We got back from Spain on Saturday night. Our honeymoon was wonderful, a total blast. Sean, in a habit learned from his mother, will often declare things “magnificent” or “stupendous.” When, on the last night of our trip, he stated that our honeymoon was “spectacular,” I did not tease him. It was.

Obvious post-Europe visit thoughts: so America is pretty isolated, huh? And Europeans are pretty lucky to have access to wildly different cultures by jumping on a high-speed train, short cheap flight, or quick moving ferry? I was and am jealous.

We managed to make it to a friend’s birthday party on Saturday night after we got back, despite the long day of travel and jet lag. We drank beer and wine, got caught up on Occupy activities, and looked at each other with knowing glances. The looks said, “These people are great, we are so lucky. These people are home.”

While I’m doing that, here are some photos of our trip to Puerto Rico:

I’m headed to the Adirondacks this weekend for my friend Brynn’s wedding. It’s going to be a lovefest of games, food, and wonderful people. Also leaves that are just starting to turn. I can’t wait. Sean is bringing his fishing pole and I am bringing my boots.

Last weekend I flew to Kansas City for my cousin’s wedding, and danced until I could not dance anymore. I mean it, I had to sit down and rest. For some reason the DJ decided to end the evening with “Empire State of Mind” followed by Sinatra’s “New York, New York.” Something about hearing those songs in Missouri made my brother, Sean, and I rush out onto the dance floor and go crazy. It was a lot of fun.

Anyway, I’ve got a list of random tidbits I wanted to write about on the blog and since I’ve already revealed my lack of spunk tonight, I will indulge my laziness with bullet points:

• Andrea Scher and Jen Lemen have just begun the first fall session of their awesome online class, Mondo Beyondo, and there’s still room. I took the class last October, and continue to return to the lessons they wrote and the discoveries I made during the five weeks. I highly recommend Mondo Beyondo for any man or woman craving more space for reflection and courage to dream.
• My friend Courtney’s book cover has been released and it is hella gorgeous. I can’t wait to get my copy of Fall for Anything in December and press my face up against its loveliness. And then, of course, read it. Yay Courts!
• Speaking of books, I just finished the second installment of the Parasol Protectorate Series, Changeless (do not click lest ye be spoiled). My friend Candice gave me her copy of the first book, Soulless, a couple months ago and I finally read it this month. The books are ridiculous fun, and a great combination of science fiction/fantasy, romance, and mystery. They also introduced me to the Steampunk genre, about which I knew next to nothing. The third book, Blameless, comes out tomorrow and Candice and I have a date tomorrow evening to go buy it!
• Kim’s recent post over at What Claudia Wore reminded me of the genius of her blog and made me feel cool for being her friend. Do you like how braggy I am about these cool friends of mine? Yeah? Well I should be because THEY ARE AWESOME.

The next several weeks of my life are going to be very busy. I’ve detailed this to practically everyone I know but since I haven’t written about it on the internet, the circle ain’t complete. The good news is that I’m going to be busy for awesome reasons (three out-of-town weddings in four weeks) and will get to see a lot of people (and places) I love. Yay! The stressful part is that I have a lot to balance at school and work between now and then, and some folks will probably think I’ve dropped off the face of the earth. To those who may search here for answers in the near future: I haven’t fallen off the face of the earth, just busy getting my school and celebration on!

And what’s the first stop on the Whirlwind Express? Kansas City! Kansas City here I come! (<— It occurs to me this might not be a song and if it’s not, I am totally pulling a “my mom.”)

During college I flew out to Salt Lake City to meet my father at a work-related conference. Instead of flying back, he thought it would be cool if we rented a car and took a week or so to drive back home. When we pulled into Arches National Park, located in the Moab desert, I thought we’d been transported to another planet. The red dirt, the huge monoliths, the squishy soil–it was unlike anything I’d ever seen before, absolutely breathtaking.

I’ve had similar experiences out on the Great Plains, up in Alaska, and down in the sweaty, vibrant South. And I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve been struck by how pretty New York State is with its mountains and lakes and metropolises. In all of those moments I have this same thought, Wow, I can’t believe this is New York State/the U.S. too. This place is awesome.

This pride has lately eclipsed my interest in international travel. It’s not gone by any means, I’m just interested right now in exploring the States. In order to satisfy my raging wanderlust, I sometimes  research and plan fantasy vacations and trips. Mini-obsessions that last for an afternoon, couple days, a few weeks.

After finding a particularly gorgeous set up in coastal Washington State, I couldn’t keep my “dream vacation” to myself. I emailed it to Sean and some friends with a “let’s do this” message. They agreed. Who knows if it will ever happen but you gotta dream big, right?

