News from the Road: Run get a cup of tea ~ because this is a long one! We’ll start here with road-trip MUSICA 🎶, and what I like to call “the aberration” or maybe the “miracle” because it can’t be true and I’m sure it was a typo that will be fixed soon, but while it lasts we must glory in the moment, because it’s the very first time for any of my books. LOOK at THIS!!!!⬇️
Even though it’s not really a travel book, but if the New York Times Book List said it was Number 10 in the category of books about ditch digging, I would take it! And I have you to thank for it. 💞 Word of mouth has always been the way my books have found new readers, and word of mouth, in this case, would be YOU. There are 100 reviews for Isle of Dreams on Amazon as of today, and 99 of them are 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️’s. Amazing! And all because of you! Look what a little Girltalk can do!
Oh, yes we can!
So, THANK YOU!!!! (And you, too, @FarmGirlGeorgie for making the cute NY Times Best Seller thing💝) 
Right now, I am writing you from my home state of sunny California. Yup, we made it all the way across, from sea to shining sea. Tonight is our 13th book signing so far, with more Girltalk at Rakestraw Books, here in Danville. We still have ten more signings to go before we get back to Martha’s Vineyard, Jack, Girl Kitty, and Home Sweet Home. (Check HERE and see if we’re coming to a store near you.) But first, today, I’m having lunch with California girlfriends!
I thought I’d show you a bit of our trip ‘cross country . . . There are so many wide open spaces, you would be shocked unless you were one of the ten people that actually lived in one of them!
Because it’s been gorgeous . . . amazing skies . . . we could see weather coming from forever away . . .
No snow though, we seem to be past that now . . .
But a few wicked downpours . . .
Then up and over the top of the world . . . (I met a girl working in a gas station in a tiny town in Wyoming, at around 6,000 feet altitude, where the wind rocked our car all the way down the road, and asked her how much snow they got up there, and she said, “It’s hard to tell, the wind blows it all away.” Freezing frozen wind, so much that the MOUNTAINS of snow that MUST be coming down, gets blown away? Eeeek!)
through bucolic farmlands . . .
across the plains . . .
And out to your basic nowhere . . . On our way to one bookstore after another, on our way to meet very gorgeous people.
Like this one. I love her. I love her hands, her headband, her shirt, her shorts, her shoes and the expression on her face. And most of all, I love the stars in her eyes.
And no matter what age, all our Girlfriends had those same wonderful star-filled faces . . . 💏
I don’t think they would be here if they didn’t have a bit of fairy tale girl inside them too. We had such a good time together!
We’d never been to the Tattered Cover Bookstore in Denver . . . it was so wonderful! Built inside an old theater, I can’t say enough nice things about this gorgeous place. With an amazing magazine section too! You can read its history Here! Go there if you can, they have big comfy chairs to sit in plus a coffee shop. You could live there!
That’s Daniel in the yellow shirt. He’s the Events Coordinator, and made it all happen in the smoothest way possible! We had some fairy tale boys come to the signing too, manning the cameras for their wives . . .
And every signing we’ve been to has been a family affair . . .
Moms and daughters, sisters, Aunts and nieces, best friends for life…See what I mean about the stars in the eyes . . .?
I am grateful every day for the rewarding work I have been blessed with.💞
How could I not be . . . Three generations, grandma, daughter and my newest, just hatched, Girlfriends who don’t even know they are girlfriends yet, and best friends for life . . . twins!
I always say I would rather be standing in line . . . there is so much laughter and happiness out there, I can hear them from where I’m signing, people meeting people . . .
These girls had a tea party in a restaurant before they came to the signing!
I feel so honored, truly . . .
This was at Main Street Books in St. Charles, in Missouri. Poor Missourites, just don’t know how to have fun!
And this darling girl is one of the owners who also manages the store, Emily Hall (she and her family own it, but no discernible relation to Joe).
Joe took lots of great photos!
The store was tiny . . .
But it was such a nice spring day, no one minded being outside . . .
And, sooner or later, I got to meet everyone . . .
And, as you can see, they treated me royally . . .
