Vacation Away

Boise, Idaho!

 

I arrived a day early before sister, Kim and nephew, Adam were to drive in from Salt Lake. They had recently flown in to Salt Lake from England, (yes, England!), because my nephew and professional actor, Adam, was playing 12 year old Jesus in a movie filmed every year by the Mormon church about the New Testament. As you can well imagine, I was over the top excited to see them! I had not seen my sister in over four years and hadn’t seen Adam since he was a young boy when I visited them in England almost eight years ago.

 

By now, dear reader, you know that I love wandering through a new city with complete, unfettered freedom, following my nose, letting myself be lured by what interests me, living completely, immediately in the very moment I find myself. I started at the Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial, which moved me to tears. There are curved walls with inspiring quotes and pictures describing the struggle for all kinds of human rights, Jewish, African American, Eastern European, and Native American; several cultures and people were represented on the Quote Wall. I sat, slowly eating my picnic lunch, moving from bench to bench so I could read every single quote and let its meaning sink in to my soul. One picture in particular broke my heart, a small boy with his head thrown back in delight at his first pair of shoes.

 

 

I wandered through the Julia Davis Park, snapping pictures of the plethora of fountains, statues, museums and even a rose garden with a gazebo.

 

I continued through the cool, vibrant parts of their downtown, checking out the capitol and finally stopping at an outdoor café. Of course you know I had to indulge in a baked good after all that walking! Rob called at just the right moment, as I was sipping coffee and perusing through the Boise Weekly, checking out all the things to do, and I got to share all my delight with him, too.

 

 

Making my way back slowly to the hotel, I found yet another park, named after the good Ann Morrison, whose wide open green space invited me to take my shoes off and just sink down on the grass. As I lay flat on my back, propping my pack behind my head for a pillow, I gazed at the slow moving clouds, and was transported back to my 12 year old self, with her best friend, Debbie Klotz, reclining on that same back in a wide open field on a late Sunday afternoon in the summer, watching the clouds, sharing our secrets, without a care in the world. That young girl was truly without one single care; it would be years before she would know anything about anxiety or worry. I realized that as much as I love Oakland, it had been a long time since I had felt this safe outdoors. I still wouldn’t trade all the Bay Area’s vitality and stimulation, but that feeling was oh so . . .restful.

 

I rolled over on my side with my book, Madeleine L’Engle’s, A Wrinkle in Time, a mystical romp, perfect for this vacation, and read myself into a little nap. . . when I awoke it was time to go back to the hotel and see if Kim and Adam had arrived yet.  I propped my feet up in the lobby and within minutes, there they were!  

Now, I get to share it all. There is nothing better than scouting out experiences to share with those I love. The pendulum swings from holy solitude to connection and oh, what delicious connection it was. That wonderful reunion in the lobby might have been the very best part of the whole trip.