Ocean Inspiration

Hey, so I just got back from a trip to the ocean. It was really great. I went just by myself and got a BUNCH of writing done on OBSIDIAN, the sequel to EMBER. I always read about aspiring authors wishing they could get off alone somewhere, without responsibilites, then they could definately write. I know it's important to make yourself write during the busy times, as well, but I feel really blessed to have this free time at the beach. I have awesome friends (sort of more like family) that let me stay at their condo at Carolina Beach, near Wilmington, NC. The area around there is SO cool. I thought I'd list out some of the things I did. So without further ado...

One of my favorites things to do is walk from the condo to one of the nearby cafes. The walk goes through town which is really cool, (there are a lot of fun, little shops). This time I was there, they had this famer's market going, as shown in the picture. It kinda of wraps around the lake, as you can see. They had live music, and food (really cool looking pastires, yummy! plus taste-testers), and jewelry. Oh, and it was really cool they had a local author doing a book-signing. They do this every Saturday morning. But when I walk throuh town, I just put my headphones on and totally imagine/plan out what I'm going to write once I get to the coffee place. It totally works! Try it if you're a writer!

So then...




These were really cool, I found at one of the shops. I took pictures because my sister loves sea-turtles. We're going to try to make the blue one, maybe, because I didn't by them (I only had my bike, so no way of getting them home). But I DID buy two excellent hoodies for really cheap. They say Carolina Beach on them. Yup, they're cool.

Okay, and cool thing number 3, and probably the COOLEST out of all of them. This little guy right here:



His name is "Jashan" and he's a White Bengal Tiger (once called "Royal Bengal Tigers"). He's at the local zoo, Tregembo Animal Park. It's a really cool zoo, because the animals are so close, also you can feed them peanuts or corn. There's this crazy animal there, called a Zedonk. Yeah, you read that right. Ze-Donk. Half zebra, half donkey. He looks like this:


And he's uber-cute. He munches corn out of your hand, and it's totally precious. You can pet him (if you distract him with food) and he also has a goat buddy. But anyways, back to Jashan. He's a great White Tiger, and very active. Between my two last trips, I saw him eat chicken, lay up on a table (rolling back and forth on his back mind you, sort of like this:

...only with his eyes closed). And he took a bath in his little pool, and he played in a hose fountain, and he even got up on his back legs and roared at one of the zoo-keepers. (like playfully). But it was cool.

I love (me and my mom) white tigers because of Tiger's Curse by Colleen Houck. Hopefully you've read it. If you haven't, DO SO! Ren's the best. Anyways, I like to pretend Jashan is Ren. Now lastly...



That's my mode of transportation. I know, I know. I should have taken an actual picture of me on my bike, but I was alone! So... sort of impossible. This was my first time taking my bike to the beach, and I've gotta say, for anyone who rides, it's the best place. Fast roads and not a lot of lights. Plus the ocean air, and perfect weather. On the way there I had a collosal full back-pack on my shoulders (which sounds harder to manage then it is), on the way back, I had that plus a bag, so there was sort of a leaning tower of luggage behind me. Also I lost a glove somewhere along the highway. Such is life.

So, that's about all for my trip. If you thought the place looks cool, and you live near North Carlina, please check out: BlueSeasProperties or facebook. For my friends awesome condo. It's right on the beach!

Now, for a good ocean song...