Day One: The Adventure Begins

Introduction:  I recently passed a milestone birthday, one of those numbers that as a child seems so impossibly large that you never expect to get there.  It came at the end of two years of personal disaster (see this post for an explanation, if you haven't already read it), and at a time when I desperately needed something good in my life.  I tossed around a lot of ideas of how to celebrate surviving the last year (lots of hospital time was involved) and making it to my birthday.  Finally, my husband and I decided to go see the Redwoods.  We had driven through several times, but always on the way to somewhere else.  This time, we would just head south and see what we could see.  We did some searching, settled on a few (very few!) priorities, and started making plans.  Somewhere along the way, we discovered a cool resort south and east of the big trees, where every "room" was a converted caboose, and decided that would be fun and unusual, exactly what we were looking for.  

These posts are my daily reports of our trip: the things we saw, the places we went, and the people we met as we drove approximately 1,500 miles in the course of six days, and had an adventure.  I tried to write down my impressions each night before bed, or over my first cup of coffee in the morning.  I wanted the memories to be fresh, undiluted by another day or days of travel and experiences.  I can only hope you enjoy reading them a fraction as much as I enjoyed living them.

Day One:  The Adventure Begins

The day got off to a good start.  We left home more or less on time, and had beautiful weather for the drive down the Oregon Coast on 101.  We knew today was going to be a slow day mostly spent driving in preparation for the major sight-seeing to come.

Yes, it really was this beautiful!

 We stopped in Florence, Oregon, for gas, but mostly we moseyed along with traffic and enjoyed the views.  Stopped several times for photo ops --

My favorite cameraman J. Steven York, taking in the view

Yours truly, just enjoyin' the sunshine

including my first post-birthday shot, at a sunny spot along the highway.  The beautiful weather and reasonably light traffic put us in good spirits for the first day's drive.  Switched drivers in Coos Bay, after a late lunch at Taco Bell.

After we left Coos Bay, we made a stop at Misty Meadows in Bandon to pick up some jam for a friend  (hi, Colleen) and some for us.  I got peach, and Steve got apple jelly, which he says he hasn't had since he was a kid.

Made the hotel (Best Western Beachfront, Brookings) about 5:30 and check-in was quick and easy.  Settled in and listened to waves for a little while, then finally pried ourselves up and out for dinner.  There is a restaurant next door that is supposed to be good, but we will never know.

We tried, really we did.  When we arrived there were people in the dining room, but no hostess, just one guy sitting  and waiting in the lobby.  We waited, too.

Waiters came by at least three times and promised that "She'll be right with you."  Two different customers brought their tickets to the counter.  One spotted their server and handed him the check.  The other customer joined the wait.

Eventually the hostess showed up carrying three bags of to-go food.  She stopped and ran the waiting woman's check, then tried to ring up the to-go, but there was some serious confusion about the order - it was for the guy who'd been waiting when we got there, I think.  But she was so mixed-up, it was hard to tell if she was giving him the right food.   He seemed to think she wasn't

We weren't particularly upset, the day had been far too good to let this spoil the day, but by this time we'd been there for 10 minutes or more, no one had even talked to us, several more people were waiting behind us, and it was clear the hostess was in way over her head somehow.   According to the specials board, dinner prices were in the $30+ range, which would mean $70-80 before tip.

We decided to cut our loses.  After all, if the front of house was that big a mess, could we REALLY trust the kitchen?  And we didn't want to start our trip with an expensive (by our lights) meal that was a disappointment.

Those are Steve's feet, pointed toward the windows of our room

We walked back across to the hotel and got our car.  We drove around for a little bit, but didn't see many open restaurants.

Determined not to let the silly restaurant put a damper on an otherwise-marvelous day, we picked up chicken at KFC, ate in the hotel room, and spent the rest of the evening relaxing.  It was good company, cheap food, and a table by the window with  a view of the beach.  Not bad!

It is nearly midnight, and I think we're about to call it a night.  Haven't turned on the TV, or opened up the computer.  I'm actually typing this (very badly) on a rubber-key rollup Bluetooth keyboard, into the blog via a wireless connection on Steve's Google pad.  It isn't perfect, but it's sure easy to carry around!


Tomorrow, Trees of Mystery and a cool place to stay for the next three nights.  More to come!!

