What, no “first day of high school” trauma? No existential dread or questions about moving up the social rank?”

“We kinda sorta already had that kerfluffle over the summer,” Mabel said. “Ha. Kerfluffle.”

“We’ll be fine, Dad,” Dipper told him.

Forrest frowned. “Hey, you're not wearing a hat today.”

Oh no- he was going to ask about the lucky hat Dipper had had at the beginning of the year- the one that had met its premature demise to a pack of angry gnomes. Dipper braced himself. “Well-”

“Good for you,” Forrest said. Dipper blinked. “We call that character development.” He patted Dipper on the head.

“Aha, right…”

“Well, don't murder anyone! Bye kids!”

“Bye-”

“Bye Dad!”

The Bug sped off into the distance, leaving two eighth graders on a yet-to-be trampled public school lawn.

Dipper didn't necessarily enjoy school. Not that he didn't enjoy learning; gaining knowledge was how he built up his collection of conspiracies. But Dipper could have written an eight-page essay on why the school system did a very poor job of actually teaching anything. He also could have written an essay on the lack of supervision in the classroom or work ethic from the staff, or how being expected to socialize with people he would never see outside of school was counterintuitive- but these weren't the biggest reasons Dipper disliked the school experience. No, that award went to the spiked levels of sheer acrimony that hung around the school like a forced metaphor.

Yeah, okay, maybe the bullied nerd trope was overdone. That didn't change the fact that Dipper was, in fact, a bullied nerd. This year he planned to change that- the honors/regular class split started this year. With any luck, he'd leave the aggressors of the past behind and start a brand new year of education and-

-someone tripped him.

Because that wasn't cliche.

Dipper stumbled to regain his balance and half the pile of books he was holding slid onto the floor. His face was red- he couldn't tell if anyone was laughing, but it definitely felt like it. He crouched and picked up the books; off to a great start.

“Didn't see you all summer, Dipstick!” someone shouted. Dipper closed his eyes. “Did you run away to cry somewhere else-”

Dipper kept walking. That was one time- well, maybe several. He'd been perfectly fine over summer- maybe because he had gotten the chance to make his own impression. But everyone here already knew him as the kid with the dumb name, no friends, and who was prone to crying. His legacy.

The honors/regular split had also led to an unexpected consequence; he no longer shared any classes with Mabel, who preferred talking with friends rather than studying with them. Since Forrest had dropped them off, in fact, he didn't really see her at all. This meant the majority of his day was spent either being ignored and alone or having to listen to “dipstick” get shouted across the room, which by now wasn't insulting so much as annoying. The reality was setting in that, without Mabel around, they wouldn’t be watching each other’s backs. This could end up being the worst school year of his life.

He really should've taken Ford's offer, Dipper thought as he scribbled in the margins of the first-day handouts. At least then he'd be spending his day doing something he actually cared about with someone he actually looked up to- it would've been better than coming back to this mess. And now all he had to show for his poor decision was a missing demon and a sister who caused the apocalypse.

“...what?”

“Pines, is there something you'd like to add?”

Dipper blinked. “No, I'm just-”

“Then I suggest you join the rest of the class in sitting in silence.”

Dipper sank down in his seat. Mabel didn't have anything to do with Weirdmageddon… unless you counted getting locked in a prison bubble. And you know, making a selfish deal trading something that wasn't even hers for her own personal gain.

Dipper focused in on the desk. Okay, where was this coming from- he wasn't supposed to be an idiot, you’d think he could put this together. He pressed a hand to his head. Was he hallucinating? Was he so tired from those repetitive dreams that he was starting to imagine things? Maybe he needed a break- from the planet-

“Bill-”

It was nice to know he could do basic logic. Dipper gripped the edge of his desk. Where was he- why was his train of thought being constantly interrupted like this- as if he would tell him-

“Shut up-!”

“Pines.”

Dipper sank down. “Sorry,” he mumbled.

“Would you like to step outside for a little bit to calm down?”

No. “Yes.”

Dipper slipped into the hall and shut the door behind himself. He pressed his hands to his temples, trying to think. Bill had to be messing around in his head, somehow… Dipper shuddered, imagining Bill puppeting him from the inside. He wasn't actually… well Dipper wouldn't know that. Dipper glared at the wall.

“Get out.”

He wasn't going to. Well, at least that answered that question. Dipper rubbed his head… what would he even be doing in there? Not like Dipper would know. But carrying a demon’s thoughts in his head didn't seem like a fantastic option, especially when he had no idea how to get him out…

“Hey Dipstick. Where’ve you been, huh?”

In any other context, it might have been a friendly greeting. Not in this one.

Florence Goodman had to be the worst misnomer of the century. Dipper had only ever actually seen him in class twice in his life, leading him to assume that he spent his spare time throwing darts at pictures of other students’ faces. Florence also seemed to think his insults were hilarious; this was probably a direct result of beating up anyone who disagreed, although Dipper wasn't sure he'd get the whole cause/effect relationship. Another reason he had never explained it was that Florence just so happened to be twice his size and nowhere near as terrified of detention as Dipper was.

“I said, where’ve you been?”

Dipper looked away.

“What are you doing out in the halls?” This guy really needed to learn to respect personal space. “I would've thought the teacher's pet would be teaching the class by now-”

“Aren't you supposed to be in class,” Dipper muttered, “and not hanging around like a-”

“Like a what, Pines?!” Dipper's head knocked against the lockers- he could feel a bruise forming on the back of his skull. Pain was hilarious.

“Nothing, nothing-” he said quickly, but Florence had already moved on.

“Where's your dumb hat, Pines?”

Dipper didn't respond.

“What, did you lose it? Someone get to it before me? Huh-” His palm slammed into Dipper's forehead; Dipper winced. “You should've kept it on- now everyone can see your dumb hair-”

Dipper braced himself for what was sure to follow. It was an old well but a deep one, and every time it just got to him. He felt the fingers shove his hair up, off his forehead-

“-and your mutant face-”

“It's not a mutation, it's a statistical anomaly…” His face was burning- his entire head was burning.

“Little dipstick over here thinks his big words won't make him a freak-” Into the locker again. “Well guess what-” And again. “You'll never be anything but the weirdo with no friends-”

Dipper covered his face. That wasn't true-

“You gonna cry? Cry, Pines- cry about your stupid hair and your freakazoid face- your disproportionately gigantic head and tiny weak body- the stupid rectangle on your forehead-”

Dipper screwed his face up. Until summer, his birthmark had always been a sore spot for him- it had been the target of countless insults. Now that summer had ended, when he had finally started to accept it, it was just going to become another reason to hate him- his head cracked into the lockers again. Always with that stupid constellation birthmark- making him a target- making him “that weirdo-” well it wasn't like he could help it!

“Are those tears, treeboy-”

Dipper grabbed his fingers- they were rubbery and- slimy-? Florence screamed and dropped him onto the ground; Dipper winced and rubbed his head, slowly looking up. Florence was stumbling around like an idiot, waving his arm and screaming.

“Maybe- maybe that'll make you think twice about making fun of me, huh-” Dipper got up. Whatever was going on, it sure was making Florence panic- the problem was, Dipper had no idea what was going on.

Thankfully he found out, as he watched this high school student transform into a gigantic slug with six eyes, a pig nose, and terrifyingly long slimy arms.

The monster roared.

Dipper shouted and threw a pencil at it. The pencil bounced off his lumpy flesh and rolled down the hall.

The two looked at each other for a moment. The slug blinked and stared at its new slimy features. Dipper decided to use this moment to run for it and booked it through the halls. He heard a vaguely roar-like sound from behind him; he figured that turning Florence into a close relative of a snail didn't make him want to kill Dipper any less.

He ducked behind a wall and pressed his back to it, shaking- had he done that- Dipper stared at his hands. They were just as pale and clammy as ever. Maybe it was the fact that he had just run to the other side of the school, but he felt exhausted; there was a stitch in his side and his eyes were starting to close. Dipper shook himself awake. There wasn't time for that- there was a giant slug loose in the school somewhere. It wouldn’t be long before someone saw it.

“Heyyy, what are you doing in the Dumb People section?” Dipper blinked and looked up. Mabel had put a sticker on his nose. “Don't you have some kind of over-complicated class to get to?”

“-there’s something more important going on right now,” Dipper told her, glancing back around the corner. Florence the giant slug couldn’t be far.

“You found something more important than your GPA?” Mabel leaned around the corner to look at whatever he was looking at. “I'm proud of you- you've realized that the true meaning of being a student is learning and having fun by pursuing an interest that you genuinely like-”

“No, Mabel, I turned Florence Goodman into a nine-foot long invertebrate.”

Mabel frowned and raised a finger. She opened her mouth and the finger turned into a finger gun, “Are you making a spontaneous and nonsensical joke-”

Dipper looked at her. Mabel lowered her finger. “Right, okay, giant spineless bully somewhere in the school.” She frowned again. “How did-”

“I don't know,” Dipper admitted, ducking back behind the wall. “I think it had something to do with Bill-”

“THEY SAY THAT IF YOU SAY THE DEVIL’S NAME HE APPEARS!”

Dipper yelped and fell backwards.

Mabel glanced from him to the empty air directly in front of him. “Is he back?”

“Unfortunately…” Dipper muttered.

“Unfortunately?” Bill pressed his hand to what would have been his chest. “Now that stings- after all I've done for you- turning your school bullies into gastropods- I am hurt-”

“You did that-?!”

“Well I'll admit that it was a team effort- somebody here got really mad for no reason at all-”

Dipper glared. “So you just used me as your funnel-”

Mabel raised a hand, “So I'm sure this is a very important argument but all I can hear is Dipper's side- and also maybe we should focus on taking care of the monster before we argue any more?”

“I don't think Bill cares,” Dipper said.

