PEACEFUL SEAS

There is nothing like being on the sea for ten days to give you a new perspective of life. Actually, I wasn't sailing the entire time, though I wouldn't have minded that at all, but even while visiting ports, the ship sat there waiting for me to return. I found such peace away from the responsibilities of the everyday world--and the tangy smell of the sea, the gentle glide across the Pacific, the smooth rocking of the Sea of Cortez, and the lack of news and Internet (by choice) created the wonderful escape.

Writers never escape from their craft however. We are always on the prowl for ideas, the right photographs for an article, or merely the time to work on the newest chapter(s) of our next novel. It was like that for me on this cruise. When on the ship, I read nonfiction in the library, seeking new ideas, or took my laptop to the Crows Nest or on deck to work on the outline for a new book I have in mind. In those ports, I took photographs. I love the color of Mexico's people and daily life--I will always have the memory of the four young men in the Mercado in Los Mochis who insisted I take their photograph and happily wrote their full names (some four long)in my writer's notebook, for example--and I have over a hundred shots of the beauty of that country. I might have wanted to leave my duties behind but I never leave my first love of writing at home.

I have many beginning lines, new websites to check out, several creative writing lessons completed, and found the time to read a complete book. It was a productive trip. I wish I could go away on such junkets more often; the sea air seems to stimulate my muse. She danced along the Sports Deck while I walked my two miles a day when not in port; she followed me to the desk when I wrote, and she came home with me.

On the last day, I met Tom Hunter. He saw me writing and we exchanged experiences. He has written a journal about his motorcycle trip, in segments, from the tip of South America to Alaska. I haven't found the time to read his site yet but when I do (and see if it is worthwhile to others), I will share his website. He has a rough draft of what I think might be a book published at his site; I attempted to give him a few guidelines for self-publishing. That's what we do. As writers, we share our expertise with other writers, help them as we have been helped, and hope we can one day say "I knew him when."

That muse created by the peaceful seas came home with me. The unpacking has been done but the washing is still piled high in the hamper. I don't have time for such mundane everyday chores when she, my darling Carlotta (named for Maximillian's wife, of course), is on a roll.