%%USERNAME%%    %%ACCWORDS%% %%ONOFF%% |
 Life, Adventure, Family, Writing what else is there? Random thoughts. |
|
WELCOME TO: GEMINI RISING   UPDATED INTRO 28 MAY 2024: Just a little about me. I've been married for 32 years this past NOV and currently live in Southern California, but I grew up in New Hampshire. I've got 2 boys who are young adults. I work as a 911 dispatcher for LAPD. I enjoy my job a lot. Still. If you can believe that. I love to write. Thankfully both of my boys achieved Eagle Scout. My Scouting days are over and I'm back to focusing on my writing. I like to get out in nature, drink coffee and watch football. Here's a little bio about my zodiac. GEMINI: Gemini, the sign of the Twins, is dual-natured, elusive, complex and contradictory. On the one hand it produces the virtue of versatility, and on the other the vices of two-facedness and flightiness. The sign is linked with Mercury, the planet of childhood and youth, and its subjects tend to have the graces and faults of the young. When they are good, they are very attractive; when they are bad they are more the worse for being the charmers they are. Like children they are lively, and happy, if circumstances are right for them, or egocentric, imaginative and restless. Their good qualities are attractive and come easily to them. They are affectionate, courteous, kind, generous, and thoughtful towards the poor and suffering - provided none of the activities resulting from expressing these traits interferes too greatly with their own lives and comforts. Geminians can be successful in many walks of life though their general characteristics tend to make them unreliable. They are often skilled manipulators of language, in speech and writing, and may be: debaters, diplomats (though in politics they are more interested in theory than practice), orators, preachers (brilliant rather than profound), teachers, authors, poets, journalists, or lawyers. This is me. I am a Gemini. Pure, Raw, passionate. The NEW focus of this blog is to share my adventures, travels, random thoughts, book reviews, thoughts, opinions, and writing adventures from actual writing, writing/editing tips, marketing, research. I'll get there. BLOG ACCOMPLISHMENTS: SEPTEMBER 2024: I participated in the
![Merit Badge in Nonfiction
[Click For More Info]
Congrats on your Honorable Mention in Blog Week Birthday Bastion 2024](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/type-Nonfiction.gif) Big thanks to WakeUpAndLive   for hosting the contest! OCTOBER 2024: I participated in the
![Merit Badge in Halloween
[Click For More Info]
Congratulations on completing the 13 Poetic Days of Halloween.](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/group-Halloween-2026567.gif) Big Thanks to Lyn's a Witchy Woman  for hosting the contest!Find me at: WEBSITE: http://www.stephanieburkhart.com FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/StephanieBurkhartAuthor GOOD READS: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4031660.Stephanie_Burkhart YOU TUBE CHANNEL: http://www.youtube.com/user/botrina?feature=mhee Previous GRATITIOUS Warning, that I decided to keep in case I post about something that might offend.  WARNING I intend to be open, honest, and forthright. No topic is off limits from religion to you name it, I'm going there. If you think you might be offended...back up now - this blog isn't for you. For those who "dare"  check out the "Gemini Rising..." 
|
I usually try to keep my blog entries between 300 to 500 words since I recently got back into blogging here on WDC so my Arizona road trip will probably be about 2 or 3 blogs.  Part 1 - The Drive Where to start? It was a sunny day in SoCal… haha! Okay, so I’m not Snoopy. We started early though – left around 8:30. Gas was about 4.65 when we gassed up at the Shell here in Castaic. Friday morning traffic could have been worse. Me and boys power napped while hubby drove and we made it to Beaumont before the hubby stopped for lunch. Boy #2 ate McDonalds and the rest of us had Farmer Boys. Being on Weight Watchers, I tried to be mindful of portions, etc and I just ate the hamburger and nibbled on the chili cheese fries. Sigh… Hubby had to have them. We passed Coachella and it was Weekend #1 but thankfully, we avoided the traffic. Saw the big blimp overhead. Between Beaumont and Indo there is a rash of wind and solar farms. At least half the windmills weren’t turning. I suppose it’s a pro and con – those things are ugly as all get out and they really take away from the aesthetic beauty of the desert. Ah, but they produce clean energy. Which is another side post for me, as California has the most ridiculous energy laws and the price for energy is outrageous here in California. Enough about that for now. My initial impressions about the wind and solar farms was that it took away from the aesthetic beauty of the desert. As soon as we hit Arizona gas went from $4.65 to $3.03 for a gallon. The difference? Taxes. Anywoo.. we continued on our journey and made it to Goodyear. Once we got settled in, I met up with my friend and we went to the local BBQ place called Rudy’s. What ambience! Definitely cowboy and western. They sell the meat by the pound. I had the prime rib, Andy had turkey, Brent had brisket, Joey had prime rib. I tried the coleslaw. Andy had a 3 bean chili which was good. It was nice catching up with my friend who is enjoying retirement. She likes Arizona but said it gets really hot and people just learn to stay indoors. Makes sense. I liked the vibe almost immediately. Laid back in some ways. Easy going. Next: The Maricopa County Fair! |
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
between reading my books. 
