take me away

No matter how much I am trying to stay present in this moment of enjoying our summer right here at home, there are days when my heart and soul longs to fly away. To explore and discover the places dreams ar made of. We've been lucky enough to have these sorts of summer adventures for the past few years and on days like this, I can't help but sift through my archives to relive our vacations.

Share with us today the place your heart can soar...a Secret Beach (where this shot was taken on Kauai, circa 2006), a mountain top with a view from heaven, a landscape that sweeps you off your feet...you get the idea. Past or present, take us away to a magical place for the days when only thoughts of escaping will do.

Comments

[toviah]

Virginia Beach, Virginia. A 4 hour drive to a great family location. Had it's ups and downs through the years but we still love it.

June 2007
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b8d806b3127ccec4220c546e9a00000060O08EauGjZoyag9vPhQ/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/

[georgia]

i'm not near any mountains or oceans. the closest beautifully panoramic thing i can think of is lake michigan in chicago and hour from where i live.

{i also feel this way about the beaches of long boat key on the gulf of mexico in florida.}

but the one place i go and feel the most peace and tranquility is to my twin sister's house on the north side of chicago. she lives in a very large and very beautiful vintage apartment with such a peaceful atmosphere. there are so many windows in this place, it does not matter what time of day it is, light floods in at some part of the apartment. because i am currently unemployed, i have had the opportunity to go there for several days at a time and stay with her. every time, i feel like i am at the most wonderful bed and breakfast far, far away.

here are some pics:
http://itsjusthowiseethings.blogspot.com/search/label/my%20sister%27s%20place

[mary]

I love the beach at day's end -- when it's almost empty and the air is cool and you feel as though you have the place all to yourself. That is the time to lose yourself in a good book, or just gaze out at the ocean and dream. This shot was taken last year at Wildwood, NJ:

http://inasoftlight.blogspot.com/2008/08/days-end.html

[qmama]

always by the ocean (sun-soaked, cloud-covered, moody or sparkly!)...love her.

thank you for this community of women artists...the inspiration is endless (as is my gratitude).

as a novice photographer (loving capturing movement)...wondering if you (anyone) would be willing to share your advice/recommendations for a) a good, first digital SLR camera...and b) a favorite digital point and shoot camera...thank you.

[Jaana]

This is a beach in Malibu, and we went for 4th of July. Thought it would be CRAZY packed, but I guess we picked a pretty good spot!

http://photographybyjaana.blogspot.com/2009/07/beach-bums.html

[ginny]

Valley of Fire, Nevada. Hotter than heck but gorgeous!

http://ginny73.blogspot.com/2009/06/19.html

[Bridge]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ridethewavesoflife/2721498320/in/set-72157606878277332/
Sonoma, California
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ridethewavesoflife/2721492522/in/set-72157606878138188/
San Francisco
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ridethewavesoflife/2624343687/in/set-72157606878138188/
Little Molas Lake, San Juan Mountains, Southern Colorado (yes, this is JUNE)

[djbeat]

i believe we've come from a long line of gypsies... my parents took us across canada when i was 14 & i (& they as they are just off for 2 months sailing in greece) have not stopped traveling since! we went as a family to africa (a place i have longed for ever since). more recently & one of my most life changing trips was one where i went to spain & france for 2 months on my own :
http://www.flickr.com/photos/djbeat/3049525150/in/set-72157609814760493/

this year with our new babe - we are sticking closer to home (though paris did beckon) - our latest holiday to sonoma & san fran was so special :

http://www.flickr.com/photos/djbeat/3672685135/in/set-72157617837085219/

[KL]

Oh, The Outer Banks of North Carolina. Corolla, specifically. I got married there and have spent many good days and nights with friends there. Heaven! God, I wish I was there right now. :-)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12418609@N00/3704103535/

[tNb]

Last year we escaped to Sri Lanka where life after the tsunami is simple, laid back and full of hope:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tangonovemberbravo/2487960159/in/set-72157618647454377/

But my heart still soars and I can't help but smile when I think of my 2006 adventure through the Sahara:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tangonovemberbravo/2198998658/in/set-72157603731934762/

[shirley]

I had the wonderful opportunity to travel to China on business exactly 3 years ago, and experienced gorgeous sights along the beaten and not so beaten paths.
Some of my favorite blog posts:
In the city of Nanchang (definitely not on the normal tourist stop)
http://shirley319.blogspot.com/2006/07/friday-july-14-2006-nanchang-in-in.html
http://shirley319.blogspot.com/2006/07/some-last-pictures-from-nanchang.html

