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« zoom zoom | Main | space for space »
Tuesday
Aug172010

how i spent my summer vacation

DateTuesday, August 17, 2010 by Authormeredith winn

It's the standard title to the classic back-to-school assignment.  An essay scrawled in No. 2 pencil. Maybe I'm feeling nostalgic for the comfort of classrooms because my son is starting kindergarten in less than a week. Maybe, even now as a grown woman, I still have a hard time fitting all of the summer experience onto the front and back of a single loose leaf page.

Over the past 17 days my head has been in the clouds.  Literally.  I have never been so adrift in space and grounded in reality at coinciding times.  Airplanes, subways, cabs, and trains touching me down in the time warp space where reality meets the virtual world. I could not have imagined a more beautiful place to be.  Face to face, embraced in strength, standing in a circle of empowering women, soaking up inspiration, bending at the waist in howls of life altering laughter, hand in hand with truth, eye to eye with what the future holds.

Awash in beauty.

I spent this summer traveling. I spent this summer being real. I spent this summer walking, putting miles on my shoes. I spent this summer taking in everything around me.  I spent this summer learning to be in the moment.

How did you spend your summer? As this month is coming to a close, look through your photo archives and discover what stands out as the most memorable experience. Then share with us your back-to-school essay in photo form!

Comment33 Comments

Reader Comments (33)

I spent some of my summer by the ocean..breathing in salt air:
http://www.marciescudderphotography.com/index.php?showimage=1232
August 17, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterMarcie
i spent a few weeks in my hometown in california visiting family. this was taken on the way back from a 10 mile hike (still cannot believe i did it as i am not a hiker!) in yosemite:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/89916296@N00/4785327235/
August 17, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterSukhi
It's been a busy summer for us. The boy has been all over the place, including camp.

http://lifesignatures.org/wordpress/2010/07/camp-linens/
August 17, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterPuna
I spent time camping with my family and being disconnected from the world.

http://courtneysablogger.blogspot.com/2010/08/camping-2010-part-2.html
August 17, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterCDScott
so fun to see the shutter sisters up close and in person. looks like you had a wonderful time in the city!

i've been basking in the summer light:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lucyloomis/sets/72157624319796354/
August 17, 2010 | Unregistered Commenterlucy
I took a gal's vacation to a place I'd never been: http://www.flickr.com/photos/shutterboo502/4855252236/
August 17, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterBrooke
my summer requires 2 essays both centered around this magical bond photography breeds.
first it was the summer of the green mtns and FROGGING. i know if you ask my son what he did this summer it will be 2 things boogie boarding and frogging. it was a magical 4 days and i could not love these photos more.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14811117@N02/sets/72157624239903441/

and then my second essay was spent with you in that grand city nyc.
just love.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14811117@N02/sets/72157624551703127/
August 17, 2010 | Unregistered Commenterkristin
I'm a native Floridian, but three years ago my husband and I moved to his home state of Kentucky, where I experienced real winters and autumns for the first time. The winter's have been harsh (first snows in October, an ice storm, cold weather for 7 months out of the year), but I resolved to myself to try and live by these words from Henry David Thoreau: “Live each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences of each.”

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cardboardsea/4778778860/

And it's something special to watch someone get smarter every day. He grew leaps and bounds this summer:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cardboardsea/4883877634/
August 17, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterJennifer
The last several entries of my blog are a collection of photos of my adventures this summer. And I am going to be working on a few photo collages for an entry to sum it up as well. :)

http://www.cabinfeververmont.com

http://www.nekphotography.blogspot.com
August 17, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterJen at Cabin Fever
For these back-to-school essays it seems I would often write about the last experience even when the greatest fun might have been early in the summer. This year the most memorable actually was the most recent.
My daughter and I had a awesome, last of the summer, trip to Niagara Falls. The trip was much more amazing than i dreamed it would be. There was such a good mix of fun and relaxation. It couldn't have been better.
I summed up my trip pretty well when I created these collages.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/autumnsun/4870660362/in/set-72157622433823473/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/autumnsun/4870050069/in/set-72157622433823473/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/autumnsun/4870659964/in/set-72157622433823473/
August 17, 2010 | Unregistered Commenterspread your wings
If only I could take my 3 boys and travel to far off places like Africa, India, Indonesia, Brazil etc... but I am too afraid to go without the help of my husband. Instead, for now, you'll have to see my photographs of Nantucket Island, Boston and New York City.

Come by for a visit.
http://aspenreallife.com
August 17, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterJillian
I wanted to end summer with a bang, so we decided to take a short trip to Charleston, SC. It was a great mini-vacay!

