Tryptophan, Thanks and Travel

Boardwalk at Moonstone Beach, Cambria, Californa

In the last few weeks, I haven’t been doing a whole lot of writing here.

Instead, I’ve been writing a novel.

Y’know, like one does.

But for the Thanksgiving holiday I’ll be traveling again: Adam and I are heading up to Central California to go cove exploring, wine tasting and beachcombing in Morro Bay, Paso Robles and Cambria.

Y’know, like two do.

The novel is a project I first started back in 1998 and have been skillfully avoiding ever since. Novel-writing has been to me what air travel is to the flying-phobic. However, since they don’t make Xanax for novelists, I’ve just had to duck, dodge, weave and finally just choose the right time in my life to get started.

Apparently, the right time is now.

Set in a fictional version of the Age of Exploration, my book-in-process is a Young Adult tale of a witty young princess who feels she’s been born to the wrong family. She’s happiest having adventures with her science-geek best friend, who is unrequitedly in love with her. When our heroine is faced with a potentially disastrous arranged marriage, she and her pal stow away onboard a ship taking a trip ’round a fantasy version of the world; by the time this eye-opening journey is over, she discovers that she wants to be a leader, in her own right.

I figure a trilogy ought to do it, but let’s start with the one book, shall we?

I’m grateful that I can actually string together paragraphs of fiction, after not testing this theory since about, oh, the second Clinton Administration. 

In addition to noveling, I’ll soon be sporting a site re-design here at Travels With Two, as well as debuting a new website altogether: Have Snark, Will Travel will feature comedic photos and micro-stories from around the world.

I’m grateful that my chosen domain name wasn’t taken. I’m also grateful to have found a helpful, communicative coder/designer.

But not so grateful that I’m unwilling to take a break from the computer for a few days.

On Thanksgiving morning, we’ll climb in the car and drive four hours north. We’ll stay at The Fogcatcher Inn right on Moonstone Beach and have a hopefully delightful four-course dinner at the Cass House in nearby Cayucos. Then we’ll spend the weekend trolling around the rocky shores of Morro Bay, the wine tasting rooms of Paso Robles, the elephant seal breeding grounds at Piedras Blancas, and the sweet little village of Cambria itself.

Aside from the weekend to come, it”ll be nice to be back in Los Angeles for a good long while. It feels like about half of this year has been spent away from home and/or each other; just lately, I’ve been in Arizona and Maryland for 10 days combined…and that’s just lately.

In the weeks to come, keep an eye out for:

-the kick-off of the 4th annual Passports with Purpose
-a link to my radio interview by travel guru Peter Greenberg
-tales of resorts in sunny Arizona
-a layover plan for Sydney, Australia
-a visit to a seaside inn in central Belize
-the surprising foodie scene in Tijuana, Mexico
-further explorations in Taiwan
-and of course…more

For now, I wish you all a happy holiday of togetherness, tryptophan and travel, wherever it may be!

__________________________

See also
Central California: Cambria
A Dog-Friendly Stay by the Cambria Shore
Weird House of Cambria: Nitt Witt Ridge
Central California: Paso Robles
A Weekend of Wine in Paso Robles
Central California: Morro Bay
Central California: San Simeon
TWT Travel Binder: California