Okay, who has a great vacation to talk about this summer? In our first post-COVID restriction summer… who went where? According to NPR, most of us opted for Iceland over Alaska, Italy over Florida and Paris over New Orleans.

We jetted. We vacated. Con gusto.

Vacating. Vacationing can bring us all back fresh, and give us the break we need from our everyday lives to bring new perspective, new ideas and new energy to our work.

What helped you escape this summer? What motivated you?

We’ve had a couple of local trips – one to San Diego for Comic Con, which was great. It was at least 25 degrees cooler in San Diego, than here! A break from the heat is more valuable than I realized. Everyone here thinks the weather is a perfect paradise. But as I’ve mentioned, 100-degrees is stultifying.

When the kids were little and we lived in New York, I couldn’t think of a better investment in our optimism than a warm weather trip in February. A winter vacation in Florida or the Bahamas gave us a much needed break from the grind winter can be – the layers of clothes, the snow, the shivering, the ice, and walking carefully. Sunshine restored a sense of freedom, possibility and hope.

Indeed, here, no one can imagine what it must be like to live with snow in their lives. Literally. the shake their heads in amazement.

Cool breezes and cooler temps gave us a much needed break a mere 90 miles south of here. Ahhh…

As for actual coolness factor, ask the nerds who waited four hours on lines to get free gifts from Hulu or Marvel. I’ll post some pics of me and hubby in the Facebook group. (Ask to join if you aren’t in there with us.)

And we’re headed to San Francisco over Labor Day week with family. From what my weather app tells me, it’s going to be in the 60’s! OMG. Exotic. Transcendent. A welcome change.

Around here, the kids are already back to school and summer is essentially over. you’re probably getting ready to close the pool and bring in the hoses soon, too. But before you go, share some of your summer memories with us in the FB group. (Ask to join if you haven’t already.)

And remember where you first saw a lot of your most exotic locales? In a book! Does it help to write about cool weather during a heat dome? Is it a relief to visit a hot beach in your writing mid-winter? You tell me! Looking forward to hearing how you spent your summer vacation.