“Oh contraire, spaceface.” Bill pulled his cane out of nowhere. “You're my only vessel, and your fancy contract says my psyche is linked to your body- if you die, I'd be stuck in a little radius around it, and that wouldn't be fun for anyone, would it?”

Dipper looked away. “Mabel, do you have the flashlight?”

Mabel shook her head. “I didn't really unpack everything yet.”

“Right, okay…” Dipper rubbed his forehead, trying to think. The hall was quiet and empty, and he couldn’t see or hear a thing in the corridors, but he knew what was out there. “Well, at least we have time to plan,” he resolved. “He might be big, but slugs are slow. It'll take a while for it to even find us, let alone catch up to us.”

Bill laughed.

Dipper stiffened. “Unless that's not the case…”

“Oh, it is definitely not the case, pine-tree! Remember how turning things on their head is kind of my deal? My schtick? My gimmick? My-”

“You made a super-fast giant slug.”

“Well I wouldn't call it giant, we’re only talking like eight, nine feet long here- giant would be, say, the size of the school- your tiny little mind doesn't have nearly enough energy for that.”

“Well apparently there’s enough to make you a giant pain in the-”

“DIPPER-”

Dipper looked over just in time to see a super-fast, average-sized slug come ricocheting around the corner.

Dipper thought he knew what fear felt like. He had been ripped out of his own body, more than once by now, been chased by gigantic deformed creatures of unimaginable horror, and witnessed the apocalypse firsthand. Yet, somehow, none of these came close to the sheer adrenaline that running from a nine-foot invertebrate at top speed through an empty school hall could bring.

“How do we stop him?!” Mabel asked as they slid around a corner.

“I don't know,” Dipper said- he was panicking. “I only knew things in Gravity Falls because of Great-Uncle Ford’s journal- I don't have that anymore! We threw it down the bottomless pit!”

“Well, actually-”

Dipper looked at Mabel. “Actually-?”

Mabel waved it off. “I'll tell you when we’re not being terrorized by a giant slug.”

Dipper darted up to a door leading out of the school; he tried to stop but his momentum carried him into the bar and out onto the grass. He tumbled forward and faceplanted. Bill laughed.

Dipper shoved himself up- “If you're so concerned about protecting your vessel why don't you help-”

“Oh, I might. If it gets completely hopeless. Right now I just want to watch you squirm.”

Dipper wanted to retaliate, but he didn't get the chance as the monster slammed its head through the door and bowled him over. He scrambled up, now covered in slime, and darted back inside the school; during the day, the doors were locked from the outside. This proved true as the slug rammed into the door over and over, but it didn't open. It also might not have opened because it was a pull door, but Dipper decided not to tell him that.

Dipper slid down against the wall to catch his breath.

“...what do we do when school ends?” Mabel asked, “because he’s still going to be there-”

“I’m trying to get there,” Dipper breathed. He rubbed his forehead and watched the door thud as the slug rammed into it. Bill was busy criticizing a mural of Egypt in the hall.

Mabel sat down next to him. “Maybe we should get to class?”

Dipper snorted. “I'd rather not. At least not right now.” A nine-foot slug. No journal. No hex circle, no flashlight… all he really had was a demon whose current life goal was to ruin Dipper's own life. Bill probably knew how to fix it with magic or something- but it wasn't like he'd help. Dipper might have to take a different approach…

Dipper sat there in quiet contemplation as Mabel doodled and the formerly-human slug pounded on the doors. After a while, the bell rang and students flooded out into the hallways, and to their… lockers? Dipper started and looked at the clock- what?! -this was the end of the school day- and he still had no idea what to do regarding the giant slug- and it was at this moment that the hinges on the door gave way- and in it came.

It was chaos. Everyone scattered, some to run and scream, others to touch it, more to record videos, and the slug to (presumably) murder Dipper. Dipper saw this and decided to join the portion of the student body that was running. Mabel followed suit.

“You know, for someone who made a life-changing self-discovery about courage and standing up for yourself over the summer, you sure are doing a lot of running away today,” Bill commented.

Dipper glared. “I can't just fight it,” he snapped, “and it's not like I have anything that'd help me-” he shoved the front door open and ran out onto the grass.

“Well that's not very fair- I'm right here!”

“You’re the main cause of the problem-!”

“What is it with you people and your blame-games- you turn a couple people into disfigured monsters and suddenly it's all oh he’s evil and you’re a 'problem’-”

There was a loud popping sound, followed by an unappealing squelch- Dipper turned to see that the slug had managed to figure out the push-door. It literally threw the door open and was continuing his chase, barrelling right for Dipper- panicking, he jumped to the side, hoping the monster couldn't turn as quickly as it could run, or crawl, or slink-

The proper term for the movement of a slug was put low on Dipper’s priorities as he watched it crash through the parking lot and disappear among the cars. There was a sound of alarms and honks.

“Well, this seems like a good time to let law enforcement handle the giant slimy thing,” Mabel suggested. While the idea of Florence Goodman being taken away from the school did seem appealing, it was Dipper’s fault that the guy was a slug in the first place.

“Eh, ehh…?” Mabel was ready to go. Dipper took in a breath, then sighed.

“We should do something.”

“But do we?” she groaned. It was very likely that she hated Florence more than he did. Dipper genuinely considered walking away. It’s not like he was obligated to be the bigger person here, but- it was a little overboard to turn him into a lightspeed slug. There was also the fact that the security cameras in the school probably saw him near Florence when it happened, and the last thing he wanted was another run-in with the government.

Being thirteen was hard.

Just as Dipper was about to make his decision he heard a shrill and childish squeal from the far side of the parking lot. Dipper and Mabel exchanged a glance.

“Dad.”

They both made a dash for the east side of the parking lot and found the slug with its head jammed inside the window of The Bug, and Forrest Pines firmly pressed into the back seat, throwing all available objects in its face. So much for leaving their parents out of weirdness- now Dipper definitely had to do something. Mabel was way ahead of him.

“Back off my dad you slimy buttface-” Mabel shouted as she bolted to the car and began beating the slug with her biology book. This took the slug’s attention off of (potentially) eating Forrest- it pulled from the window and went for Mabel next.

“Mabel, get away from that thing-!” Forrest shouted. Dipper pried the slime-coated car door open; Forrest scrambled out and scooped both twins up and out of the way of the monster, backing away. The slug started advancing- Dipper threw a rock at its head and tried his best to give an intimidating and stern glare, but judging from Bill’s snickering it wasn’t working out too well.

Forrest was just about to make a run for it when Mabel slipped out of his hold and ran for The Bug.

“REMEMBER ME!!” Mabel called as she dove past the slug and jumped in the car. The slug spat acid at her as she ran past; it ate away at the ground, burning holes in the asphalt. Forrest nearly had a heart attack as the monster went after his daughter.

“MABEL-”

“Acid?!” Dipper hissed at Bill, who had been casually drifting near his field of view.

“So, I have these ideas, and sometimes they’re just too good to turn down. So, the slug spits acid now. And also has a taste for human flesh.”

“Oh it just gets better every minute, doesn’t it-”

“It really does, isn’t it great?”

Forrest sat Dipper far away from The Bug and ran to grab Mabel.

“Do you think this is funny?!” Dipper glared at Bill.

“Yes, actually.”

“Well it isn’t-” Dipper pointed at the triangle. “You’ve always seen our lives as a game and a joke, but the joke's over, Bill-” Bill wasn’t looking at him. He was experimenting with flames in his right hand. “Are you listening?!”

“No, not really, your interests are relatively insignificant to me.” Dipper was fuming. He had to get his attention, and the only way you get a triangle’s attention is by making him angry or panicked- or maybe even a little bit of both.

Dipper started walking towards the monster slug. “What are you doing, kid?” Bill called. “D’ya think you’re going to take this thing on with those noodle arms?”

“No.”

“Well that’s good because that thing will totally kill you. So, you know, it wouldn’t be that smart to keep just walking towards it like that. So, uh, why are you still walking towards it-”

“You’re going to let my family get killed, then you don’t get a vessel.”

Bill laughed. “As if you’d actually get yourself killed just to get me to do something, that’s ridiculous-”

Dipper kept walking. “Are you really that stupid-” Bill said louder as he was pulled along at the edge of Dipper’s mental barrier. One foot in front of the other, Dipper walked up to the slug and kicked it.

The slug’s acid was just about to eat through the roof of The Bug- Mabel was aggressively searching the backseat and resisting Forrest’s attempts to remove her. The slug twisted its head to look at him. Dipper held his arms out at his sides. “You’re an idiot, kid- you’re going to get yourself killed- this is proving nothing-”

“It’s proving nothing except that you’re out of options.”

“I have plenty of options other than your cruddy vessel-”

The slug made a gurgling noise; acid foamed at its mouth, dripping down at Dipper’s feet, just missing his shoes.

“You’re gonna die, kid-”

It reared up. Dipper didn’t move.

“KID-”

Dipper squeezed his eyes shut- there was a spitting sound-

...but nothing happened. Hesitantly, Dipper opened an eye. He was outside of his own body, and for a moment he thought he might have actually died; then he saw that his own body had thrown up a magical wall in front of itself, like a triangular forcefield. Dipper couldn’t stop himself from grinning.

“I hate you so much,” Bill muttered through gritted teeth as he dropped the wall and the remaining acid fell to the ground. Operation Anger the Triangle was a success. The slug tilted its head in confusion. Bill leapt forwards and knocked the slug back with a punch that clearly had some extra magical energy, because it slid back several feet and embedded itself in the hood of a car.

“Just turn him back-” Dipper said as Bill climbed into The Bug a little unsteadily. Forrest was staring and petrified in the back at this point.

“It’s- give me a second, okay-” Bill wheezed as he struggled to catch his breath, “your stupid noodle of a body could barely take a bit of running last time- you think it can take all that- no! Because some vessels aren’t pure energy-”

Dipper let Bill continue his rant about how weak he was as he watched the slug pry itself from the car and shoot over to The Bug. Bill looked at the slug and glared.

