"Girl on Bike"...finished writing...

Well, I finished the last chapter of Girl On Bike yesterday......whew..... Now it's time to read through it, make sure I've covered the bases, answered my own questions and told a story that others would really enjoy reading! So far, those who have read some chapters could NOT put it down so they say! I feel like I've given birth...and I have!

This mornings' hike on West Ridge had to be the most amazing one yet. The clear sky, the pink glow above the blue that reflected from the ocean, the orange glow behind Saddleback, views that were unending, clear and crisp. There was a vibration to it all that surrounded me and my companion. He said he could see the glow around me. We walked in silence and breathed deeply, the coolness of dawn and scented sage brush. Pictures taken can never capture the true color. I'm learning that being there, being a part of it and capturing it in my mind, and then on paper, allows me to remember it more completely than photos. I'm always disappointed in the flatness from photos.

You think, "Oh, I'll get a picture of this." Once in awhile you might get a feeling of a moment, but life is about living it, not holding on to a picture of it. I'm getting to the point where it's almost like trying to steal the sunrise. God's creative majesty bursts on the scene so quietly at sunrise. And only those who get OUT THERE are the ones who are blessed with the communion of natures' dawn. This morning we were surely an audience to a birth that included...US.

As I looked up ahead and marveled at the colors of the dirt trail ahead and its' winding, gentle curves, a deer appeared. It stood there for a moment, turned and looked back at us, then disappeared in a blink, back into the brush..........Gentleness, the message of Deer..................