Here’s picture of the Main Street Books staff with Joe . . . and right behind me are Twitter girlfriends ~ Cindy (@granny2626), and to her right is Alisa (@AlisaMS) who, together, single handedly, made this book signing happen by calling Emily until she could no longer take it!
And while we were at Main Street Books, THIS came by to entertain us all . . . a fife and drum band! Just to give you an idea of how cute St. Charles, Missouri is! In fact, this is where the Lewis & Clark Expedition began their westward Ho! All of Missouri (that we saw) was wonderful. 
We drove the back roads, and made discoveries! Like that ⬆️ If you’re ever near there, try to visit the quaint historical town of Hermann, MO. Worth a trip just to see it . . . SO darling, practically all brick, lots of antique stores, and tiny little free-standing bed and breakfast cottages that ooze so much charm, you just WANT to move into one of them.
We also went to Mark Twain’s House in Hannibal, MO, our second time there, which I will tell you more about someday soon, because he deserves a whole Blog post about him. He grew up in that little white house. And just around the corner, by the way, is the birthplace home of the Unsinkable Molly Brown. Hannibal is a double-whammy town, and filled with historic buildings.)
Look how close Mark Twain’s house is to the Mississippi River . . . what a childhood that river must have provided for an adventurous, brilliant boy like that wonderful Sam Clemens! Then it was off to Kansas City!
With a little of this . . .
And a little of that . . .
And a lot of this, thrown in for good measure . . .
Because we are the ramblin guys . . .
Here we are at Rainy Day Books in Kansas City . . . these girls brought quilts they’d made from my fabric for me to sign! Are they not cute or what?
It was another wonderful night . . .
of meeting and greeting . . . and smiling for the camera . . .
Jane (from Twitter @artistswriter) brought us this cake!
A beautiful cake, with a fairy and little fairy dust and everything, that she made herself! We have the MOST creative Girlfriends!
Vivien Jennings from Rainy Day Books set us up for local KC television, this was CBS. Do I like to go on TV? Oh no, I do not! I am way too normal for this!
But I did it twice! This was NBC. I smiled and tried to keep all torture expressions off my face. Because A. It’s my job, and B. I sat in my studio for four years writing these books, the least I can do is try and tell people about them. I will be doing it again when we get to Memphis. Luckily that’s a long time from now.😜
Then we went shopping because Vivien knew all the best places! This is a famous Kitchen store in Kansas City called Prydes . . . They have EVERYTHING!!! Need a dishtowel?
This is Prydes, worth a trip all by itself!
Us and Vivien and her partner Roger, wonderful people, with a very famous, very community oriented bookstore.
After the book signing was over, I signed LOTS of books to leave at Rainy Day Books . . . “with love.” In fact, I’ve left signed books at every bookstore I’ve visited. If you need Christmas or Birthday presents, and want to support our wonderful Independent bookstores . . . call one of them, they’ll ship!
Over the Rocky Mountains into Salt Lake City we go! A little bit straight down . . . for several miles . . . whimpering occurred but I held his hand and told him everything would be okay.👍
And here we are, meeting more starry eyes at the King’s English Bookshop in Salt Lake City. Joe took the best pictures! He visits with everyone in line while I’m signing books. And everyone asks him about the incident with the teabag on his glasses . . . and we all still laugh!
Our Girlfriends who come by themselves arrive as strangers but leave with new friends . . .
So many beautiful smiles . . . I could post pictures like these for the rest of the day and still not show them all! If you were at the signings and don’t see your face here, it’s only because I had better get in the shower soon or I won’t make it to the next book signing!
And more fairy tale boys . . . we actually had a lot of them, and they were great guys, every one of them. As you might expect!
See what I mean? More starry eyes!
Doesn’t the line look fun?
I loved every moment of it.
Here’s Rachel, Rob, and Paula . . . our host and hostesses for the evening at The King’s English Bookshop . . . we are so happy to hear how good the independent bookstores are doing these days . . . seems people really don’t want them to go away!!! New ones are opening every day, in the smallest towns too. Seems people love real books to decorate their houses and smell while reading! We can be proud, they couldn’t do it without us, it’s a triumph of the people over the machine!