“I have had it up to here with all the things I make trying to kill me-” He slid into the driver’s seat and tried to stay awake. He was about to use another shield to block more flying acid, but something shot through the windshield and straight into the slug’s face.

“GRAPPLING HOOK!” Mabel retracted the hook from the backseat, proudly standing on the seats, one hand on her hip. Forrest was unable to process anything happening around him. Mabel jumped into the passenger’s seat and shot the hook straight into one of the slug’s eyes; it backed up more, blinded.

Bill was slumped over the steering wheel, about to pass out. Mabel shook him. “Hey- hey you can’t fall asleep- mystery twins are back in action-!!” Bill slowly opened his eyes and looked Mabel dead in the face. The sunlight made the slit-pupils obvious.

“Could you, for once, Shooting Star, maybe not scream in my ear... magic is hard enough as it is...” He was too tired to make any witty comments; all he had to spare was pure dismay. Mabel shot the slug in the face again.

“You’ve been doing a bunch of magic, huh-”

“Yes.”

“And Dipper didn’t get enough sleep again I bet-”

“Clearly.”

“But you can fix this with magic??” “Magic fixes most things.”

“Well- then-” Mabel pulled her lunchbox up and offered Bill a mysterious red fruit drink.

“Is this poison?” Bill looked at Mabel. He threw up a shield to block flying acid and looked a little more exhausted.

“No, it’s Mabeljuice!”

“So, poison.”

“It’ll give you a boost- promise-” Bill glared at her. He put up another shield and swayed slightly; a fleck made its way around the shield and burned through his hair. He sighed, steadying himself- Dipper wished he had popcorn. “Eh? Ehh?” Mabel held the Mabeljuice closer. Bill slowly took the glittery drink.

“This doesn’t have anything on Time Punch-” he downed the drink. Mabel shot the hook into the slug’s face again. The slug seemed confused as to how he continued to fall for these attacks.

Bill felt a burst of energy as the caffeine set in. A grin spread across his face- he might be slowly dying of poison, but he was alive again. The slug moved around the other side of The Bug and crashed its head through the window; Bill held his hand out at the slug and it was pushed back by an invisible force. The Bug shook.

“Now what-” Forrest whimpered from the back.

“Now we knock that thing out and finish this-” Bill said, putting his hand on the dash. The Bug began morphing and mutating and Dipper stared as he turned the family car into a huge, metal, eco-friendly winged insect, with six legs instead of four wheels and an apparent taste for slugs.

“WOO!” Mabel cheered as it advanced on the monster. Bill laughed maniacally as The Bug attacked the slug, knocking it down into the pavement- it spat acid at the car, burning holes into pieces of metal legs- but The Bug kept ramming into the slug, shoving it back. It plucked the slug off the ground before it could run away and flew off towards the football field.

Forrest was screaming. “OKAYOKAYOKAYOKAYWHY- WHY IS THIS HAPPENING- KIDS-”

Mabel looked back at Forrest, giving him an encouraging thumbs-up. “Calm down, Dad- we’re professionals-! We’ve got this!”

Forrest just stared. Dipper wasn’t looking forward to explaining this later. The Bug hauled the slug over the football field and higher into the air; it released the slug and it plummeted into the ground, leaving a crater in the grass.

The Bug hovered for a bit and, when the slug didn’t get up, it lowered and landed next to the crater. Mabel hopped out of the car and ran to the crater to peer in the hole, grappling hook at the ready. The dust cleared and, instead of a bloodthirsty lightspeed acid slug, there was just a beat-up Florence Goodman, looking utterly traumatized. Mabel let out a breath and help up a hand to high-five Bill, grinning. “Nice work-”

Bill looked at her. “You really want me touching your hand.”

Mabel lowered her hand.

The caffeine was wearing off fast; Bill used the last bit of energy he had to strip The Bug of its insectoid features. Then he fell face-first into the grass.

When Dipper came back to consciousness in his own body, everything was numb and he didn’t want to move. Mabel was sitting with him in the high school nurse’s station; she seemed a little more excited once he actually looked at her.

“Wh… what happened…?”

“Well, uh… Bill… fixed it, and you passed out after that-” She seemed a bit surprised, “since when does he help us-”

“I blackmailed him,” Dipper murmured.

“...you blackmailed Bill?” Mabel said, staring. Dipper shrugged, eyes half-closed. “That’s… that’s great. Showed him who’s boss this time, am I right-” she grinned.

Dipper smiled slightly; it felt pretty good to be holding the cards for once. He thought for a moment and frowned. “What happened to Florence…?”

“Uh, about that…” Mabel began, “He looked super freaked out- I don’t think he’s coming back here. But he doesn’t entirely know what happened, I just told some cops that the slug ran off in the woods- so, we should be in the clear. For now.”

“Didn’t they see it on camera…?” Dipper asked. Mabel shifted in her seat slightly.

“Nope.”

“Nope?”

“Nope.”

“What do you mean nope?” Dipper sat up a little.

“Well, I took a little time to say a few things to Dad, calm him down a little bit, and… he used his computer magic to get rid of the footage.”

“Since when was Dad a hacker?” He usually only saw his dad coding games of brick breaker.

“He said he picked up a hobby over the summer,” Mabel said, then grinned, “so we’re in the clear.”

‘The Clear’ was probably something they were far from, but knowing that they had covered up the incident to some extent was a relief. He glanced around and saw a disgruntled Bill glaring at a chart on the wall.

“...thanks for fixing that,” Dipper whispered.

“Shut up, Pinetree, I’m not dumb, you smug little-”

“Oh come on- you saved yourself anyways,” Dipper muttered. “That’s a bright side for you.”

“All my creations keep trying to kill me,” he said, arms folded. Dipper frowned.

“...The Bug didn’t try and kill you,” Dipper suggested, “it must have liked you.”

“It didn’t like me, I just gave it an extensive craving for slugs. It was in self-defense.” Bill vanished, presumably back into Dipper’s mind. Dipper didn’t really have the energy to care about Bill’s personal struggles at the moment. It served him right.

After Dipper took some time and mustered the energy, Mabel helped him walk out to meet Forrest, who was harshly rethinking his comprehension of life. The Bug was out of commission, probably because the engine had been eaten through with slug acid, so he took Dipper and Mabel the rest of the way home by foot. When they got back to the house, the twins explained to their dad about the existence of ‘weirdness’ and how they saw supernatural beings and creatures over summer break.

However, the details were severely watered down. As far as Forrest knew, they just met a mermaid, spotted a unicorn, and caught a fairy only to delicately release it. Mabel said that they learned their monster handling and magic skills from a unicorn fight, which wasn’t entirely a lie, only mostly. It only took Forrest a solid two hours to process the entire situation.

“So… monsters. Mythical… things. Exist,” he repeated numbly.

Dipper and Mabel nodded.

“And you’ve… fought them,” he asked again.

“Uh-huh,” Dipper responded. Forrest slumped back in the couch and rubbed his eyes. After another minute or two he sat up straighter and looked at the two of them. They were sitting quietly in front of him.

“Well… you know, I’d say you did a really awesome job. Really, really impressive stuff there- but, just don’t scare me like that okay-” The twins nodded and promised not to throw themselves into deadly situations again. That promise would probably last less than twenty-four hours. Forrest took a moment to breathe, and wrapped his long arms around the two of them in a tight hug. “I’m just glad you two are safe,” he said. They both hugged back.

He pulled back and pointed at the two of them. “We are not going to tell Mom about this until we can actually think of a way to explain it. Especially the car. Deal?”

Dipper shuddered. “Deal,” said Mabel.

“Great…” Forrest laid down on the couch and closed his eyes, “it’s been a long day, so I’m just going to… keep rethinking everything. You two finish your homework or read or… something.” The twins gave their dad a moment of peace. Dipper quietly helped Mabel with her homework as the sun began to set outside. For the first time all day, there was a bit of silence.

Cassidy Pines shoved the front door open, covered in dirt, twigs in her hair, camera in hand.

“You’re not going to believe what I saw today.”

Dipper somehow doubted that.

#gravity falls #fanfic #fanfiction #narrative #bill cipher #dipper pines #bipper #mabel pines

[rubyisraw]

In a perfect world

The stars started to glimmer in the indigo dyed sky and I knew it was almost time to get back home. All of my friends were gathered around the fire, watching the flames devour the darkness. Everyone’s faces were red and freckled from the week’s sun beating down on their salty skin. Their hair almost as wild as the fire that grasped their attention. There was a warm breeze that draped over us and danced with the singing ocean. It was a familiar feeling that comforted us all. I stood up with the falsa blanket that Dad brought back for me from his trip to Mexico earlier in the year. I grabbed my surfboard and started up the road. By now, the sun had kissed the moon goodnight and the stars were telling each other bedtime stories.