I want to share those fantasies on this blog too, and maybe someone out there can take the idea and run with it. I’ll post my travel tips and teasers here and tag them “spacious skies,” after my favorite line in “America, The Beautiful:” O beautiful for spacious skies/For amber waves of grain.

Not all my tips/teasers will be about travel within the United States but because that’s where I live and where I want to travel right now, I expect it’ll be the focus.

BONUS: If you want to be inspired by the U.S.’s National Parks, check out this beautiful photo set on Flickr. I might’ve starred every photo as a favorite.

I. Sean, Kevin, and my dad in the Niagara Glen on my birthday hike, June 12. The Glen is along the Niagara River gorge in Ontario and is generally an incredible place. II. The Friday afternoon scene at Veritas, a wine bar my friend Melissa’s fiance owns. We had several nice glasses of wine there when I visited DC at the end of June for #ala10. III. The GIANT SLUG that tried to take over our house and bread one afternoon. Huge! IV. Brynn convinced me to order room service on our last morning in DC and I’m glad she did. It was such a nice treat. My mango oatmeal is in the foreground. V. A black and white from the field of tall grass behind Sean’s family cottage in Canandaigua, NY.

My friend Brynn and I decided to go together this year, and shared a room at the Washington Hilton. We live about five hours apart and are ridiculously busy people so we used the conference as an important opportunity for us to catch up, hang out, and otherwise be friends. This was my first ALA conference, and Brynn’s third.

I wrote most of my recap at the airport in Baltimore but it’s so long that I’m going to it break down into parts. There was just so much to take in and report. So, to begin:

Thoughts on my thoughts
As a quick background, I started my MLS program at the University at Buffalo in January 2010. So I’m new. I’m also a part-time grad student with a more than full-time job outside of the LIS community. It’s been difficult for me to really engage in discussions about LIS issues because 1) I’m still learning what they are, and 2) I just don’t have the time.

I  looked forward to #ala10 because it presented an opportunity for me to dive in and get a little bit of a crash course. I think my hopes were matched but I’m reminded that it will take time, it’s okay to go slow, and that I won’t be able to engage completely until I’m actually a working librarian. So in some ways I’m a bit of an outsider.

I have attended several professional and political conferences in the past, and I am absolutely overwhelmed by the organization and efficiency demonstrated at #ala10. From the shuttle buses to the man holding a pre-made sign directing people to a Council meeting to the fantastic, useful workshops, I am beyond impressed. I hope when I get more involved with ALA and LIS issues I will remember my initial impressions. I hope they remain my impressions!

That being said, Friday night…
I decided to fly in on Friday afternoon so that I could visit with my friend, Melissa, who lives in DC and is getting married there this October. It also allowed me to get to the hotel and conference first thing Saturday morning.

Melissa and I went to high school together, and have not had much time over the past (almost) ten years to spend with each other. Despite this, we immediately picked up where we left off and had a really wonderful day. I feel blessed to have her as a friend, and am so excited to return in October for her wedding.

Friday afternoon we had some drinks and a delicious cheese board at her fiance Adam’s wine bar Veritas. It was a super classy place with fantastic service and a wonderful atmosphere. Adam met up with us at Veritas, and after another glass of wine we continued to Bibiana for dinner. Now, before I go on, I need to state for the record that dining with a restaurateur is really amazing. While the waitstaff were already friendly and professional, they really kicked it up a notch when they learned they were in the company of a colleague. I won’t lie, I really enjoyed the experience. Related: I had the agnolotti and it’s up there with my best meals ever. Also, I can’t stop thinking about the espresso granita. [insert Cookie Monster noises] THANK YOU MELISSA & ADAM.

Saturday morning Melissa dropped me off at the hotel around 9:00AM, and I quickly found my way to the line of librarians boarding a shuttle bus. How could I tell? The crowd was almost entirely comprised of women wearing comfortable shoes.

Next up: #ala10 recap: part two, the setting

I. Twinkle lights at the mall. We stopped in to take a break from the unrelenting rain. II. Josh putting his new record back into its sleeve on Sunday morning at a coffee shop on Bloor & Albany Streets. III. Movie making in Chinatown. IV. Downtown, wet and slick around 3:00pm on Saturday. V. Bailey’s & Coffee at the bar of some touristy place near our hotel. Josh is now 19 and he had the same.

I’ve been going places and seeing people, and then my website was taken over my a stupid virus. It’s all better now thanks to the wonderful Jim Lindley.

Once I over the next hump of school work I’ll have an update.