| off the beaten path |

Check that shit out, huh? 

Ladies and gentlemen, I took a vacation. (And I'm going to do again in just a few days). For 4 days in July I basked in 90 degree mountain-air heat, read two books, crafted regular cocktail hours from camping chairs and coffee mugs of wine, and learned how to paddle board on the deep blue lakes in Arnold, CA. 

This wasn't a fancy-pants vacation. In fact, all the fancy pants that I brought I never wore. Instead, we 'camped' in swimsuits and sneakers, proud of our sunburns and double-decker s'mores. 

We celebrated my brother's birthday, too. He would have turned 34. 

It was the best.