The seven-minute walk up the mesa had left me with a nostalgic feeling. I had walked that road countless times with Dad and the friends that we would always have to say goodbye to at the end of the long, languid summers. Those goodbyes never got easier, and leaving what felt like my true home, didn’t either. I never understood why we had to leave. It didn’t make sense to desert the only place where everyone was happy. I didn’t want to think about when the last time the lingering scent of the ocean would stroll alongside me all the way back to the house. The sound of crashing waves was left outside as I stepped into the music-filled element. As the door shut behind me, the smell of beeswax candles and campfire tingled my sunburnt nose. I could faintly hear laughs through the sound of a slightly off-key rendition of some Bob Dylan song being played on a slightly out of tune guitar. It didn’t take much time at all to walk from one end of the quaint house to the other. The harmony of the voices singing, the fire whistling and crackling, and the ocean’s humming brought that same nostalgic feeling I had been confronted with earlier. I leaned against the chipped door frame that had been overrun by years of surfboards smacking into it. Surrounding the door frame, were old pictures of family and drawings the kids created over the decades. I watched outside. People I loved sat around the fire linked together like the daisy chains my sister and I would sit in the field and create to perfection. The same slightly burnt skin that my friends at the beach had was plastered on the smiling faces here, at home. Dad peered up from his guitar and saw me, still in the intricately woven striped blanket. He made a sarcastic surprised face that I knew quite well. There was an open spot next to him and I trotted over to snag it. Nodding heads and loving smiles welcomed me into the circle. Every few minutes, the embers from the fire would fly into the sky and combust into stars. I could see the faint outline of the towering redwood and cypress trees that protected the property. When it was light out, the meadow behind the house was bathed in sun. On super hot days, that would be too hot to do anything, I would lay on the hammock under the shade and daydream about a future stip with Dad where we would be surfing perfect waves in Tahiti.

    A few summers earlier, Dad and I went around the five-acre land in his pickup for trunks of dead trees that we could turn into campfire benches. We brought them back to cut, paint and set around the campfire in flawless order. Now, as I sat with my head leaned against Dad’s shoulder, the bench was worn smooth and sculpted. Sitting next to Dad and hearing the satisfaction in his voice and feeling the smooth strumming of the guitar made me reminisce on all of our times together. The beach was our home, and no matter how many times we would leave, I knew we would be back. It would forever be our spot.

[jimcutfro212-blog]

I'm Bringing Back Summer Breaks

Do you remember summer breaks when you were young? I barely remember them anymore. (I'm 44.) They all ran into each other, but I still recall that awesome feeling when school let out. Summer was full of possibilities and I had endless time to do whatever I wanted. That's the taste of freedom for kids everywhere. Unfortunately, we grew up and summer breaks disappeared. The average American worker gets 10 days of vacation per year. That's much less than a full summer break. Most people (52%) don't even use all their vacation days because they don't want to be away from work*. That sounds insane to me. I've always taken all my vacation days when I worked full time. It was part of the benefit package and I needed to get away from my stressful engineering career. Now that I'm not working full time anymore, I'm bringing back summer breaks. But it isn't that easy.

*Evidently, American workers think they'll fall behind if they take a vacation. They think their employer will appreciate them more if they take less time off.

Early retirement

In 2012, I retired from my engineering career when I was 38. Driving away from the office for the last time felt a little like the beginning of summer break. However, that euphoric feeling was a bit premature. After quitting work, I became a stay-at-home dad/blogger. I had a lot more autonomy, but I was still super busy. Being a stay-at-home dad to a toddler took up most of my time. Also, I worked on Retire by 40 after our son went to bed. That first summer was great. I spent it exploring the city with RB40Jr and unwinding from 16 years of being an engineer. We didn't go too far because traveling with a toddler is a lot of trouble. You have to bring all kinds of kid stuff. It was tough to blog and be a SAHD at the same time back then.

As our son got older, things became easier for me on the SAHD front. RB40Jr started going to preschool a few days per week and then moved up to full-time public school. He just finished first grade and he is ecstatic to be out of school for the summer. Being a SAHD is very manageable during the school year because our son is in school most of the day. I am able to work on my blog while he's busy at school. Summer is a bit different, though. I have to spend more time being a SAHD and then try to blog. It doesn't feel like summer break anymore because I don't have much time for myself.

In previous years, I sent RB40Jr to camp every other week and it worked okay. I was able to continue blogging in the summer. However, this year I'm going to try something different because we're traveling more. Our son is 7 years old now and it is a lot easier to travel with him. That's why I'm cutting back to 1 post per week this summer. It will give me a chance to try working less and reclaim the summer break.

Ramping down work

This summer, I plan to work about 10 to 15 hours per week. This is part of my long-term master plan to ramp down my work hours. Check it out.

Engineer (age 22 to 36) – I routinely worked 50 to 70 hours per week and a lot more during busy times. That's what many companies expected these days from their exempt employees.

Engineer/blogger (36 to 38) – I started blogging in 2010. There were 2 years where I worked a full time job during the day and blogged at night. I rarely got to bed before 1 am back then. I cut back a bit at my engineering job to about 40-50 hours/week for the most part. During the busy times, I still had to work extra. Blogging took 20-30 hours per week. It was a pretty crazy time.

SAHD to young child/blogger (38 to 42) – Being a SAHD was easier than working full time. However, it took a ton of time. A young child needs constant attention and you don't get any time off. I spent 20-30 hours per week blogging after RB40Jr went to bed.

SAHD to school-age child/blogger (42 to 55?) – This is where we are right now and it is great. I have a lot more time for myself after our son started school. I still spend about 20-30 hours per week blogging.

Future (55 to 65) – Eventually, I'd like to cut back to 10-15 hours per week with blogging. Blogging is still fun, but I want to relax more when I'm older. I plan to do this when RB40Jr goes off to college. We'll travel a lot more and I'll be ready for a more relaxing retirement.

Full retirement (65+) – No more blogging. I'll have to figure out a different way to stay busy. An idle retirement isn't my idea of a good life. This is a long way from now, though. I might change my mind when I'm older.

So this summer is a dry run for my future plan. I think working 10-15 hours per week sounds perfect. It's just enough to keep me busy. If it goes well, I'll probably do this every summer.

Bringing back summer breaks

Okay, now for the summer plan. This summer we're going to travel quite a bit. It'll be a blast.

June – We are visiting Iceland for 2 weeks. It's beautiful here. I'll post about the trip next week.

July – I'm taking RB40Jr on a 2 week leisurely road trip to California. We'll visit my former college roommate in Lake Tahoe for a day, and then go visit friends and families in the Bay Area. Mrs. RB40 will fly down a week later and drive up with us. We'll drop by the Charles Schultz museum in Santa Rosa, go see the redwood forest, then drive back on the Pacific Coast Highway. This drive will probably take a few days because we plan to take it very easy and stop to see the sights along the coast.

August – Mrs. RB40 is going to work in Boise for a week and we'll tag along. We'll visit her high school friends and check out Boise area. On the way back, we'll spend a couple of days in Eastern Oregon. We haven't spent much time in that part of the state so this will be a great opportunity to see the sights.

That's almost half the summer already. We also have a bunch of activities we want to do locally. Basically, the whole summer is already packed full. School starts again right after the Boise trip and my schedule will be back to normal. Whew, it's going to be a busy summer. I like the idea of reducing work as I get older. Going from full time work to full retirement is a tough transition for a lot of people. Working a bit less every year is more my style.

What about you? Do you look back fondly for those old summer breaks? Are you enjoying summer as much now?

Sign up for a free account at Personal Capital to help manage your investments. I log in almost every day to check on my investment accounts and cash flow. It's a great site for DIY investors.

See my guide – How to Start a Blog and Why You Should. Starting a blog changed my life. It provides some income after retirement and it's a great way to build a community. Those are the two biggest problems after retirement. It's a great way to use some of your free time.

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The post I'm Bringing Back Summer Breaks appeared first on Retire by 40.

[hotcoffeeandbreakfast]

Two cold snaps in New Orleans and I am already disappointed I’m not getting a full Fall. Does anyone else associate the overwhelming influence of weather to a person’s mood? I wonder only because I spent most of the summer melting into a puddle inside of the koi pond house. The outdoors looked enticing, until I stepped out onto the deck to let Layla out — even she has been less than thrilled to spend time in the sunshine. On top of blistering light, heat so pooling you could drown in douses you. A day’s gorgeousness is only alluring on the surface; we are kept inwards, indoors during summer days to avoid exhaustion. And I want to feel alive.

The recent trip Neil and I took to Colorado changed my mind about the way I am rooted. I have always strongly believed that I am devoutly Louisiana in a subtly obnoxious way, unwilling to give up the peculiar looks one receives when you say, “I’m from Louisiana.” Y’all know, we’re special. If you’ve ever crossed Henderson Swamp with me, you’ve been asked, “Is there anything more gorgeous than the swamp?” because I truly think it’s a masterpiece of wonder. Such weighted darkness lives in the swamp, so the contrast of the crisp, chilling Rockies pierces me, steadily present.; as if my soul reached the correct temperature. I still feel the cool air, lingering at the back of my throat. I’ve been telling myself for two weeks now that I’m not dealing with the normal sinus infection you get when you’ve been in a foreign climate, that instead it is delicious leftover mountain air refusing to diffuse in my lungs. This thought has made me sad, haunted my dreams; I don’t think I have ever fallen so hard for a place, I can’t get the feel out of my mind.

  Louisiana friends that migrated northwest for longer than the winter: I get it. Colorado is a magical, sun-kissed, heaven-on-earth  state and I am currently trying to figure when/how I will be able to have a small piece of it. It’s all I can think of!

When I was a kid, my parents brought me to Alaska, Maine, and all over Canada. Did I love those trips? Absolutely. Seeing a glacier as a twelve year old is definitely the dopest thing anyone in your class did all summer. Unless they got to lick the glacier, that would be different. Do I remember instantly falling in love with these places? No. Winding up and down the side of the Rocky Mountains, which seemed to be continuously growing larger as we drove…well, that is something to fall in love with, to be humbled by. — AND FEAR!!! I screamed for at least an hour going up, louder after I saw the runaway truck ramps. –Neil will tell you that the second we took off on our six hour road trip from Denver to Telluride  all I could talk about was how immediately overwhelmed with inspiration I was. I sat in vocalized awe at the size of these massive, ever stretching mountains. The popping of my ears didn’t even bother me, my eyes were too busy to be bothered.