Poor Rachel who works at the store, no personality, and no way of relating to her customers . . . poor thing, and all this with a box of books under her arm. 👏
And the store itself, how perfect is this for hosting fairy tale girls??? It’s a cottage-shop in a tree-lined neighborhood (previously owned, I think, by Goldilocks and the Three Bears).
Here’s Rob introducing me . . . the talk was held in the art gallery next to the bookshop. You guys ask the best questions!!! I can’t begin to tell you how wonderful these things are. It’s more like a conversation than a talk. I start out scared, but within about 60 seconds, I’m talking to you, you’re talking to me, and I’m just loving it.
So guess who I get to see tomorrow????🎉
🎵 MAS MUSICA! 🎵
Yes, we’ll be at my Studio near San Luis Obispo . . . and (don’t be jealous) we’ll get to SLEEP with our studio kitty, freckle-face Sammy . . .
. . . and our other Studio Kitty, sweetest Sasha!!!
This is our Studio, where the Kitties live, and where Kellee and Sheri and Alfredo work . . .
We designed the garden for this place right after we got back from our first trip to England in 2004 and were SO INSPIRED by what we had seen . . . the house is in an ancient riverbed so there is good dirt, and it’s five miles from the Pacific Ocean, so there is moisture, and there is a year-round flowing stream at the back of the property, so miracle of miracles, in California especially, there is water . . .
And believe it or not, that little building behind the garden is where we ship everything from ~ your books, the Emma mugs, dream charms, everything! We’re a little company, but we are happy.
This is Sheri and Kellee just after I got my kitty, Jack! BTW, I couldn’t do it without these girls!
Here’s Jack. I think you can see why they felt they needed mustaches . . . they sent us mustaches too.
This is inside the house/studio . . . That’s Kellee’s desk in the left corner, usually her dog is asleep under it, and Alfredo’s is on the right, and the kitchen is on the other side of those barstool chairs . . . Sheri is down the stairs that go off to the left. It’s a mess, because Joe and I are there at the time, and we always bring too much stuff with us!
Soon we’ll be having dinner at our favorite restaurant enjoying one of our favorite views in the world . . .
As you can see by these UN touched photos!!!!
Mine all mine. For the price of a seafood salad and a glass of wine.
That’s where I’ll be, with my BFF Diana . . . 💞 who hasn’t sprawled yet in this photo but will soon! See the painting behind my head? I took my one and only oil-painting class when I was out there and painted that picture of the garden . . .
Here it is in my studio on Martha’s Vineyard when I need to remember how nice the weather is in California!
Now I’ll leave you with two things . . .
First, this is maybe the sweetest kitty plus reading photo I’ve ever seen. Look at that cat’s eyes! Is he in heaven, or what? Thank you to Twitter girlfriend Heather for sending this darling thing . . . (@heatherbyhand)
and this . . .
A note we found under our windshield. SO sweet. Thank you Texie! We’ll be back! ❌⭕️ And I’ll be back here too . . . for a new installment in the never-ending story. Thank you for sticking with me! Love you all, wishing you a very loverly Memorial Day Weekend from the two road warriors! Hope to see you out and about! 
Susan…Are you okay? You haven’t posted in more than a month and I’m worried that you’ve been abducted by crazy Californians…? (As one who was raised, like you, in Southern California, I can say that!) Just let us know that you and Joe are happy and well! xoxo Catie
Read through the comment section when you have time Catie . . . I haven’t had much ability to update the blog during my travels, either no time, or no computer connection! But I’ve managed to keep in touch in our comments . . . and I’m almost home! No crazy Californians have abducted us, although if they tried, we might have let them! We are happy and well, and will be getting on the ferry tomorrow morning at 9:30 to go home. Yay!
Hello Susan:
Homeward bound after a truly fantastic tour of our nation! I can imagine the excitement and anticipation of once more hugging your kitties.,seeing friends and family and knowing that the bags will stay unpacked–for a while.
