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Last weekend's photography adventure was a ton of fun. As Carly mentioned, we went to an abandoned barn and then we went to this little area that is tucked away in my neighborhood.  The day was a little cold and windy, but we made it through with a little help from Starbucks.

This little spot is actually a rest stop for golfers.  For real, it's a bathroom.   They did a great job of dressing it up, didn't they?  This is the kind of stuff I love about photography adventures.  Finding extraordinary in the ordinary.  Framing the photo so that it looks like it could be some cottage nestled in a secluded countryside. So that later, when I look at the picture, I can imagine myself being there, at a cottage near the middle of nowhere. 

 

As I thought about Carly's post last week, I asked myself two questions:
What do I like to do?
What energizes me?

After being a mom for several years, I think it's easy to lose touch with what you love doing.  When the kids were young, a lot of my time was dedicated to taking care of them.  But now they are older and I don't have to wash their hair for them or cut up their dinner into tiny bite-size pieces.  So what did I like to do before I had them?  I think back to my career choice after high school - what I went to college for.  Fire Science and Safety.  I wanted to be a firefighter.  How is that for living on the edge?  I think there is something to looking around you; seeing the beauty and enormity of chaos and danger, but standing there with intense focus knowing that you are there to do something.  Something big.  While you're practically flirting with disaster.  

Aside from photography, I like to drive (fast) staying at or below the speed limit (because duh, my mom reads this blog).  That silver Versa that was featured in my blog for Week 36?  That car has a manual transmission.  Stick shift.  So when we bought an (automatic) SUV to replace the minivan, I immediately had two thoughts, "the girl who wrecks the minivan shouldn't drive the brand new SUV" and "I really like driving stick shift, so Brian, YOU take the SUV."

So every day, I get to feel a little bit like a race car driver.  That drives at or below the speed limit, of course.

Do you remember in Week 29 I told you about my repelling experience?  I also like to climb.  When Brian and I went to Door County, Wisconsin for our 15th anniversary, we went to Cave Point State Park.   This place was gorgeous.  As we explored the cliffs on Lake Michigan, I couldn't resist climbing on the rocks.  Handing my camera off to Brian, I could hear the edge in his voice, "be careful!" as he watched me scamper off.  But at that moment, there was nothing I wanted to do more than to scale down twenty feet of cliff and then make the climb to a rock like this one.  And I could have sat there all day.    

Cave Point State Park, 2012

What was awesome about the photography adventure with Carly last week was that she had the same wandering strategy I did at the locations we visited.  We'd walk around and hold up the camera, look through the lens, get closer or further and then wander some more.  Maybe all photographers have this strategy, but I haven't really done an adventure with another photographer before.  It was just a fantastic feeling to not be questioned about where I was going or feel awkward about having no sense of direction.  I could just be.

When Carly and I walked on the other side of the tunnel and saw all the rocks, I got that itch again.  So this formation wasn't nearly as tall, but it was still fun to climb up and down.  And well, since it's been a while since I've had my picture taken on a rock, it seemed like it was time. 

It's like this ledge was meant to be sat on!

On the edge.  Where I love being. 

Sometimes life is meant to be this kind of exciting!  Like being on a roller coaster at the very top before the almost ninety degree drop.  Especially the ones that suspend you there for a second before gravity carries you the rest of the way down.  The adrenaline, the waiting, the screaming!  And then you hear the click and you are released.  You throw your hands up and you don't know whether to laugh, scream or cry!  Once you catch your breath, you look at the person next to you and make sure they are still conscious and then you decide that you can't wait to do it again.  Isn't that the best??