Here is a video I compiled from "moving pictures" http://www.wayfaringwanderer.com/2010/08/going-coastal-in-charleston-sc-raw.html

~WW
August 17, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterWayfaring Wanderer
It's been a very busy summer traveling for us as well. There's no way to pick a favorite moment, but highlights from NM, SD, OR, MN, and PA are all mentioned in my recent blog posts...

http://meadowlarkdays.blogspot.com/
August 17, 2010 | Unregistered Commenter~ kristina ~
Oh man I can't believe the summer's almost over!! nooooooooooooooo. sad sad. I spent a much needed wonderful long weekend with my extended-family back at the lake. it was glorious. I'm still reveling in the memory of it.

http://www.wishfulthinkingblog.com/wishful-thinking/2010/7/6/summertime.html
August 17, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterMichel
not one iota of me can fathom that august has turned its corner towards september! already! must me that our summer of staycation has warped all notion of time for my family and i. it's the best i can do to offer up a mosaic of my "picture summer" goodies from july for now. i'll try to get my head around august, oh, i dunno... some time in early september?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/vanessa_r/4900777953/
August 17, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterVanessa
Living in the desert as I do my summer has been spent mostly inside dreaming of milder climates:
http://instamaticgratification.wordpress.com/2010/07/17/194365/
August 17, 2010 | Unregistered Commentercigi
I live in one of the best vacation places in the world... Here are a few from my Stay-Cation!

SF Ocean Beach
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bettina2/4884692224/

Fort Baker
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bettina2/4884692224/

Berkeley
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bettina2/4884035817/in/photostream/

San Rafael Sidewalk Chalk Festival
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bettina2/4713001889/in/photostream/
August 17, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterBettina
I have spent the summer travelling in Europe (Croatia, Slovenia, Switzerland and England next week) and finding bits and pieces of myself in my photography that I never realized were there. It's been an amazing summer of collecting these images, the bits and pieces, and putting together a picture of my true self. Putting words to the pictures, my essay is an ongoing project, being written and rewritten everyday on my blog, http://www.kateyeview.com.
August 17, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterKat
I love spending as much time as I can every summer on the shores of any lake, especially Lake Michigan......
http://mamagdog.blogspot.com/2010/08/new-discovery.html
August 17, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterPatti G
I traveled far to find a piece of home and visited my brother and his family in Amman, Jordan. I spent much time in ruins and fell in love with the rooftops of Jerusalem's Old City.

Here are two of my favorite shots that attempt to capturing some of how old and new mingle in this special place.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/52055227@N07/4902493478/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/52055227@N07/4902494452/

I can't wait to see what next summer brings!
August 17, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterWorthIt!
Living on the coast of Northern California generally is the perfect place to be, but this year it has been all grey, all the time.

Floating on air in search of sun, we eventually descended upon Klamath, Oregon. Beautiful, cool and plentiful water flowing through the Wood River. Meadows of green and gold grasses, bucolic scenes of livestock with the air teeming with osprey, hawks, bald and golden eagles high in the sky, butterflies and dragonflies along the river edges and trout moving through the water.

I felt like I was in Disneyland, finding wonderful (and sometimes startled) surprises most everywhere I looked.

http://humbirdhum.wordpress.com
August 17, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterHumbird
I got to travel a lot this summer too, and host a lot of company while I was home! The best moment was seeing my friend of nearly 20 years right before she walked down the aisle...and I got to make her bouquet.

In this shot she's looking at her dad and laughing at something he said literally seconds before she walked down the aisle.

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/4fHkeFpcO-8TVIFpaQASxehdNaGBvvvxmUaGAyBB5gw?feat=directlink
August 18, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterKait Palmer
We took a fabulous vacation to Hawaii. I was expecting just fun and flowers and soaking up the sun, but ended up with a few profound moments too. A side note in the guidebook let me to the stones ancient women in Hawaii used during childbirth. http://journeyleaf.typepad.com/journeyleaf/2010/08/birthing-stones.html

It was definitely a long-term memory from this summer.
August 18, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterValerie
love this up in the air photo! i have a few from my trip to florida that i have been meaning to post.

attending, being a bridesmaid for, and getting to be one of the photographers at my best friend's wedding was definitely the best part of my summer...

these photos do not really capture "summer", but it is my favorite photo from the wedding, so i'll share it:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/28567264@N05/4870605396/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/28567264@N05/4870081752/
August 18, 2010 | Unregistered Commentergeorgia
I spent my summer finding small pleasures.

http://peaceloveandguacamole.com/2010/07/26/breaking-out/
August 18, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterPeaceLoveGuac
We've spent our summer vacation wondering through road less & frequently traveled.

http://lizabee-lizabee.blogspot.com/2010/08/garmisch-finale-hike-through-town_12.html
August 23, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterLiza
It feels like heaven, right? Nature is really the most beautiful gift that God gave to us. I also love taking pictures while in a plane. Seeing wonders from above is like loving the planet more especially when I was going to <a href="http://www.aqua-gulf.com/">Panama City, beach vacation rental</a>s, and the views are just breathtaking.
March 4, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterDonna Parsley

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