The tulips are blooming, the trees are back in bud and the weather is finally warming up. It has been a record winter with rain and snow topping 300% of normal in some places in the state. School is winding down and my favorite time of year is now here. I look so forward to summer all year. I love teaching but I am so happy when school ends and I am free to travel, wander and paint. I am headed to Italy for ten days in June and will pack my sketchbook and paints and try to capture some of the local sites. After that, I am off to Midway, Utah for their plein air event and then Driggs, Idaho for more outdoor painting.

I have a favorite T-shirt that says, "Take the Long Way Home." I also think this is the title to a beautiful Bob Seger song from years ago. I think it speaks to me because I love to take the long way home. My husband always calls me an air molecule floating from place to place. He knows that I love to be on the road, searching out new destinations and seeing all the local sites. There is just something special about wandering aimlessly about and finding visual treasures to photograph or paint. I love it most when time is not an issue and no one is waiting impatiently for me to "hurry home or hurry up." Recently we returned from a trip to Hawaii where we cruised around most of the islands. There was plenty of time to explore, shop, taste all the local deliciousness (snow shacks galore and shrimp trucks on every corner,) and pull out my paints and document the trip (my way.) Many times I return home and revisit the travel paintings and re-paint them in my studio. Sometimes the small sketch paintings capture the "feel" of the place better than the studio pieces. Regardless, they always take me back to that place and the sights, sounds and smells all come rushing back.