My previous encounters with Colorado-type terrain consisted of appreciating from afar, and I’m lucky enough to say that I’ve seen some beautiful places. I purposefully got lost in the Muir Woods once, a stunt my parents did not appreciate. The tour we were on wasn’t spending long enough in each area, which meant I was missing the opportunity to take an obscene amount of crappy photos (I was an avid disposable camera photographer). As soon as I heard we were loading up, I ran back to my favorite place for just one more picture, a little further than I remembered. “THE BUS IS LEAVING WITHOUT US TIFFANYJO,” my dad hollered at me as a ranger walked toward me. “IT’S A STUMP!” I could hear his frustration, I could see the ranger’s slight amusement, but was busy snapping pictures, winding as fast as I could. I needed to document this tree, dammit! This particular topiary had died, it’s stump indicating long life among beautiful friends; it devastated me. Though I honestly do not remember noticing in the Redwoods how the fresh air affected my breath and my brain, I remember feeling surrounded by friends in that moment too. I had several beautiful, refreshing, and daringly connective moments with the Pacific Ocean the handful of times we went out to whale watch while visiting British Colombia, that was life changing, yes. But never, in my adult travel experience, have I felt so nearly unhesitatingly changed.

Even on the 13,500 ft., 4 star, wildly vertical Wasatch Trail, I noticed a difference in the way I was fighting for my breath, the way I was thinking about it and physically doing it. Was I cursing Neil out in my head for encouraging a group of mostly new hikers on such an advanced trail? Yes. We endured forty-four switchbacks on shaky legs and empty stomachs. Had we taken that exact same hike under Louisiana climate conditions…..well lets just say it would have taken a considerably longer and we would have all been naked from heat and humidity by the end of it. Colorado was kinder to us. We stopped for breaks every thirty minutes or so,  all willing to kept going. We would be lined up on the trail, looking forward and back at each other after someone asked, “How much further?” No-one wanted to say, “I’ve seen enough, lets turn around,” because IT WAS SO FCKING PRETTY, honestly bordering ostentatious beauty.

Thirteen miles and six hours later, we were all exhausted but so so happy. We each milled about the mountainside house, quietly reflecting on the day as we prepared dinner. What we ate, I can’t remember; I was distracted with the reel. I thought of the gold confetti that fell on us most of the way before we encountered our first patches of snow; of Layla eager to meet other dogs on Bear Creek Trail and at the rock garden; of specifically the rock garden and the reminder that so many others have walked this trail before us, for no other reason than to be close to nature, to bathe in the freedom she gives.

  I spent our entire first day hiking feeling as though floating up and down mountains in someone else’s dream, only able to muster enough focus to keep from tripping constantly. Ever little leaf called to me, the snow glimmered. I wanted to touch everything. Us Louisiana kids packed for temperatures around 56*-64* and we were definitely met with winter temps, so for my rickety knees to work properly, I had to keep moving. We crossed a ramshackle mining bridge to get to the “top of the waterfall” and felt every inch of our lives possibly being risked; Neil would randomly say, “THE WATERFALL! It’s worth it,” when he could feel us all dying. I didn’t know there was a possibility that we might actually slip and fall to our death (though what a place to be buried). That night ended up being the most magical sleep of my life.

  Cornet Creek Falls was absolutely the most fun hike because it was so involved (at least for me) and I was ready for it. The day of rest we took in between Wasatch and Cornet was crucial for me, and for Layla, to be able to enjoy the rest of the trip. Elevation punched me in the face in the best way!  When we got to Cornet’s water fall, I went crazy wild woman and just started climbing up the rocks as fast as I could. I felt wild, totally inspired by the wild that surrounded me. I still can’t find words supportive enough to label the sensation of climbing feeling totally natural, of sliding on your bare palms and feet to just keep from seriously scuffing something up. I was a tomboy growing up, a climber…but I never dreamed at nearly 30 I’d want to climb EVERY fourteener before forty. Red dirt was flinging everywhere, I think Layla’s paws will always have a little red in them now. After playing for about an hour at the fall, we made our descent back down the trail, taking time to swing on trees and roam a bit. Neil and Zach wanted to climb a little higher than I did in an area just off the trail, but we stopped where there wasn’t much room to really rest, so I had to wedge myself in to the safest spot I could manage, and wait. It was a misty meditation, regardless of how nervous I was to be potentially, literally flying solo. Heavier rocks eventually started tumbling down and I DIDN’T HAVE TIME TO ROLL MY EYES. I had to press as far back as possible (without losing my footing and my hold on Layla) and hope that the boys weren’t about to get tangled in the trees bending around me. The real challenge came on this day when the rain arrived; we were thankful it wasn’t heavy rain but it was plenty cold which oddly motivated us to move faster on the way down! I immediately took a nap when we got home, and woke up to real, fresh, fluffy, falling snow. SNOW THAT STICKS! My mind was blown. 234567890th time in less than a week — was I dead and just reeling? No, this was tangible.

We finished up our trip with what seemed like a leisurely walk to Bridal Veils Falls, a truly breath taking experience at a pace that felt like a lazy river in summer.

  Layla often led the way on our hikes, excited by each step and smell and challenge by her favorite element. It was amusing to see the retriever that normally wants to lay around all afternoon practically sprint up these trails. She pushed herself yet seemed content no matter how long we adventured.  We encountered quite a few animals, though none as majestic as the giant elk that showed up in the DRIVE WAY after an afternoon house nap. Her spirit is not the same in Louisiana, and I absolutely feel her on it. Sometimes when she’s asleep and looks like she’s dreaming, I wonder if she’s dreaming of the next mountain or set of squirrels.

ya know…just talking a walk. 

The continuous, perpetual summer of the south removes the presence of change, therefore, we remain the same. I will never not be completely fascinated from this experience forward with the way my surroundings moved me. Louisiana motivates you to either get where you’re going in a hurry, as to avoid a sweaty, sticky mess, or to embrace the heat and move slowly, never feeling completely dry. To be brief, this year has been a whirlwind of movement, and while I’ve had quiet moments, I haven’t spent much time mentally celebrating the beauty that’s unfolding. My spirit set its wild self loose among the Rockies and will be, from here on out, totally unsatisfied with stones unturned.

The spirit can plant roots anywhere (this we know) and while I have blushed and  inwardly rolled my eyes at those that have called me “free spirited,” I think the definition is clearer now, though I still feel the term is often too blanketed. “Wanderlust” is okay, but I don’t immediately picture myself twirling in a field or ascending a mountain. — I think of Paul Rudd’s epic pep-talk in one of the funniest movies Jennifer Aniston ever pulled off. — I’m not bohemian enough to claim anything other than righteously curious and uncontrollably fascinated by the natural world around me. My continuous thought throughout the trip, a moment that pinches me just the way the cold Telluride morning would, is with me as I recount the moments now: I can climb a little longer.

And so can you.

Be affected by the world around you. Allow yourself celebration, healing, experience. YOU ARE WORTH YOUR DREAMS.

I want to take this hammock all over the world with you Neil!!! Let’s see everything together. ❤

Here’s a song from an album I heard in my head while hiking through the Rockies:: Lit Me Up

the patient recounts her dream Two cold snaps in New Orleans and I am already disappointed I'm not getting a full Fall.

[robertkstone]

Celebrity Drive: Doobie Brothers Guitarist Patrick Simmons

Quick Stats: Patrick Simmons, guitarist/vocalist, Grammy-winning Doobie Brothers Daily Driver: Late model Toyota Tacoma (Pat’s rating: 10 on a scale of 1 to 10) Favorite road trip: highway 128 from Cloverdale to Mendocino Car he learned to drive in: 1953 Chevy First car bought: 1962 Ford Falcon

Although Doobie Brothers’ cofounder and guitarist/vocalist Patrick Simmons collects his share of old motorcycles, there is one car that he bought years ago that’s still his beloved classic ride.

“It’s a Cadillac, which are pretty cool cars,” he says about his 1949 Cadillac. “I saw a hot rod made from that car, and I fell in love with the lines of the hot rod. This is before the internet. I found it in Hemmings Motor News and made an appointment to go look at the car, and it was the car I was looking for, and I bought it. I’ve had it for over 30 years.”

Although he considers Cadillacs to be pretty cool cars, Simmons also rates it a perfect 10. “Just a fun car, fun driver,” he says. “It’s probably a car I shouldn’t own still. When I moved to Hawaii, I took it with me because I was so in love with the car. and I had an Austin Healey 3000 that was my fun, sporty car—the last model of the Austin Healey.”

He says the Austin Healey would’ve been a perfect car to have in Hawaii, but he sold it before he moved because he wasn’t going to have a garage and only wanted to have one car, so he shipped his Cadillac. “I’m glad I did because I love the old car,” he says.

Even though the Doobie Brothers are on tour all the time, Simmons manages to maintain the Cadillac. “I start it every time I’m home,” he says. “I left it for years and didn’t drive it, and I regretted that because then it became undriveable. So for a couple years I worked on it and rebuilt a number of assemblies on the thing and now it’s running well. I’m still tweaking on it. I’m replacing the insulation on the doors. That kind of stuff I do because it’s easy, and it’s something to do.”

Toyota Tacoma

Rating: 10

Simmons rates his relatively new late model Toyota Tacoma a perfect 10 because these pickups have been so reliable for him.

“I’ve been driving Toyotas for years,” he says. “I bought a brand-new Toyota in 1990, and I put a couple hundred thousand miles, and it performed well. I moved to Hawaii and through the years, it started getting body rot and still drove great. Finally I had a friend that needed a car, and I gave it to him. They’re still driving it. That’s good testimony to the drivability and longevity of the vehicles. I had a Previa. Same thing, drove that Previa till we drove the wheels off it.”

Simmons says Toyotas handle well: “I’m a maintenance guy, so I maintain my cars and that probably adds to the longevity. There’s nothing I could tell you that’s been bad about the car. It’s been very reliable, fun car to drive, if you think driving’s fun. I do.”

