traveling

My First Solar Eclipse at 100% Totality

/ Ajmorse / Leave a comment


Hi all! We found ourselves in Vermont to view the solar eclipse and man, it was so worth it! We drove 700+ miles (14 hours in the car,) and I would do it all again in a heartbeat.


Let me set the scene…

At a rest stop outside of Newport, Vermont. Cars surround the little patch of rest area. The sky is blue with not a cloud in sight, and the sun beats down with such warmth that you don’t mind the lingering patches of snow on the ground or the cool breeze that smells like pine trees. Some people are there with telescopes, too, and there are a few dogs. Others spread blankets out on the grass and people sit around in chairs under trees or near their cars. A dad and a son play Frisbee while waiting. An older woman walks by. “What a day to be alive!” she says.

Across the way, someone is cooking bacon. There are a few scientists nearby, throwing words around like ‘progression’ and someone asks, “is this your first totality?” Several people are wearing black ‘2024 Solar Eclipse’ t-shirts. On the highway, cars trickle by, as well as some large trucks; the sound of plastic flapping loudly on wrapped cargo as it barrels down the hill. Some trucks honk at the people at the rest stop. In solidarity of the eclipse, perhaps, or maybe they’re annoyed there’s no room for them to stop…too rest…

A few people wander over to Michael at his telescope; curious about the equipment he’s using and at what setting…clearly he must have a camera mounted to that large telescope. (He doesn’t. He used his phone.) Someone starts to play music, but it isn’t intrusive; the light rock just feels like part of the experience; relaxing and playful.

Then, the light disappears completely, and your breath catches. The sun is gone and you’re surrounded by a three-hundred-sixty degree view of what looks like a sunset. Two planets appear in the sky suddenly. They’ve been there this whole time, but you’re so surprised…and the light that glows around the moon feels otherworldly and transformative.

There have been a few sights in my lifetime that have made me cry. Some of the landscapes in Zion, Utah, as well as seeing the Grand Canyon for the first time. This was also one of them. #10/10. #wouldrecommend.

I hope many of you were able to enjoy the eclipse, and if not…I hope you catch the next one. Happy Thursday!

Our Vacation Out West Part 2: The Desert

/ Ajmorse / 1 Comment

After driving through the Rocky Mountains, Mike and I watched the landscape turn dryer, the rocks and dirt became a burnt red and orange. Small bush-like trees grew across the desert. And if you looked towards the horizon, the land continued for miles and miles in every direction. Flat and sparse and rocky, shadowed by giant mesas, we were just accessories to an already finished masterpiece.

This was the Utah that first greeted us. We drove for miles with no one around, except for the sparse trailer or house dispersed across the barren landscape. We drove through a good portion of the Navajo reservation and much of the landscape was the same; houses dotted a flat landscape of orange, red and brown.

Whoever lives here must drive for an hour to reach the nearest grocery store, or a half an hour at best to reach the nearest gas station. Little huts which promised finely woven Navajo rugs and pottery and jewelry, started to pop up every couple of miles alongside the highway.

We felt awed by the difference of this landscape compared to what we were used to back home. Upstate New York is green, the mountains are gentle hills, breezes tease the trees and rainstorms nourish. Here in this desert landscape was a harshness and a palette of colors we had never encountered before.

As the we drove into higher elevations and then drove back down, we kept our eyes out for eagles, and looked for big-horned sheep. We saw a few horses, and the occasional grouping of cattle, which chewed on the brown-yellow grass.

During our journey, I’m thinking about Star Wars, about a lonely teenager longing for adventure his desert home doesn’t provide. I’m thinking about science fiction stories of life on Mars, or a desert planet much like this one.

I fell in love with the desert’s stark beauty in a harsh and unforgiving landscape. Of dirt, and hot wind and a sun that blazes so hot and bright, it makes the sand burn underfoot.

I’m already in awe and we haven’t even made it to Zion National Park yet…and as we soon discovered, it’s always beautiful in Zion.

Buying Alcohol at 9 in the Morning

/ Ajmorse / Leave a comment

imageThis post isn’t about writing at all, really. It’s not even about alcohol, either.
This summer I turned twenty-eight, (woo me!) but I was having a thought last night, and I have no idea what it means to be a twenty-eight.