When I composed my first blog reply a few years ago, I was planning to speak to how touched I was by the fact that our lives are quite different but the commonality of things that speak to us both was remarkable. Well, I did not say that because in the end of thinking about it, it didn’t seem right, as so many of your girlfriends were full time homemakers with children and families to feed and care for, and perhaps I was the voyeur-just looking in(with some envy) on another lifestyle, even though mine suits me fine.
As people all over the nation and world, from farms to big cities, have embraced you and the sisterhood that you welcome all to be a part of, I realize that what is really at the heart of this sharing is how it affects our perception of self- the essence of who we are or want to be-to encourage what we want to do in life, to support the value of friends and family, to make everyday life as comforting and inspiring as it can be. That is truly what is the heart of what you share-the writing and recipes and art and quotes and shared thoughts are simply the happy conduit. The commonality of humanity, the person to person contact appears to be at great risk these days, so I can only thank you once more for your gift of sharing. Marty.
Beautifully written Marty, thank you so much! I think what you say is right, about our commonality . . . and that we have SO much more in common than not, no matter what our station or where we live. Essence is a good word for it. Thank you! xoxo
I don’t know how many people are still looking at this post, as it’s been up for a long time. Anyway, I wanted to let the girlfriends know that “The British Bake Off” has started once again. We so happened to be searching for something to watch and just so happened to see the listing. It’s the first show of the new season. Just as good as last years.
Carol M
Amen!
Susan, where are you? Safe & sound somewhere I hope. It’s been a while since you’ve blogged. I was just wondering how the book signing went & miss your pleasant blog posts.
I’m in East Sandwich this morning, to do the 23rd of our 23 bookstore tour today! Be home tomorrow!
Hi Susan and Joe and Girlfriends! I was going through “SB withdrawal” big time today and decided to take a peek at the blog posting replies for a bit of warmth across the land. Just what I needed. Whew! I am whole again. Balm for my soul. Glad to hear you are enjoying your travels, your visits to Smallville (homeland), relatives, and are nearing MV. Wave to me across Long Island Sound as you travel through CT on your way. I’ll be on the shore line, the one with the smile. Happy 4th of July!
I love the replies too . . . just golden! For me, a must-read! Happy 4th Susie! We’re almost home!
Susan…my dear friend since grade school discovered your book Martha’s Vineyard Isle of Dreams and gifted me with a copy! I have since ordered the other 2 books. You have me enthralled! You are 5 years 1 month and 1 day older than I…but you are my sister at heart. Love love love your zest for living! So sad that you were in Memphis and I didn’t know you at the time! I am planning a trip to England with my traveling buddies…will take your book as my guide. Thank you!
Fran Jenkins
So nice to meet you Fran! I know you’ll have a wonderful time in England! Thanks for saying hello!
Susan and Girlfriends, The Great British Baking Show started tonight on PBS. They will re-air the first show at 6 pm central on Sunday. It is such a good show. Thought everyone would want to know:) xoxo
Ps it season 6 from 2015
We do! Now I’ll be home to see it! Thank you Charissa!
I’m waiting for my entry to be looked at by Susan. I mentioned the British baking show as well as I know there was a great following of it last year. Glad you got through to let Susan and others know about the show.
How great to get home in time for the Glorious Fourth! I have been enjoying your replies to all our posts and was happy you used them as a way of letting us know you were still zipping around the country. After last summer, when it seemed the whole state was on fire, we are cautiously approaching the fireworks (we live on land actually owned by the Puyallup Tribe and are between several large fireworks stands) season. So I am sending some friendly reminders to all the girlfriends across the country: Please be careful when you light fireworks, and keep water and first aid nearby just in case (remember your Girl Scout training!) ALWAYS have plenty of ice cream and strawberry shortcake on hand. 🙂 Have a rousing political discussion with your neighbor and celebrate living in a place where every opinion can be voiced! Happy, Happy Independence Day and Welcome Home Susan & Joe!
Susan,
Sleep and cuddle your kitties and cover Joe in warm clothes straight out of the dryer.Make comfort food. Pour a glass of ‘wine’ “You’re home!” We missed you more than you know. Welcome Home!