The Sound of Breaking Glass; or, Engage Writer Brain

Somehow this post never got published.  Let me take care of this Right Now!!

There are times when it is extremely difficult not to indulge in the time-honored writer habit of Making Things Up.  It is, after all, what we are paid to do: sit alone in a room and Make Things Up.  I've talked about that before, but it's a part of an incident that happened last week.

L. to R. Barton Grover Howe, Christy Fifield, M.L. Buchman

I was in a friend's shop for a book signing of Murder Hooks a Mermaid.  It's a combination antique shop and bookstore, a delightful jumble of treasures from the last two centuries, collectibles (especially glass and apothecary items), and new and used books.

I was at one end of the shop when I heard a noise near the cash register.  The sound of breaking glass.  That's a scary sound in a shop full of breakables, but it got worse.  The noise didn't stop, and it was accompanied by the crash of something heavy falling over.

Before

Another customer, a woman with two bargain-table books in her hand, had jostled the owner who was walking behind her, knocked him over and in the process knocked over an entire display case.  She managed to topple thousands of dollars worth of antiques.  She knocked over one display case, thereby breaking out the glass front of a second case, and destroyed an entire case of antiques, including some unique and irreplaceable pieces.

And After

She asked the owner something like "Did I do that?" in a way that clearly implied that she didn't, and hurried out of the store, leaving her books on the counter.  Fortunately, the store is insured, and no one was injured, in spite of the piles of broken glass.  But the emotional impact of losing several irreplaceable pieces is a blow my friend will need time to recover from; and we don't know yet what the financial implications will be.

As my husband and I talked about it later, I had to keep from ascribing motives to the woman who knocked over the display.  It felt as though she high-tailed it out of the store without any attempt to take responsibility for the destruction she caused.  But maybe she truly believed she was innocent and left because she was embarrassed.  As I said, I was making things up.

I also realized that, given what I've been writing, this scenario (or something very much like it) will undoubtedly appear in a future book.

And this is where the Writer Brain comes in.

Writer Brain is a symptom all writers seem to manifest.  It is that moment when you detach from some awful event and start storing details to use later.  It's a way of dealing with painful or disturbing situations.

An example?  At the beginning of my summer medical odyssey I took an ambulance ride.  About ninety miles with lights and sirens, in the middle of the night, headed for a regional medical center and emergency surgery.  It should have been terrifying and stressful, and to some extent it was.  But Writer Brain took over.  It quickly occurred to me that this might be the only time I got a close-up look at the inside of an ambulance and I started looking around, trying to store up all the details I could, to use later.

So last week's disaster will show up in a book sometime, just as calls from our police scanner have formed the basis of certain scenes, and other painful - or joyous - personal experiences have informed other stories.

It's the curse (and the blessing) of Writer Brain.

Fake Wine In The News

For the fans of Georgie Neverall, here's a link to a news story about fake wines.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-12/billionaire-koch-wins-12-million-verdict-in-wine-trial.html

And a link to the book that started me down the road toward writing about a fake wine con job:
http://www.benjaminwallace.net/home.html

Yesterday's verdict, and today's award of punitive damages, reminded me of the fascination I felt reading Wallace's book.  It's a look inside a world where a single bottle of wine, untasted and untested, can fetch six or seven figures at auction.  A world where those seven-figure bottles are never opened, where no one ever drinks the wine.

I have never even seen a bottle of wine that cost more than a few hundred bucks.  Well, maybe once, in a Las Vegas casino liquor store I saw a four-figure bottle or two.  But never up close and personal.  And I have certainly never had a glass of anything even in the hundred-dollar price bracket.  I don't think I'd ever be a wine snob, even if I could totally afford it.  But it was fun to read about.

How about you?  Anyone had a really expensive wine?  Was it worth the price (even if someone else paid for it), and if so, why?

Keyboard Tricks and Treats

So, I'm working like mad to finish the last couple chapters of MURDER SENDS A POSTCARD.  I am at the keyboard all day, typing and tweaking.  Trying not to freak out that this book has to get done.

Then I get an email from a friend of mine.  I have to admit, I have no idea where she got this picture, or who should get credit for the awesome that infuses it.  All I know is that it's a good thing I do not know the source, and don't have time to search for it.  Otherwise, I would be trying to figure out how to get my hands on one.  Right Now!!

