GETTING READY FOR FALL TRAVEL!

Finally! Fall has arrived, and so has the time to get psyched for my upcoming trip back east - back home - this coming Monday! Looking forward to this trip has made this past summer a little more bearable. I originally had the travel plans set in mind during the first of the year in my New Years Goals & Resolutions - and now it's time to get ready and fly on outta here! First stop: I land in Newark and pick up a rental car to drive down the shore to my hotel. After a long day of travel from Phoenix, I'll rest, unpack and unwind (or take this time to meet up with online friends who live in Jersey!) before heading south to Spring Lake to spend two days with my Godmother - I cannot wait! 

I can't wait to see, hear, and feel the ocean breeze coming from the Atlantic on the Jersey Shore 

I cannot wait to taste some REAL PIZZA!! 

And of course, I cannot WAIT to see my Godmother - my Aunt Lily - the lovely lady who brought me to New York City as a child - to see the Tree at Rockefeller Center, shopping on 5th Avenue at Saks and Lord & Taylor, lunch at The Plaza and Waldorf Astoria and even Ice Capades & the Barnum & Bailey Circus at Madison Square Garden. As juvenile as some of these events may be now, it was those first NY experiences (in the 70's!) with my Godmother traveling to the City by Taxi (back then a Checker Cab) through the Lincoln Tunnel or over the George Washington Bridge to The Port Authority that I still very much cherish today. My parents never took me to NYC - so I know if it were not for my Godmother, I may never have ever fallen in love with the City. 

When I was single, I had traveled up to New Jersey to see my Godmother and I traveled to the City for the first time solo. My aunt nearly wept when she dropped me at the bus station so I could go explore the City on my own - She said it was time for her little sparrow to fly. The following day we went together and visited the Guggenheim Museum to see the Georgio Armani exhibit. Ironically, this tine I shared an experience with my aunt she had never been to - Although she worked in NYC for over 40 years, she had never been to the Gugg. It was FREEZING that night - we still took a horse & carriage ride through Central Park. Tourist-y things? Maybe - but you'd be surprised at how many people who even LIVE in NYC, never experience all the City has to offer - from history to culture - because they all work so hard to live there! Since that first solo trip (in November of 2000) I was going back regularly twice a year... until about '09...

Besides reflecting back on City experiences with my Godmother, we're also planning a little drive further down the shore - I'm hoping we can make it down to Wildwood & Cape May (both childhood summer vacation destinations) but I don't know if her health will allow such a long drive. Although I still see my aunt as only being in her 60s, time has past, and now she is in her 90s... but even if we only sit on a bench on The Boardwalk and talk - I'll be the happiest I've been for probably over two years now...

After my visit with my Godmother in New Jersey, I'll be staying on the east coast - but flying south to see my mom and friends in my home away from home: MIAMI! Although the first ten years of my life I grew up in Jersey, my core is from living in Miami for 33 years! I arrived in Miami during the peak of the Mariel Boat Lifts (which being Cuban, was very challenging and where I had my first experiences with bullying) but I was also part of the South Beach growth movement, as well as the rebirth of the Miami Design District. I was part of the uprising of Skyscrapers in Downtown Miami - plus the birth of sports teams like The Marlins, The Panthers, and The Miami HEAT. I could comfortably experience outdoor living and would frequently walk / run the beach or bike to the gym and bike to South Beach when I lived in Bay Harbor. I tolerated the traffic - especially when film crews and concerts started to block off streets - and I was a part of a metropolis making its mark with models and runway fashion shows... And oh - let's not forget working with the Colorsplash team (and David Bromstad!) or the tremendous vintage & thrift scores from North Miami to Ft. Lauderdale! Which has all now come down to - and I'm not kidding - CRICKETS here in Arizona. 

Keep laughing - but I'm serious: Crickets outside and crickets inside, which Sephora (our cat) loves to chase and swat when they're inside the house - then like Scarface said, "Eat that Sosa (cricket) for breakfast!" (Scarface was filmed in Miami!)

I know my husband knows I WISH this trip was a one way ticket - to get back home - to feeling like I BELONG again - because God knows: I've been a lost soul living here in the desert.

My mom wants me to shop for a new wardrobe for her and I'm wanting to take walks on the beach, get some fresh seafood plus, see and meet up with old friends, and visit culture + history (like REAL Italian architecture and decor at Vizcaya) and eat some Cuban food! Italian too - nothing like moms sausage & peppers like she'd make in Jersey!!

I've pretty much run all my travel errands. Got caught up on social media updates. Had a few client projects these past few weeks I can now put towards my trip. Tuesday I had my hair cut & colored + highlights -- but it came out too dark so heading back for a fix on Friday morning (thank goodness I did the appointment early enough to fix!) Now I just need to confirm those last minute calls for meet-ups and pack up the outfits + accessories I pulled. The last time I was on a plane was when we moved here to AZ in November 2011 - This is going to feel strange - but it's all good and can't come fast enough!!

I only hope it all s-l-o-w-s-d-o-w-n when I get back east. 

Time will fly & I know I'm going to come back both exhausted and invigorated!  

Thanks for stopping by now - in all honesty - I probably won't be posting much once I get back east - taking in every moment with friends and family (plus maybe a little sharing on Twitter and Facebook!)

Going HOME: September 30 - October 8!