He lives out in the country and always had horses, so a pickup was a must. “The utility factor is huge for me—being able to haul stuff,” he says. “I put motorcycles in the back, too. I can put a Harley in the back and haul it wherever I need it to go. I’ve done that a lot. I live out in East Maui, as you go out to Hana. We’re out in the sticks. I grew up in Northern California and lived in Santa Cruz. I had a Toyota back then. too, back in the ’70s. Always been a country guy.”

Car he learned to drive in

Simmons grew up in San Jose, where he learned to drive his dad’s 1953 Chevy.

“I got to drive it a lot, so that’s pretty cool,” he says. “It was a great car. My dad taught me, and you took Driver’s Ed in California. It was an easier way to get your license and lowered your insurance rates. I was happy to do that.”

Back then learning to drive around town was easy because there was a lot of open countryside. “It was a whole different thing. A lot of orchards, mostly, and vineyards,” he says.

There is one late memory driving through the streets of San Jose that’s indelible in Simmons’ mind. “I once drove that car in reverse from a place I worked all the way home because the transmission went out,” he says. “I had to drive it in reverse home about four miles. It was an early power glide transmission, and the band had loosened. The band—it’s a tightening mechanism that can affect the engagement of the automatic transmission.”

Simmons had a job at a gas station. “My mother and father went away for the weekend, and they told me not to drive the car while they were gone, but I did anyway, and I ended up at where I was working,” he says. “I drove down there to hang with some friends, and the car wouldn’t go in drive. This was about midnight hanging out at the gas station, so I had to get the car home before my parents got home. So I drove the car in reverse all the way back home.”

He was just 16, and Simmons says they were having more fun than usual, as teens can do hanging out late at night. “I couldn’t decide whether I should be driving with traffic in reverse or on the right side of the road that I should be driving on, in reverse though,” he says.

Simmons ended up driving with traffic in reverse. “I figured it’d be better than having a head on with oncoming traffic,” he says. “I couldn’t believe I made it back in one piece. I was so lucky.”

Simmons drove his dad’s Chevy all through high school, and when it came time to go to college, he needed his own car when he moved downtown to the campus at San Jose State.

Photo: Andrew Macpherson

First car bought

Simmons bought a used four-door 1962 Ford Falcon, which was white with a red interior. “It was such a great car. These days it’s a classic. Those cars all of a sudden have value,” he says. “For years they were just an ordinary car. But like so many cars now, they’re collectible. I went and looked at cars. I just started driving cars, and that was one that caught my eye. It was affordable and something that was in my price range.”

He ended up driving the Falcon for a long time. “Really a good car. Good mileage. Dependable. I’ve been so lucky with cars,” he says of the Falcon, which had the gear shift on the steering wheel, like his dad’s Chevy. “Mine was an automatic, that was a luxury.”

In college Simmons was in a fraternity, and the Falcon was the necessary vehicle to transport him and friends to wherever the action was away from campus. “We went up to the Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco a lot because that was the cool psychedelic hangout,” he says. “So I would pile a lot of people in my car and head up to San Francisco. I was the guy with the car.”

He sold the Falcon to a friend and bought his first pickup truck, a circa mid-1960s International. “I loved pickups,” he says. “I always wanted one, but they were more expensive. It was pretty old. I was in a band, but I had animals back then. I had goats, and I needed something I could haul hay and feed with. And motorcycles. I’ve been doing the same thing for a long time.”

The car Simmons regrets he sold

Some people hang on to a car for its emotional attachment, and others have regrets of a car they never should have let go of for the same reason.

“I’ve had a lot of cars,” he says. “Probably my biggest splurge was a Mercedes 300 SL Roadster that I should never have sold. I traded it for a tractor.”

He bought the resplendent 1960 roadster that matched his rock star status in 1977, when the Doobie Brothers were at the peak of their fame in the early days. It was also a year after the Best of the Doobies album came out, which has sold more than 12 million albums and helped him buy that splurge car.

“It said 1960 on the title, but I’ve been told that sometimes the title didn’t match when the cars were made,” he says. “They match when the cars were titled. So when they made them in Germany, they made it a limited run and some of those cars sat in warehouses until they actually sold them. But it only had 14,000 original miles. It was the most amazing car. I never should have sold it.”

Simmons surmises his Mercedes was actually built in the 1950s. “That was a great car. Bought it at a vintage car place,” he says. “It was an amazing car. I never should have sold it.”

Back then, Simmons paid $34,000. “They’re way up there in value,” he says. “I needed a tractor. I made a few bucks on it and turned around and bought a tractor,” he says. “We were doing real well, I never would have bought it earlier. I tend to blow a lot of money, mostly on old motorcycles. I’m a old motorcycle guy more than anything.”

Favorite road trip

“I love driving up to Mendocino, California where I lived for a number of years,” he says. “There’s a wonderful drive, Highway 128, which goes from Highway 1 right near a little town called Cloverdale, and you take it all the way out to Mendocino.”

Simmons still takes this drive a lot because he has a house in Mendocino. “It’s a fabulous little drive through the redwoods and through the hills and comes out at the Navarro River, which empties into the Pacific Ocean. Beautiful,” he says. “It’s probably one of the most beautiful places in the world, and I’ve been all over the place, and it’s way up there with beautiful areas.”

He loves the drive because in addition to the scenery, the area is sparsely populated. “Probably within 60 miles there isn’t more than 10,000 people. It’s kind of like Big Sur, only with stuff to do,” he says. “There’s restaurants, and there’s a movie theater and grocery stores. So it’s a lot more civilized than Big Sur, but the magnificence of the scenery is beyond beautiful. Highway 1 is a great road also to meander on. I like to ride my motorcycle up there. It’s very isolated. It takes about an hour and half to get there from Highway 101.”

Even though he grew up in San Jose, Simmons had never been to Mendocino but had always heard about it. “People always used to say, ‘That’s a great place to go camping and to hike’ and one day I just drove out there and when I hit the coast, I thought, ‘This is it, this is where I want to be,’” Simmons says. “I lived there for nine years, and I thought I’d be retired and that wasn’t the case. I ended up working, so it was a hard place to do what I do from. But some day I might move back there.”

Simmons is based in Hawaii now, where it’s more convenient to go on the road for tour dates than Mendocino. “In Hawaii, in 20 minutes I’m at the airport, as opposed to four or five hours from Mendocino.

Classic East, West, and Northwest with the Eagles

This summer, the Doobie Brothers had hugely successful stadium concerts with the Eagles in the Classic East and Classic West. It was the first time they’d played on the same bill in years, and the first time the Eagles performed since the passing of Glenn Frey.

“We had played gigs with them quite a few times through the years because they’re our era. We had records about same time period in the ’70s,” Simmons says. “We considered it a huge compliment to participate—some great music and a really good atmosphere and really felt like a ’60s festival. It was really cool.”

The Classic concerts were so successful, the two bands will be playing again in Seattle on Sept. 30 in the Classic Northwest. Although they shared the bill with Steely Dan this summer, the Seattle gig is just the Doobie Brothers and the Eagles.

Photo: Kelly A. Swift

The Doobie Brothers on tour

The Doobie Brothers are always touring on their own, having completed a summer tour with Chicago. Throughout September, the band is on the road around the country. In late October, the band leaves for Europe.

Simmons thought he was retiring to Mendocino, but life had other plans. “I just didn’t think we’d be getting the gigs,” he says. “We keep working, we keep getting the offers. I like playing and getting the offers. ‘Let’s go.�� We used to do 150 shows a year. We cut back. We’re doing 70-80 shows these days. We’re getting older, creeping up on 70. At this point 70-80 shows a year is comfortable, so we’re lucky to be able to make it work that way.”

Simmons doesn’t take it lightly that he’s been able to be travel the world for his entire adulthood, doing what he loves, and being able to bring people back to a time that was simpler. He sees it as a privilege.

“It is a blessing,” he says. “It’s not anything that I ever was expecting. I’d play music because I like playing, as a kid. You always dream of being in a band, but more just being in a band. I never thought about what that might bring. It was just, ‘I’ll be able to play with some other people, some other great guitar players and be able to offer something that they might like, and maybe they’ll like me, too.’”

For Simmons, this is what it’s all about. “To be doing this after so many years, it is a gift for sure,” he says. “I think that’s why I keep doing it, and why I’ve always done it. It’s like, ‘I don’t want to let it get away.’ This is what I’ve always wanted—to play, have fun, travel.”

Although they’ve won Grammy awards, there’s a push to get the Doobie Brothers into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They’ve sold more than 48 million albums, but the band isn’t resting on its laurels. They’re working on new music, and Simmons is hoping for a new album in the spring.

“We’re shooting for that, we’ll see. At least we’ll have something we’re working on. So that’s kind of cool,” he says. “We went into the studio and recorded some tunes. Good songs happening. I had a couple, and the other guitar player Tom (Johnston) had a couple songs, and we recorded them. They came out really good—we were really happy.”

For more information please go to thedoobiebrothers.com.

Photo: Kelly A. Swift

READ MORE CELEBRITY DRIVES HERE:

Singer Chris Daughtry of Daughtry 

Geoff Downes, Keyboardist for Yes, Asia, Buggles

Actor and World Celebrity David Hasselhoff

Drummer John Densmore of The Doors

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[marilynnewbury-blog]

Every year my husband and I argue about where to go on vacation. We've been married thirty-six years so that means we have had thirty-six Vacation Wars.

MY HUSBAND DOES NOT LIKE TO TRAVEL. I DO.

My husband, Cliff, likes to be home more than he likes to be away. I, on the other hand, prefer to leave home the minute our holidays begin and return in the wee hours of the morning just before going back to work. When vacation time rolls around, we both pull out our lists. We don't actually write them out, for after this many years, they are well-rehearsed. My list varies from year to year, but Cliff's never does.

It is not enough that I have set foot on four continents, stood by the shores of three oceans, and travelled to most of Canada and the United States.

