Cheap Vacations via Elephants and Vampires (ticket for two please)

Myrna Myrna Myrna you have created a book toting nerd, who responsibly escapes from the world's whoas for an hour or so a day. $10 ticket to where ever you want to go is a pretty cheap vacation. And Gretchen and Elissa from Evolution Through Vacation would be proud of me as I am jumping into these mini, low budget vacations with preparation, openness to learning and finally applying my learnings upon re-entry. Hey the sex, drama, mystery and suspense isn't bad for a heart racing thrill either(all done in very good taste of course). We are adults here.



FICTION TAKE TWO! Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen was waaaayyyyyy better than Nature Girl by Carl Hiiasen. I guess books are like a BOX of CHOCOLATES, you have to take a bite to see if you like it. Nature Girl didn't rank as low as a fruit cake covered with bitter dark chocolate as it worked in a chocolate craving pinch. Water for Elephants was more like a milk chocolate covered caramel YUMMMMM.

Jacob Jankowski unexpectedly is thrown from having it all to having nothing except shoveling manure, a mildew, flea infested bedroll and a schizophrenic boss. Set in the depression era, Water for Elephants has me comparing the plight of Jacob to the plight of people suffering from the current state of the economy, 2008. Think about it, 1931 was only 77 years ago, just a hiccup in God years. Jacob emerges, as we will and have, confronting his dreams, disguised as his nightmare.

My disguised dreams rest like a lump of soggy bread in my throat and runs its course down to my stomach, sitting like a huge indigestible ball, wondering if I have the flu or a bad case of anxiety. Could I shovel manure if I had to? YES, ACTION is the cure to my disease even if it stinky and sweaty work.

My daughter and I went to the movie Twilight today and she bought the book as well. I think she could really get into this book. As me, she is a slow reader, so she feels intimidated by lengthy in depth books. We will continue to exercise our reading muscle, quickening our pace and reporting to each other stories and life lessons. If you do not know, Twilight, is a high school love story between a mortal and a GOOD vampire. This is where the vampire enters our vacation plans.

I hope Paige and I can share our travel logs with each book read.