Yay 💖 You are home! Sweet home! Snuggle down with those kitties and your own sheets and towels and teapots and flowers in the yard. It is fun to travel but so good to come home. 🍾💕
We lollies love you! Mark Twain had his angel fish🐟 you have your lollies! 🍭🍭🍭
xox
Gabi
Dear Susan,
I wanted to write and tell you how much I enjoyed the book signing event I attended last week at Bookends in New Jersey. We drove a few hours from PA to be there, and it was truly worth the drive to be able to meet you.
I know I got a little star struck when it was my turn to have my books signed, so I wanted to tell you what I didn’t say when I had the chance. I really, really love your work and have for many years.
I don’t remember when I found your first books, but I love to cook and love a good cookbook, so eventually I found yours. When I found out you had a Christmas book, I called the bookstore and had them hold a copy until I could get there the next day. I was taking no chances that someone might get it before me.
After that, I got much better at staying on top of your new releases. I subscribed to Willard and squealed when they arrived in the mail. They were a sweet treat to read and I loved hearing about what was coming out next, like fabric, pajamas, cards, wrapping paper and new books.
Now we have the magic of computers and your blog is wonderful. I’m sure many, many people have told you this already, but it is just so nice! All the things I love are the things that you talk about.
Again, it was lovely to meet you. You were kind enough to talk with me and answer the questions my husband had about the pens you use. He also had a nice chat with Joe. I look forward to meeting again someday at a future book signing. In the meantime, have a great summer and a wonderful trip this fall. Thank you for all the happiness you bring me.
Love, Debbie xoxo
Susan & Joe, Happy 4th of July! Hope you all have made it home OK. I too was wondering how you all were doing as I had not seen any posts in a while. I and my daughter wanted to see you in Austin,TX, but it didn’t work out. I have all your cookbooks and the three personal ones which I have them all. I have started reading “A Fine Romance” again and was trying to click on links again under the tab “I Love England” on the agenda and it doesn’t seem to work, Has it been disengaged or is it located in a different place? I also just bought two of the new 2nd addition of your first book as I have one of the first one. Can’t wait to receive it. Thanks for all you do and can’t wait to follow your next travel blog. Sandi from Texas
Welcome Home Sweet Home, Susan and Joe!! Big hugs!!
It’s truly a Red Letter Day to celebrate your homecoming, safe and sound. Heartfelt thanks for bringing so much joy and light to Girlfriends from coast to coast! The smiles we all felt are long-lasting and filled with the sweetest memories. (I’m still smiling!) It was such fun to follow your adventure, thinking about where you were each morning. What a joy it will be to slow down for a bit, play with the kitties, and walk through your garden with a cup of tea. Reflect and cherish the enchanting memories of this most special Book Tour! So much to look forward to ~ sweet celebrations and new adventures! 🙂 Happy 4th of July to all!
Happy hugs!
Love,
Dawn (in Illinois)
♡♡
P.S. Still your unofficial ‘Welcome Committee’ (with lots of hugs)! ♡
Thank you for being diligent and finding my flag day comment. And here we are on another flag day! And you are busy getting kitty fur all over yourself and listening to their stories! Wishing you a week of decompression, relaxation, and of course … laundry! XXOO P.S. Hi Joe! Hope Sue gave you some of the wedding table cookies!
After (foolishly) neglecting your lovely blog for awhile, I saw the light. ✨ So here’s how my weekend went down: Friday. Looked at blog. Berated myself for my absence. Ordered Martha’s Vineyard, 2-day shipping. Saturday. Fidgeted. Sunday. Went to church and came home to find my book. Read 3/4 of it, stopping only for necessities. Today (Monday). Read last quarter. Ached for more. Ordered A Fine Romance, 2-day shipping. As you can imagine, I’ll be fidgeting tomorrow, but the rest of my week will be quite splendid. 😊 Thank you so very much.
Welcome Home. The bestest place on Earth to be. Thank you for letting us share you trip. Looking forward to your next post.
