Midsummer Bliss

Is it me, or is this summer blazing by at hyper-speed? Since I last wrote, I’ve been to San Francisco; Jackson Hole, Wyoming; Syracuse, New York; Dallas; and Houston, plus Corpitos at every point in between. Craziness! Some of the highlights:

* hiking through Tennessee Valley and then downing a bottle of wine, a bag of cherries, and a block of lavender goat cheese on Paradise Beach with Marcy Gordon

* bonding with Lavinia Spalding, editor of Best Women’s Travel Writing 2011, over dim-sum at Yank Sing (which serves the yummiest jiaozi this side of the Pacific)

* wandering the winding streets of San Francisco, chai-and-chocolate-milk in hand, with Lea Aschkensas

* biking across Elk Refuge and beholding the Grand Teton

* meeting one of my literary heroes, Cristina Garcia, at the Jackson Hole Writer’s Conference and then devouring her latest novel, The Lady Matador’s Hotel, in a day-long gulp

* meeting another literary hero, Ben Fountain, at a barbecue in Dallas and then re-reading and re-falling for Brief Encounters with Che Guevara 

* road-tripping South Texas in search of good stories with my co-pilot, Greg

Next stop is San Antonio, where I’ll be teaching a day-long travel writing class at one of my fave literary centers in the nation: Gemini Ink. Then I’m jetting back to the West Coast to teach a three-day memoir writing workshop at the Mendocino Coast Writer’s Conference in Northern California. I’ll also be jumping up and down with some of my most beloved people on the planet: Marisa Handler (BWTW 2010 contributor and singer/writer/activist extraordinaire) and my Trekker family. Happiness!

Here’s hoping your summer is equally blessed. Thanks for stopping by y saludos.