The Hobbit: Long Beach, 2012

Sometimes--when you've been moving, and traveling, and working non-stop for what seems like forever--you need to take a day off and enjoy friends, food, and a great story. So that's what we did yesterday. We started the day with breakfast (in good Hobbit fashion) at Jason's house with Greg and Lauren. Then those two had to be off, and Sean, Jason, and I settled down to read The Hobbit aloud in honor of its 75th anniversary. And that's how we spent a simple, beautiful day. We had breaks for lunch (warm bread, brie, and fruit) and dinner (London broil, baked potatoes, rolls, and butter that I begged off a neighbor at 9 p.m.), a walk to the park, and a cookie break after midnight. When I wasn't the one reading, I colored and wrote in my journal, or just laid on my back and enjoyed being still. We didn't finish until almost 1 a.m. and when we were done we had journeyed with Bilbo through Rivendell and the Misty Mountains, through Mirkwood and all the way to the Lonely Mountain and the lair of Smaug himself--and then back home again to the Shire. What an adventure!