(Not) Drinking from Cacti & Other Fun Road Trip Facts

Whee! We recently drove from California to New Mexico for the Left Coast Crime conference. I love gathering random factoids on road trips. At a pit stop in Phoenix, we stopped by the Desert Botanical Garden. Thank goodness it wasn’t too hot. (The temp would go up to high 80s later on.) I was wowed by all sorts of cacti (but please don’t give me a pop quiz on them). Unfortunately, I was also sad to discover that you can’t really drink water out of a barrel cactus. It’s more like a glue or sap … [Read more...]

Catalina Island

"Allow disruptions to deepen your concentration." I spent Thanksgiving off the mainland! A short ferry ride away from Los Angeles lies Catalina Island. It was nice to walk around the quaint town and relax by watching the boats bobbing in the water. We even spied a school of Garibaldi (our state fish) swimming below the pier. Due to the off and on rain, though, we spent a lot of time indoors. I loved visiting the Catalina Island Museum and learning about the history of the … [Read more...]

Inspiration through Seattle

"Serving the powerful is like sleeping with a tiger." --Chinese proverb Power and sleekness combine in a tiger's body. Likewise, Seattle exudes the same majesty. I took a recent trip to Seattle for a combination of sightseeing and book talks. Here are some categories in which I was inspired by Seattle's powerful vibe: Art Chihuly. Dale Chihuly creates artwork from blown glass. I was first wowed by his work at the Franklin Park Conservatory in Ohio, where his sculptures mixed with … [Read more...]