'Twas a Wild and Crazy Summer

Oh my poor little blog -- abandoned and untouched for three months. I'm back, at least for a moment. Truth is I've been on the road but finally back and ready to get settled back in on the homefront. Now that kids are back in school and the temperatures will soon be cooling (hopefully), I hope to get back to posting regularly here. For now, I thought I'd share a little bit of my crazy summer with y'all.

On the last day of May, we took off for Salt Lake City, Utah with our ultimate destination being Yellowstone National Park. Our main motivation for going was to visit my brother who lives in Gardiner, Montana just outside the northern entrance to the park. I also wanted to relive some memories of being there 19 years ago as a summer employee. It was so surreal to be back -- and so wonderful. I even got to meet up with one of my old co-workers. We saw countless bison, a summer snowstorm and even got caught up in a bear jam or two. Once we left Yellowstone, we headed over to Cody, Wyoming to take in a rodeo and then down to Jackson and the Grand Tetons. Along the way, we took in  miles and miles of roadway scenery in Wyoming, Montana, Idaho and Utah. It was simply amazing! As gorgeous as the sites were, we still had to beg the kids on several occasions to put down their electronic devices and look at the majestic mountains we were driving past. Sigh, kids today ...

A view of the Salt Lake Temple from behind.

Tons and tons of bison in Yellowstone Park.

The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone - so beautiful it doesn't even look real.

Grand Tetons National Park. Put down the iPod, kids.

After 10 days out west, we returned to the Georgia heat both refreshed and exhausted. Then, I took on a big writing/editing assignment for Fodor's Travel guides. For the past several years I have written for their The Carolinas and Georgia Guide. This year they wanted me to conduct some site visits so we hit Dahlonega, Hiawassee, Rome, Athens, Madison, Columbus, Plains, Americus, Thomasville and more. On most of the trips, I drug the family along. We had so much fun visiting historic sites, trying new restaurants, and strolling down main street in some of Georgia's most scenic towns. We even got to meet President Jimmy Carter! Then, right before school started back (which is painfully early here), we went to Panama City Beach where I proudly purchased my first airbrushed tank top. I'm classy like that.

Just hanging with Jimmy Carter after church.

And now, here is September and the travels are over. Reality is setting in and I'm kind of in a rut. I just don't feel like recipe blogging much anymore. I can't think of what to cook for supper tonight. I'm even blah in the baking department. I'm thinking of taking this blog in a different direction -- maybe more travel and food story focused rather than recipes and kitchen experiments. What do you think? I also impulsively started a new blog a few weeks ago where I can muse about education, politics, history and all manner of things non-food related. Who knows what I'll end up doing when I grow up, but thanks for supporting me as I try to figure it out. Stay tuned for more detailed stories about my summer explorations soon ... and maybe even some food stories. I hope you had a memorable summer too!