Experiences, Travel

Leaving the Book Behind – Lake Ouachita

In the Bookstagram community, we tend to focus on books so much. I’m always seeing people apologize for not posting or being absent or what-not. It’s important that we acknowledge our hugely vibrant lives outside of the screens, which I will be doing a lot more of from now on… So here’s a slice of mine:

I have a best friend with whom I have a long history. He has been my person for damn near a decade. So I’ll round. Due to circumstance, he had never been able to meet my grandparents, who I am incredibly close to. FINALLY, he did. He took leave – he’s a Marine – and we roadtripped to their house in Hot Springs Village, Arkansas. Suffice to say, they got along splendidly.

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I have spent a great deal of time visiting my grandparents, so I had a great deal of things and places I wanted to show him. It was like taking him home for the very first time; except better because no parents.

Lake Ouachita is only about twenty minutes from their house. It’s a huge lake with incredible outdoor activities. We went with the intention of kayaking and taking some really beautiful book pictures. But… that didn’t happen. It was too windy, and they wouldn’t let us rent kayaks because we’d get lost on the water or something like that. I was sad. Honestly, it was for the best because I completely lack upper body strength, and would have for sure been lost at lake.

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Since kayaking had been the plan, I dressed accordingly: swimsuit, maxi skirt, and flip flops. Ideal kayaking outfit for cute pictures…. What it’s not ideal for? Hiking.

We walked back to the car. I was sad. Not wanting to waste the trip, we looked at each other and went “walk?” To fill you in. Lake Ouachita is not a podunk lake. It is ginormous. It is located in the Ozarks, so by walk I really mean mountainous hike. While at the car, I had a debate mostly with myself about “should I leave the book in the car?” I went back and forth. Here’s the thing. I love blogging, but it is not just a hobby anymore. I HAVE to create content because it’s becoming a job, which I love. Sometimes, I don’t want to work. After chatting it out with Alex – but mostly myself – I decided to leave the book in the car and enjoy the time I get with my best friend in a beautiful place. I went one further. I left my phone in the car!!! *GASP* (How did the pictures here come to be? Alex brought his phone.)

It was a good thing I left my book and phone in the car because I would have inevitably tripped and fallen all over myself because hiking through a rocky forest with stuff in my hands while wearing flip flops as the clumsy person I am is a bad idea. Very bad idea.

Lake Ouachita is absolutely gorgeous. If you ever a chance to go, you should. Try the kayaking because it’s fun, and you’ll definitely get a work out. We ended up walking almost five miles. I’m glad I wore a swimsuit that gave me good tan lines.

The trail we took was winding. They had recently done a controlled burn to encourage future growth. There was a good amount of breeze as the leaves rustled and the waves rolled in constantly. We were never far from the lake’s shoreline. There were places with sandy shores, forest meets water, and rocks. I love it there. It’s so beautiful and peaceful. It’s an excellent place to get away because you won’t have any cell reception!

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It’s important to enjoy life in the moment and not through a lense. I could have taken some really amazing book photos. Instead, I had an amazing day. I rarely get to see my best friend. He lives on the other side of the country and is at the mercy of the Marines. Our time is very limited. It’s important to recognize moments beautiful moments, so they are not wasted.

Experiences, Travel

Washington DC Cherry Blossoms

In the middle of February, my best friend, Kelsey, texted me: You need to come visit the beginning of April! We need to take cherry blossom pictures. You HAVE TO COME! It so happens, I was putting plans into action that I would be on the East coast then… coincidentally.

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Kelsey lives just outside of DC, so we woke up early – for us, put on our pretty faces, packed a bag of books, hopped in the car, and drove the twenty minutes to a parking garage close to the Mall. Basically, she is a great friend to have for the touristing!!! And her photography skills… And her friendship, I just like her. She’s stuck with me for always because I have too many ugly photos for her to ever ditch me! *insert evil witch laugh here*

The famous DC cherry blossoms are planted along Tidal Basin, which is adjacent to the Mall and features the Jefferson Memorial. Suffice to say, it’s down right gorgeous. I was there the last weekend of the National Cherry Blossom Festival. Holy Bajeezus, there were bunches of people. Absolutely a ton of people dressed in varying shades of pink, white, and other cherry blossom complementing pastels. (I would be a bold faced liar if I told you I accidentally picked out a white dress with light pink flowers to wear. Because I too wore cherry blossom complementing clothes.) Old, young, tourists, bloggers, families, solos everyone was out with their cameras to take pictures of the beautifully, short lived blooms.

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The amount of blossoms is breathtaking. I was there at the end of the season, so petals fell from the trees with a light breeze in what can only be described as “made for the climax of a romantic comedy.” Definitely cliche. Definitely gorgeous. Definitely worth a trip.

The blossoms are white on the edges with pink centers giving the illusion they’re pale pink. Their season is short and highly dependent on the weather. It was surprising they were still there by the time I made it to DC because there had been a big freeze the weekend prior. This year, they lasted from March 17 – April 15. It’s an amazing site to see. Tidal Basin is surrounded by cherry blossoms. At one point in your walk, you’ll look one way to see the Jefferson Memorial across the water, and looking the other way, you’ll see the Washington Memorial over the tops of the cherry trees. The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial is nestled into the cherry trees and is quite stunning all by itself.

You could spend all day walking around looking at the cherry blossoms, and I think it would be worth it. If that’s not for you, the Mall with all the Memorials and museums is quite literally across the street. So if you’re bored… I don’t know what to tell you. There’s tons of options for pretty much anything anyone could possibly enjoy.

If you ever have the chance to see the cherry blossoms in Washington DC, I highly suggest you do. It’s not quite like anything else I’ve ever seen.   

Of course, as the blogger I am, I had to do more than just walk around and enjoy the blossoms. I also had to create content. Honestly, it was not a burden. I would have made Kelsey take pictures of me with the flowers any ways! I just had to take a little extra time to make sure I enjoyed being there on top of working. So this is me not complaining.

I was there on April 13, and the trees were gorgeous. The blossoms quite literally fell off two days later… I guess my timing could not have been better. This year, Washington DC cherry blossoms. Next year, cherry blossoms in Japan! (Just kidding, unless someone wants to sponsor me! I would totally trade posts for a trip to Japan next spring. Please email me!)