I have enjoyed seeing the tulips in Holland, the Viking settlement in L'Anse aux Meadows NL, and the sand dunes on the Oregon coast, but I have not yet experienced Paris.

I have marvelled at the crashing waves in Cape Spear, NL  and gazed at the Alps and London Bridge in England, but I have never driven across the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, CA.

I have safaried in the Serengeti, resorted in Mombasa, and shopped in the Jerusalem Old City Market, but I have not been to Alaska.

I want to see more!

Our summer vacation war begins sometime in April or May.

After this many years, we have an unwritten script, and every year we faithfully repeat it.

WIFE: Where are we going to go on vacation this year?

HUSBAND: I don’t want to be gone for too long.

WIFE: We need to get away and have a break.

HUSBAND: At the end of my holidays, I don’t want to look back and see that I was hardly home.

WIFE: So, where would you like to go?

HUSBAND: We could take some short trips around here, and it would be  cheap. We could spend the last half of the vacation at home.

WIFE: What are you going to do at home?

HUSBAND: I would like to organize my tools, and then sit in my chair and read or watch TV.  I love being in my house. It is so quiet.

WIFE: QUIET? The house is way too noisy!

HUSBAND: NOISY?  How can it be noisy?

WIFE: The house is always talking to me:  the paperwork screams to be filed, the bed clamours to be made, the weeds laugh behind my back, and the plants yell to be watered. I can’t relax here!

And so the tense negotiations begin.

Fortunately, my husband loves to visit our families who live on opposite sides of the continent.  When our three children were younger, driving was the only financially feasible way to visit.  With the significant road time, I always hoped for potential stops along the way.  This was a problem.

Cliff sits behind the steering wheel. His mantra is drive, drive, drive. His only focus is the final destination. Food and bathroom breaks are annoying interruptions that deter him from his mission of reaching his goal as quickly as possible. His warrior instincts kick in and he aims to conquer the road by passing as many vehicles as possible. I am not sure what he hopes to win, but I have seen the defeated look on his face when he watches all of the vehicles zoom by that he just passed. All stops to view waterfalls or scenic viewpoints only mean he has to pass the same cars again. Enjoying the journey between points A and B is not in his brain vocabulary.

My role is the navigator. I am not sure why my husband still trusts me, but he follows my directions. Over time, I have discovered that my husband has a vulnerable spot in his crusty no-breaks stance: if I can somehow get him to stop, he enjoys almost any place in the world.

I have learned a few ‘tricks’ to use this chink in his armour to my advantage.

TEN STRATEGIES FOR VACATION BLISS

1. Plan bathroom breaks for stops at Visitor Centres

Timing is important: bladder urgency is best when entering a new country, state, or province as visitor centres are usually close to the borders. If possible, also bring out snacks and suggest getting fuel.  This will extend the visit so the children have time to browse inside the Tourism Center. Return to the vehicle armed with promotional literature describing the tantalizing local attractions down the road.

2. Get the children on side by creating interest in the above brochures

Start reading the tourism promo material out loud. The children will hopefully join in and want to visit the sites in the brochures. If the children are enthusiastic, Dad will probably agree to go to at least one.

This subtle strategy led to visits to the Terry Fox Monument in Thunder Bay ON, the Reversing Falls in St. John NB, the Statue of Liberty on our only visit to New York NY, a ride on Maid of the Mist at the Niagara Falls ON, and the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto ON. (My son, Stephen, found a brochure for the Toronto museum in a tiny Information Kiosk in rural Saskatchewan and kept it safe all the way to Newfoundland and Labrador and then back to Toronto.  He insisted that we go to this museum, and none of us were disappointed.)

3. Get lost with purpose.

Lose the map-reading skills and give directions for an unplanned but desired location. As we were passing by Quebec City QC, my husband was adamant that we would not go into the city, despite my loving pleadings. Finally, I meekly said, “Well, we have to stop for lunch.” As the designated map-reader, I directed him across the bridge and then suddenly had trouble understanding the map. My husband trustingly followed my prompts for a confusing route, and somehow we happened to end up in the centre of old Quebec City.

There was no turning back as my husband now wanted to stay. He rolled down his windows to smell the “European-style” air, strolled around the Old City under the royal shadow of the Chateau Frontenac, toured the Citadel, and tried to have a conversation with the French locals at an ice cream stand. I got to go to Quebec City, and incidentally had no trouble reading the map to get back on to the highway.

4. Use This Would be Good for the Children - shamelessly

I wanted to see Ottawa ON. My husband did not. I dug deep into my manipulation bank and suggested that seeing the Parliament Buildings would be a great educational experience for our offspring. He grudgingly agreed but firmly announced that we would NOT be stopping. I agreed, of course.

When we arrived at the hub of our country's government, I reiterated that the children really did need to go on a tour. My husband, not wanting to be an obstacle to his children's academic success, unwillingly complied. Ten minutes into the tour, however, we would not have been able to drag him away. We stayed for an extra hour to watch the politicians in the House of Commons and then remained for yet another hour to observe the Question Period.

By now, my husband was hooked on seeing Ottawa and the family was free to explore the city. We visited not one, but two museums: the Canadian Aviation and Space Museum and the Museum of Canadian Civilization. After a driving tour of important landmarks and a leisurely supper on a restaurant patio, I eventually pointed out that it might be time to leave. My husband agreed, reluctantly. We had been in Ottawa for six hours.

5. Find destinations that are attractive to the children

In the interest of seeing something new, find activities the children would like to do. I wanted to see Shakespeare at Stratford. My husband and all three kids gave an emphatic, unified negative response. I acquiesced and instead we went to a Toronto Blue Jays Game in Toronto ON.

I got my revenge by always cheering for the losing team, but secretly loved seeing everyone else enjoying themselves. This technique also worked for a trip to the Redwood Forest CA and for surfing in the Pacific Ocean. Dad hauled the RV trailer on the paper-clip shaped road to Tofino BC for one of our final vacations with our two youngest children.

6. Suggest activities that your husband will not be able to resist

Casually mention that the Pioneer Auto Museum is ahead in Murdo, SD. Read the sign, loudly, about the Anne Murray Centre in Springhill, NS. When in the vicinity of the OMNIMAX Theatre in Science World, Vancouver BC, read the titles of films now playing and ask if any of them sound interesting. The go-to-no-fail guarantee for a desired scenic detour is to find a restaurant that has great seafood, preferably with a lobster buffet. Since this method is so successful, I am already planning to use it for future vacations when we are close to Graceland, the White House, and Paris.

7.  Occasionally, insist on your own choice and hope the family will enjoy it

The children complained long and loud when I insisted on a visit to Butchart Gardens on Vancouver Island BC. Fortunately, they loved it all - the fountains, concerts, and variety of gardens.  We stayed much longer than intended as they begged to see the lights in the dark.

8.  Take advantage of unintended delays to see the local sights

Over the years, we have had our share of unexpected delays, usually due to vehicle problems. One year, we had planned be in Ottawa ON by July 1st but instead were stuck in Thunder Bay for Canada Day. We embraced our situation and found plenty of patriotic inspiration in the local fireworks and genuine community spirit. Another time, a belt broke on our vehicle in Portland OR on a weekend. While we waited for the part to be shipped in, we toured  the International Rose Test Garden, rode the gondola across the river, and admired the famous bridges. We had similar stories when we waited for repairs in Jasper, Edmonton, St. John's, Halifax, and Milton.

A less pleasant memory is the week we spent in the Walmart parking lot in Red Deer AB waiting for our income tax refund to be deposited into our bank account so that we would have money to continue our holidays. Family tensions soared, but regularly browsing in Walmart helped to ease the friction. The friendly employees were very hospitable, and we found out later that the children created a home theatre for themselves by regularly watching the  TVs in the electronic department.

9.  Apologize for tactical errors

The day I asked to please see the ocean just one more time when we already were very behind schedule.

The year my detours took longer than intended and we had to drive 24/7 to get back to a wedding.

The time my creative trip planning for the longer scenic route took us through the middle of a dangerous storm, and we had to stop driving. Unfortunately, time was of essence. My husband was not pleased. I'm sorry!

Sometimes, I should just keep my mouth shut and be thankful for sights already seen.

10. Finance Creatively

When the amount of road stretches further than the money, find creative ways to pay for the last leg of the trip home. Increase credit card limits, go into overdrafts, and make late payment arrangements.

This usually is not a good idea, and will be sure to enter the Vacation War dialogue the following year. Your husband will likely adamantly declare he will NOT be going into debt for this year's vacation. In my opinion, he is just looking for an excuse to stay home!

The children are grown and no longer come with us on vacations, but the script remains the same.

Cliff wants to stay at home or just go away for a few days.

I want to see new sights and be gone for as long as possible.

A FEW YEARS AGO...

The annual War of the Vacation was over-shadowed by the pain in my husband’s aching leg. With his hip needing to be replaced for the fifth time, holiday plans were uncertain and unpredictable. The war was more of a discussion dance.

My husband graciously went on a few short trips with me to northern Alberta, the Kootenays, and Banff, which was all he could endure. We arrived home a week too late for Cliff and a week too early for me. When he offhandedly suggested that I could travel by myself for a week, I did not hesitate to accept the offer.

After some creative financing, for which I had plenty of experience, and passport in hand, I was soon on the road heading southwest to Montana. One state led to another – Idaho, Oregon, Nevada, and California. I stopped in San Francisco. It was definitely worth the five days of driving for a two-day visit!

I took a tour on the top level of a double decker bus and had to duck so that trees would not whack my head. I saw the painted ladies.  After a short boat ride and a precarious stint on an old-fashioned street car, I strolled the busy pier while inhaling the scents and sounds. I did not go on the large tour boat to Alcatraz, however, as I wanted to wait so I could share that experience with Cliff.