[Sara]

Camping in central Oregon. This is a big part of where I grew up. This piece of land is where I learned to put up a tent and make smores, where I learned why you can't do "regular" fishing in a quick river but only fly fishing, and where I first awoke to dew and deer outside my cabin. I loved this river.

http://indigoamethyst.blogspot.com/2009/07/camping.html

[Chris]

My family and I are "Desert Rats" as in "Palm Springs Desert Rats". We go alot throughout the year, but it's not unusual for us to go 2-3 times in the summer. This fun shot just epitomizes "summer vacation" to me:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeroldssis/3692921033/

[laura-dolcepics]

I took this last February in Maui and there's just something about it that takes me away.

http://tr.im/rBjb

[Puna]

We were in Hawaii last week...and already making plans to go back..

http://lifesignatures.org/wordpress/2009/07/morning-in-waikiki/
http://lifesignatures.org/wordpress/2009/07/evening-in-waikiki/

[summer]

If I had a scanner I'd scan in pictures from the islands off the coast of ireland where we took our honeymoon 9 years ago.
That said this island only 20 minutes from my home calls to me daily. It is often hard not to pick up and heed the call every single day...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sufferingsummer/3703200820/

[Ali]

Taken about 10 days ago on a trip with 10 teenagers.

http://crazytobeme.wordpress.com/2009/07/09/a-thin-place-for-me/

[Juliette]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/19967463@N00/2162467465/?edited=1

My heaven on earth is Pfeiffer Beach, Big Sur, California. We live about 2 hours away from it, but I've not been there in over a year (due to many reasons, one of which was the heartbreaking fires they had last year). This picture was taken last year. Pfeiffer Beach has purple sand (and white, as you can see) and beautiful green rocks. It is a beach for combing the shore for shells and rocks with holes in, and for dancing.

[Elizabeth]

(I hear the Beastie Boys in the title!). My spot, Sunrise on a mountaintop, any mountain top... http://www.flickr.com/photos/mindwhisperings/3442318385/in/set-72157614955946801/

[Liz]

i have loved looking at everyone's beautiful places! in summer, i always want to go to family places. i went to my friend's family place--a very old logging cabin in the woods of central washington, sold by the forest service decades ago in an attempt to make money while controlling growth--in october 2008 and have wanted to go back ever since, in all seasons, but especially summer, when the hiking would be good and the glacier-melt river would beckon me with inner tube in hand. the downstairs has a massive woodstove with an always-hot kettle of water for tea in the cold mountain evenings, and the upstairs is stuffed with beds and divided by calico curtains. what fun it would be!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lilybeth29/1812447922/in/set-72157601163253623/

[shelli - mama of letters]

Can you believe it's been so long since I've gotten away to my favorite places that I don't have any digital photos? All prints. Yep. I love the mountains. And I also often dream of when I lived overseas and my travels. Although I don't really have a desire to go back, sometimes I get that "wanting to escape/wanderlust" feeling.

Here is a photo that evokes that feeling, however. Though it's really not very far from my house.

http://www.mamaofletters.com/Site/The_Focal_Point/Entries/2009/5/28_I_Could_Walk_All_Day_Down_A_Road_Like_This....html

[Rachel Parton]

love these posts!
one of my heart's deepest desires is to move back home someday... this shot is a reminder of that dream.
http://partonpics.blogspot.com/2009/07/someday-i-know-its-gonna-take-me-home.html

[Jamie Lapeyrolerie]

I daily try and figure out a way to get back to here. :) So relaxing and so gorgeous!

http://jamielynnephotography.blogspot.com/2009/06/day-2-punta-cana.html

[nikki]

A black sand beach near Kaikoura on New Zealand's South Island.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/artandlemons/3705071301/

[PixieDust]

Looking up:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/22680463@N05/3702516633/

[June]

I wish I can visit Pike Place Market ant the Space Needle in Seattle.

[kaytee]

http://missredphotos.blogspot.com/2009/07/beach-bonfire.html

[Jenny Rebecca]

I would love to be on my way in to Paris on the RER...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fanglord2/2867609187/in/set-72157594333508523/

where I would go sit for hours at a cafe drinking cafe creme after cafe creme.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fanglord2/3177810986/in/set-72157612287824048/

[Monna]

The Rue Cler in Paris. My favourite place in the world...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/monnamcd/3654870613/