Should I feel like an adult? An old lady? Should I just give up all together and realize that being an adult is waay overrated? Hmm. There’s a thought.

Here I am on the brink of thirty, (clearly,) and all I want to do is travel the world, try awesome new food, and adopt a new pet…maybe a rat. It would be cool to have a rodent I could train to do tricks.

Last night, I went to bed at 10pm, and woke up at 8am with Mike this morning. I picked up some things to make enchiladas at Wegmans for dinner tonight, (we here in upstate New York loove our Wegmans), and grabbed some bottles of wine at the nearby liquor store…all before 9am.

Am I getting old?

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My purse I bought.

I tried shopping last night and I realized I don’t even know whats in any more. I picked out a purse and thought, Oh my God, what if its an old lady purse?!

One of my girlfriend’s assured me that it was definitely not…but I guess my point is, I don’t know who I am anymore. I’m way too old to shop in the juniors section, but I’m too young to graduate to cardigans and carpet bags.

I’m ready for that time where I’m not a jittery twenty-year old trying to figure life out, but I don’t have visions of buying a house, or having kids…yet. I still feel like I haven’t done anything.

I guess it makes sense that I am feeling this way, because I’ll always be a kid a heart. The unconventional sort who likes to wear Jon Snow t-shirts, and Star Wars leggings, (I totally don’t have Star Wars leggings, but now I want some!), and who likes to write notes for stories in the shower on my trusty water-proof notebook.

I want to travel the world in a camper that rocks back and forth on the highway, and I want to drink wine at 10am and eat s’mores for breakfast. I want to listen to music with the windows down, and I want to experience new things, and learn a new language.

I’m too old to sleep till noon anymore, because, let’s face it, when you get older, time is a currency all on its own. But I’m not ready for the white picket fence and suburban neighbors. Who of any of my generation can afford that anyway?

I want to live a life of plenty, and I want to be that crazy neighbor that has painted every side of her house a different color.

I want to celebrate the life of an unconventional and I think we should all cheer to that.
I want to live the creative life that I was meant to…

Because there’s no age-limit for creativity, and I’m completely fine with that!

Hope everyone is having a great Saturday!

Ah, Summer…

/ Ajmorse / 2 Comments

Well, May passed by in a blur! Can’t believe that it is June already! But, as I am a June baby (my birthday is next week, June 7th! Yeah, baby!) I love that Summer is just about here and all the things that come with it!

I love the heat, the lightning bugs, the sound of a screen door slamming shut; the hum and croak of bull frogs in the pond next to my house, the crickets singing in the grass.

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Pine Cradle lake. A camping trip a few years ago…

Ah, Summer…

I love that it is the time of flip-flops and tank tops and shorts and sun-glasses. A time where sweaty socks are forgotten and tucked in the back of an underwear drawer somewhere, and you can slap, slap, slap, your way through cold, air-conditioned super markets. There’s something satisfying about the feel of feet slapping across a smooth, solid floor…

I love the food of summer time: hotdogs, and jello, and pasta salads; pies and watermelon, strawberry short-cake, ice cream, s’mores and iced tea.

And with all these delicious foods come the outings: picnics, cookouts and camping and trips next to the lake…

My girls! ❤

Nights out on the town with girlfriends in the sweltering summer heat, drinking rum-and-coke, and moving with a freedom that doesn’t happen in winter. Your body is like liquid and moves where you want it to, finally released from the burden of bulky winter clothes…a summer breeze that caresses bare shoulders, like a soft blanket…

Everything is life, life, life and the world is humming, waiting to be explored!

Summer is exciting! I love it when everything comes back to life again and myself with it! Although I have been rather busy with work lately, I look forward to the time spent with friends and the mini-vacations that we have planned! (Still need to post updates on past trips!) Exciting days ahead! 🙂

Went to the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon with one of my girlfriends memorial day weekend! :) So Beautiful!

Went to the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon with one of my girlfriends memorial day weekend! 🙂 So Beautiful!

My goal is to post here at least once a month, although I certainly want to post more with pictures of trips and adventures and such! Hope everyone is enjoying the warmer weather! Got any exciting plans?

Happy Summer y’all!