I may have to go buy graham crackers and chocolate frosting, just to deal with the craving!!

Brand name failure

As regular readers of this blog know, my Dear Husband is a wonderful - and VERY warped - man.  After nearly 30 years together, we share the same unfortunate sense of humor.  So today, while we were in the grocery store he pointed to something in a frozen food case and declared that he did not want that.

I asked him to point out exactly what he meant, and then I completely understood:

Get this box to the lab, stat!!

I waited for the guys in blue booties and latex gloves to show up, but they never did.

A Continent Away

I watched the Presidential inauguration today.  No matter who you support politically, the ceremony itself and the surrounding festivities appeal to something in each of us.  It shows our country making a peaceful transfer of power, or reaffirming our trust in those already in power.  It resonates with each of us in one way or another.

Today, as I watched from the other side of the continent, I was reminded how much I loved my trip to Washington last spring, what a wonderful time I had with my mother and sister.  I saw places we had been, things we had seen together, and I could not help thinking how much Mom would have loved watching and pointing to places she'd been.  She had a wonderful time on that trip, and I am grateful we had that week together.

I was also reminded what a lovely city Washington is, how much I enjoyed my last visit, and why I want to go back.  I want to take my husband and show him the things I shared with Mom and Jeri, the places we saw and the things we did.

Malice Domestic gives me another reason to return to DC, but this year the timing is not quite right.  If I get to go, it will be just for the weekend with no time for sightseeing or playing tourist.  No time for the wonderful restaurants I discovered, or the monuments I missed.  It would mean a cross-country round-trip on a four-day weekend-or three days if I can find an overnight flight that would get me into DC early enough on Friday.

So this year I won't get to visit DC with Steve, but I hope it won't be too long before we make the trip together.  I hope we can have enough time to explore the things we want to, but I have a hunch that is going to take several trips.

I'm willing to make that sacrifice!

A New Year, and a New Release

2012 is finally a fading image in my rear view mirror.  It's been a tough year, maybe the toughest year I have ever faced.  But today, with the arrival of 2013 I am able to put the old year behind me, and look forward to the new.  Sure, there will be challenges, and I am not 100% just yet, but I am much better than I was a month ago, and miles better than the month before that.  On the 10th of December last year (man, am I glad to be able to say that!) the wound care facility declared me healed, and officially released me from all follow-up care.  Much as I appreciated all they did, I was just as glad to say good-bye.  It was a friendly break-up though, and I took them some lovely parting gifts.

The other good news today is the release of Murder Hooks a Mermaid, the second book in the Haunted Gift Shop series, along with my friend Julie Hyzy's Fonduing Fathers (Thanks, Julie, for the great review posted above).  Here's the cover blurb:

Nestled in Keyhole Bay, Florida, Glory Martine’s souvenir shop, Southern Treasures, is supposed to trap tourists—not ghosts. But a possessed parrot may be just what Glory needs to solve a murder...

Inheriting her great-uncle Louis’s bayside souvenir shop should have been a breeze for Glory. Instead it’s been one headache after another—with a lot of them generated by Bluebeard, a parrot with a mouth like a sailor and a personality a lot like her late great-uncle. But Glory’s troubles pale in comparison to those of her best friend Karen, whose ex may still have the personalized key chain to her heart, but whose brother-in-law is about to get locked up.

A diver has been found with a gaff hook in his chest, and Karen turns to Glory to help get her brother-in-law off the hook for his murder. But casting the net for the real killer won’t be easy. Glory and Bluebeard are about to find out that the secrets in Keyhole Bay run deeper than anyone ever imagined…

Show More

Show Less

Yep, we get to know Karen's ex, who made a cameo appearance in Murder Buys a T-Shirt, as well as his troublesome brother.  There's more Bluebeard, and more Jake, and especially more of Sly and Bobo.  I didn't know those last two were going to turn into such important characters when I started this series, but once they showed up I knew they had a story to tell.  (And there's also more of Sly's story coming January 15th at Dru's Book Musings.)

I am currently working like mad on Book 3, with a working title of Murder Sends a Postcard, which should be out late this year (Yay, 2013!).  As always, if you want a signed copy of any of my books you can contact my local booksellers: North by Northwest Books and Antiques,  or Bob's Beach Books.