Summer Solstice

Today is the first day of summer. An easy way to celebrate is to do what the tourists do in Hawaii. After a fun day Hawaiian-style, island visitors head for the beach at the end of the day. They go specifically to enjoy the sunset. They go early carrying beach chairs and all the beach stuff they might want and need along with snacks and drinks in coolers. They find a good spot, get comfortable or maybe dip into the warm water and then settle in to watch the sun in all its dramatic blaze and glory dip into the sea. The sight is always different and always magnificent.

We can do the same thing here at home. Choose a favorite outdoor spot in the yard or head on down to a nearby river and watch the longest day of the year fade into what we hope will be endless summer days of fun and good weather. If you're with others, ask them to share any of the summer solstices that they might remember. When I was 15, I spent the longest day of the year in the front row at the Outdoor Theater at the Shakespeare Festival watching Romeo and Juliet. It was the beginning of a lifelong love affair with the old Bard.

Destination du jour

Croatia. The travel destination that seems to be more and more popular and frequently featured on TV travel programs. Even HGTV has had a program or two following potential home buyers looking in Croatia. And I even have a former student who will be living there soon.

So what's the attraction? I sort of know where it is-east of Italy across a large body of water on the Dalmatian coast. My friend Nancy told me that so I can visualize its location. She was there just last month. And my friend Kristi has cruised along the coast as well. They both say it is beautiful and inviting so I googled it to make sure of the location and to see some photos. The water world of this country is indeed gorgeous. And I read about some terrific things to see and do in Zagreb. But it's a little weird that the number one attraction posted on one site is a cemetery. But reading further, I learned that the cemetery is rich with historic and important art.

I also noticed that I can get a round trip airline ticket for just about a thousand dollars. So air travel for both of us would be about $2000.00. Then we'd have to pay for the trip to the cemetery and all the meals we'd eat in Zagreb and I don't even know what the food is like. I'd certainly want to do at least a one or two day cruise to enjoy the coastline with a couple of nice stops at points of interest. And then maybe we could catch a cruise ship and float around to some other places that I might be a little more familiar with.

Guess what? We're going to take the train to Seattle with friends and we'll goof around there for a few days. After a little rest back home, we'll take off for Central Oregon for some fun in the sun. August will find us at the Coast a time or two for some beach walking and chowder eating. None of this is as exciting or as exotic as Croatia, but we'll have a good time.

An Untimely Death

My computer is dying. It doesn't keep up with my keyboarding. It loads everything very slowly. It won't get where I want it to go without an excess of wheezing and whirring. I can't look at everything on facebook although that may be one of those disguised blessings.

But rescue is near! My e-mail is still able to inform me that a new computer is coming. It's somewhere in Texas right now but will magically appear on my doorstep sometime tomorrow. So everything is already backed up on an external hard drive and all systems will maybe be "go" by the end of the week. We'll see. In the meanwhile, you can view my website at wirthwhilebooks.com. You can still see it at wirthwhilebooks.webs.com but the new address seems a little more techy and up to date.

Keep your fingers crossed for me.