"Keep it Simple"...

So, here's the thing. . . journaling. When I travel, journaling is my main focus (besides the obvious... photography). Documenting a trip with words is a spectacular way of reliving a moment...I came to this realization 2 days ago, when flipping through my brown leather journal....I flip to the section that says, "Steph See's New England day #1" I flip the page and see that I wrote while i was in Boston..specific details, smells and sounds. I found myself laughing...not at anything anyone else would find funny but because while sitting at my desk it was exactly like I was laying on my bed in the Boston Hostel, sipping on theraflu and looking out past the drizzle at a very wet Newbury St. I could hear the sounds around me of the girls i bunked with...their Scottish accent, and the way it faded to the back of my mind when out my open window I could hear live music from the students @ Berklee playing "Under Pressure". It was phenomenal to have that feeling again like I did almost a year ago. I got excited reliving the moments I had there...turned the page to see about what little things had happened when I was in Burlington, Vermont, or perhaps Rhode Island...but it was blank. I have these great intensions of capturing my heart on paper, moments and atmosphere that make my pulse race. It is then I realized that I MUST write more...MUST. People forget the small things so easily...and it's those little things that make up part of who I am, what makes me Steph. a good friend of mine just asked me, "whats the happiest you've ever been in your whole life? like EVER?" Honestly, I have so many happy things in my life...I am very blessed. But when my heart gets fluttery, and I get this huge smile on my face that can't be stopped...it's really when I am seeing new place and meeting new people. My answer was simple..."standing by a lighthouse in Cape Cottage, Maine with no one else around, in the fog in a scarf...sucking in as much cold air as i could, while holding black coffee from a local coffee shop with fingerless gloves. stuff like that....makes me VERY happy."

here is the journal entry from Boston, MA after catching a Red Eye from LAX to Boston...no sleep...walking around for an entire day in the rain, and yes...sick on top of that, but still my trip to these states were some of the best times of my life. Enjoy my delirious verbiage...

"Right now I am sitting on the top bunk of the bed my mom and I are sharing at a hostel in downtown Boston. We are right across the street from the world famous Berklee school of music. I am being serenaded by a live band rocking out in a dorm room, ah parites on thursday nights in Boston. They are very good, very souldful. Out of my window there is a dorm building and in that open window is a dance studio at Berklee where people are practicing routines. I am sick right now with a sinus cold, i picked it up on the redeye flight. My mom and I are so tired, we were delirious this morning. We dropped out stuff off at the hostel and headed for some breakfast foods at 7am Boston time which meant 4am CA time with no sleep. We found a small place called Trident coffee house & booksellers. It was pricey so we sat ourselves by a window and ordered a bagel and shmear and lots of black coffee. My mom fell asleep. After that she woke up and we started to eat I had an itch on my forehead but didn't realize I had cream cheese on my finger, well it ended up on my head and hair. She spit out a piece of her chewed bagel and it was all downhill from there. We were so out of it we laughed repeatedly til tears were streaming down out cheeks. My scarf was even damp. The waitress felt so bad for us she gave us the coffee for free. Finally we were on our way to the Musem of Fine Arts. Tonight was so much fun! The weather was perfect, a little crisp but not windy...we walked to Newbury St and my eyes lit up. The sun started to set and the white hanging lights were breathtaking. We ate at a pizza place in some basement where 2 fat Italian men prepared our pizza. We spent the rest of the night strolling into shops, drinking warm beverages, and watching candelight dinners. Goodnight"

"Keep It Simple" Vermont's state motto...and one of my favorite 3 words. On a daily basis we overlook the simple joys that are everywhere around us. CA is so fast, everything is not simple, it's over-rated and stressful...but there are so many things other than those that surround us...we choose not to open our eyes to them. That is a crying shame.

I challenge you...go out of your way to step on a crunchy leaf just to hear what it sounds like. For the love of pete..when it starts to rain don't put something over your head, enjoy how it feels when it lands on your eyelashes, take the time to feel how your lover's hands feel wrapped in yours. Random acts of kindness. If you have not seen the movie "Pay it Forward" please watch it...it's one of my favourites.


and with that I leave you with a few pics from my trip to New England last Fall. If you have a chance to go there when the leaves look like fire, rent a car and drive all 6 states...it's so beautiful. at least if i don't write i always have these:

Cape Cottage, Maine 2006:

My beautiful mom in Maine, Lorrie:

My happy mom on our roadtrip throughout all of the New England states Fall 2006.

Keene, New Hampshire:

Portland, Maine:

AND NOW...some lyrics that touch my heart...."and your touch is potent medicine, oh knocks me out with just one shot, yeah
i've never seen such strong elixir, baby"

ladies and gents, Mr. Matt Wertz from TN.
his music is incredible, take a listen:



Photograph at the top: SR-Photography.
http://www.myspace.com/sr_photography