I keyboarded the first draft of this article while gazing at the swell of the San Francisco ocean, intermittently wondering which of my schemes would work to get Cliff to  San Francisco on a future trip.

But for that year, the Vacation War was over,and I had seen the Golden Gate Bridge.

TWO YEARS LATER...

Cliff got his fifth right hip and was able to travel again, so we decided to go to the Grand Canyon AZ. After my pressured persuasion and the promise of fresh seafood, he unenthusiastically agreed to a return trip home via the longer route up the west coast. His patience was as sketchy as my map reading ability, especially when the extra miles stretched into additional hours and days. His demeanour changed when we finally got to San Francisco CA. He loved everything about it - the harbour and bridges, the architecture, the roads, the wharf with its sea lions and buskers, and especially the seafood.

The best part for me was the hoped-for harbour boat ride to Alcatraz,and getting to share the view of the Golden Gate Bridge with my husband!

THIS WEEK...

My husband and I have had our annual Vacation War conversations. After we each said our piece, I read him the script I had written several years ago, and we had indeed repeated the dialogue almost word for word. Cliff was not amused.

My husband says that he would like to go on a road trip to the West Coast, but I think he would be just as happy with a drive to the other side of the city. I would like to travel to Yukon, the Arctic Ocean, and Alaska so that I could remove them from my Never Seen list.

So far, none of my strategies of gentle persuasion are working.

Not even the lure of a ferry ride, fishing, cute gift shops, gold panning, or seafood restaurants seems to be having any effect.

Cliff claims that the mosquitoes will be as big as dinasours.

I'm not sure how he knows, since he has never been to the Yukon or Alaska.

I am trying some new strategies to try to lure Cliff to a trip up north:

Enticement: I am hoping that my writing, pictures, and publicity will change his mind.

Manipulation: We could save money, as I now qualify for seniors discounts.

Guilt: Since I am getting older, this might be the last year I will be able to go on such a long trip.

If he bites, I will perhaps be able to ride a train in the Yukon, see dancing Northern Lights, relax by the Arctic ocean, eat baked Alaska, go to a museum, and experience travelling on the Alaska Highway. I have offered to just go by myself, but so far he has not agreed. He probably does not want me to have seafood without him.

In any case, the pysanka egg in Vegreville will have to wait for another year.

Thanks to my children, Stephen, Michael, and Julia (now 30, 28 and 25).

Without you, we would not have had any family vacations,

and I might have been a vacation widow.

Who do you think should win this year's vacation War?

Vote in the COMMENT SECTION BELOW

Originally published at https://www.marilynnewbury.com Subscribe: http:subscribe.marilynnewbury.com

PHOTO CREDITS

Some day, most likely in the very distant future, I will sort through thirty years of photos. Then I will have actual pictures of our vacations for the website. For now, I am grateful to pixabay, unsplash, and flickr for permission to use their photos.

INTRODUCTION

(Golden Gate Bridge CA; Pysanka Egg,Vegreville AB) Golden Gate Bridge in fog; pixabay SuzyLu; Pysanka Egg pixabay Shaawsjank61; Globe in Hands pixabay Geralt

PLACES I HAVE TRAVELLED

(Tulips, Holland; Viking Settlement, L'Anse aux Meadows NL; Sand Dunes OR, Cape Spear NL, Alps, Switzerland; Tower Bridge, London, England; Serengeti Safari, Tanzania; Mombasa Resort, Kenya; Jerusalem Market, Israel)

Tulips in Holland by Louisa Mac CC BY 2.0 (cropped & resized); L'Anse aux Meadows Historical Park NL by Eric Titcombe CC BY 2.0 (cropped & resized); Sand Dunes OR pixabay Macmaus; Cape Spear NL by Matt Boulton CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped & resized); Alps pixabay violetta; London Tower Bridge pixabay peremon; Serengeti, Tanzania personal; Mombasa, Kenya pixabay benarudo; Jerusalem Old City Market by israeltourism CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped and resized)

PLACES I HAVE NOT SEEN

(Eiffel Tower, Paris; Golden Gate Bridge, CA; Alaska). Eiffel Tower pixabay Kaz; Golden Gate Bridge pixabay CC0 Public Domain; Alaska wolf pixabay Public Domain Pictures

TRIP NAVIGATION

Car Sign pixabay CopyrightFreePictures; Glasses with Map pixabay allysonmiller1969 border

STRATEGIES FOR VACATION BLISS

1. Plan bathroom breaks for stops at Visitor Centres. Welcome Center pixabay SooZ8

2. Get the children on side by creating interest in the above brochures (Terry Fox Memorial, Thunder Bay ON; Reversing Falls, St. John NB; Statue of Liberty, New York NY; Boat Ride, Niagara Falls ON; Royal Ontario Museum,Toronto ON)

Terry Fox Statue, Thunder Bay ON by Brett Vachon CC BY 2.0 (cropped & resized); Reversing Falls, St. John NB by Sonja CC BY 2.0  (cropped & resized); Statue of Liberty pixabay nyc_napa; Maid of the Mist, Niagara Falls pixabay CC0 Public Domain; Royal Ontario Museum by Carsten CC BY 2.0

3. Get lost with purpose. (Quebec City QC:  Bridge, Old City; Chateau Frontenac; The citadel)

Quebec City Bridge unsplash Drew Coffman ; Old Quebec City pixabay Breaktime; Chateau Frontenac by Prayitno CC BY 2.0 (cropped & resized); The Citadel by Alonso Inostrosa Psijas CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped & resized)

4. Use This Would be Good for the Children - shamelessly (Ottawa ON:  Parliament Buildings; House of Commons; Canadian Aviation and Space Museum; Museum of Canadian Civilization; Rideau Canal)

Parliament Buildings pixabay Festivio; House of Commons by Scazon CC BY 2.0 (cropped & resized); CH-113 Labrador chopper in Canadian Aviation and Space Museum by shankar s. CC BY 2.0; Museum of Canadian Civilization by sookie CC BY 2.0 (cropped & resized); Rideau Canal pixabay pcowan5188

5. Find destinations that are attractive to the children (Rogers Centre for Toronto Blue Jays Game,Toronto ON; Redwood Forest CA; Surfing at Tofino BC)

Rogers Centre Toronto Blue Jays by thatlostdog--  CC BY 2.0 (cropped and resized); Redwood Forest personal; Surfing personal

6. Suggest activities that your husband will not be able to resist (Pioneer Auto Museum, Murdo SD; Anne Murray Centre, Springhill NS; OMNIMAX Theatre in Science World, Vancouver BC)

Pioneer Auto Museum, Murdo SD personal; Anne Murray Centre, Used by permission from Anne Murray facebook page; OMNIMAX Theatre, Science World, Vancouver BC by David Stanley CC BY 2.0 (cropped & resized); Lobster pixabay Alina Kuptsova

7.  Occasionally, insist on your own choice and hope the family will enjoy it (Butchart Gardens, Vancouver Island BC)

Butchart Gardens, Vancouver Island, BC pixabay Walkways Photoman; Fountains marybettiniblank; Star Pond pwindsor; Foot Bridge Photoman

8.  Take advantage of unintended delays to see the local sights (Canada Day in Thunder Bay ON; International Rose Test Garden, Portland OR; Walmart in Canada)

Canada Day Fireworks in Thunder Bay ON by Derek Hatfield CC BY 2.0 (cropped & resized); International Rose Test Garden, Portland OR by Neeta Lind CC BY 2.0 (cropped & resized); Walmart by Mike Kalasnik CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped & resized)

9.  Be prepared for tactical errors

Driving in Rain by Jason Trbovich CC BY 2.0 (cropped & resized)

A FEW YEARS AGO...

Marilyn's Trip to San Francisco (San Francisco CA: Double Decker Tour Bus; Painted Ladies; Street Car; Pier 39; Ocean)

San Francisco:  Double decker tour bus by Nick Ares CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped & resized); Painted Ladies by Jiahui Huang CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped & resized); Street Car pixabay jingoo10200; Pier 39 pixabay skeeze; Ocean pixabay suyashdixit

TWO YEARS LATER...

Cliff & Marilyn's Trip (Grand Canyon & San Francisco: Harbour & Bridges; Cityscape; Lombard Street; Busker's Guitar; Fishermans Wharf)

Grand Canyon: Photo by Alexandre Godreau on Unsplash (cropped & resized)

San Francisco: Harbour and Bridges pixabay jessebridgewater; Cityscape pixabay tpsdave; Lombard Street by Holiday Point CC BY 2.0 (cropped & resized); Busker's Guitar by Bob Doran CC BY 2.0 (resized and cropped) NOTE:  I did not actually see this busker or his guitar; Fishermans Wharf pixabay sarangib

Boat Tour in San Francisco Harbour (Boat; Alcatraz; Golden Gate Bridge)

Boat to Alcatraz pixabay sarangib; Alcatraz Prison pixabay BKD; Golden Gate Bridge with blue sky pixabay kahsky

THIS WEEK...

Arrows pixabay geralt

Travel Destination Maps (Yukon; Arctic Ocean; Alaska/North America)

Yukon map by CC BY 2.0 (cropped & resized); Arctic Ocean by Dan Markeye CC BY 2.0 (cropped & resized); Alaska/North America map by CC BY 2.0 (cropped & resized)

Insects (Mosquito & Dinasour)

Mosquito and Dinosaur pixabay OpenClipart-Vectors

Yukon & Alaska Destinations

(Alaska Ferry; Fishing Salmon; Simply Salmon Gift Shop; Gold Panning; Crab Shack)

Alaska Ferry pixabay skeeze; Fishing Salmon pixabay LoveToTakePhotos; Simply Salmon by Public Domain; Gold Panning by CC BY 2.0 (cropped & resized); Crab Shack by CC BY 2.0 (cropped & resized)

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