Susan,
Hope you are home safe and sound and had a Happy 4th of July! I sure miss your posts. I am reading MVIOD at a snails pace to savor every bit as I know when it is finished, I will miss it. Just like I miss the Island. I was there last fall and enjoy my pictures, videos and my journal entries. I look forward to getting my new Heart of the Home!!! Enjoy the rest of your summer before you have to start packing for your trip!
Stephanie
Dearest Susan,
Welcome home!! Can only imagine the feeling of comfort & elation of pulling up to, then walking into…..ahhhh! HomeSweetHome.
Selfishly, I’m sad that its over (like a best friend traveling: excited for them, neat to follow & keep track of their path & stops, and always praying for safety). When I saw your twitter about the ferry: first a squeal of excitement for you two, quickly followed by a tug at the heart as this means the day on on my SB calendar, encircled with a heart and the note on it followed by 3 exclamation points bottom-dotted with hearts, is now on the page previously flipped.
So very grateful for the all the trekking you & Joe do (plus all the unloading and reloading of the bags from the cutest van ever) for all of us Girlfriends and very grateful one of your stops allowed me the utter delight of meeting you again, with this last one of being able to bring my 3 beauties. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Enjoy home, smuutch’ kyittah-kyittahs(!!) and peace & quite. and tea.
Grateful girlfriend forever, melinda
PS, do hope you & Joe were able to see the bats in Austin!
Is Martha’s Vineyard, Isle of Dreams now #6 on the New York Times Best Seller List in Travel?
Welcome Home! And Congratulations on a successful book tour! I was so lucky to see you at the Fox Tale Books event in Woodstock, GA; it was fabulous!!! You took so much time to meet and talk with everyone; thank you so much. It was amazing to find out how far some had driven to be at the event. We had come 5 hours, but it was nothing compared to many of the girlfriends who were there.
I know you are just glowing in the happiness of being home; there is nothing like it : ) Every thing is fun, exciting and comforting when you have been away for a while.
I have learned of a book that you would probably enjoy reading ahead of your upcoming Scotland trip. I haven’t read it, but it looked so good on Amazon, I put it in my basket right away. It was mentioned on a blog that I follow. It is My Heart’s in the Lowlands: Ten Days in Bonny Scotland by Liz Curtis Higgs. It is a book about her travels to Scotland.
Enjoy your rest!! You deserve it!!!
Hello! This Girlfriend is missing you! I hope you have had a wonderful 4th of July, and are home and enjoying cat snuggles and kisses and being domestic again! Cannot wait to hear more of your journeys! 😊 xoxoxo
Been thinking of you! Glad to know you were home for the 4th. WHAT a ambitious journey you’ve had; you must be EXHAUSTED. You saw the whole country, mostly, but road miles can get rough. I’ve driven the southern route from essentially El Paso to Santa Barbara and there’s a whole lotta nuth’in in between for as much as there’s other glorious stuff to see. (Might I say I was relocating at the time…moving back home to SoCalif…with a dog in the front seat and a cat in the back seat, stuffed in between too many possessions that didn’t make it on the moving van; husband driving the other car in front of me, with three dogs. We were a mini caravan. What can I say, we were YOUNGer; otherwise, I don’t know how we got through that trip, except that HOME and FAMILY beckoned. Incidentally, wasn’t Marty’s comment a few back so special? Wonderful tribute to you and all you do for us.)
How soon to Scotland? (How were things with your family and friends along the way, by the way? No pressure. Just looking forward to hearing once you get a little time. You need to HAVE time to unwind and settle back in; love on the kitties, be in your own house. Put your feet up and breathe in HOME. I’m betting when you got on the ferry, you just about melted into a pool of happiness.)
Dear Susan,
Just checking into the blog to see if there is a new posting and just realized that you only arrived back on the island last week. Hope you had a wonderful trip across country and will look for a new blog after you have had a chance to rest, unpack and get organized.
Missed reading your blog.
Rebecca W.
…we miss you too !!.. ( but please know that you are definately worth waiting for !!! )..’so glad you are back home on Martha’s and ‘so glad you had an awesome journey !!!
Hi Susan! I just finished Martha’s Vineyard, Isle of Dreams and just loved it. Can’t wait to get started on the Fairy Tale Girl. I also have several other books I’ve picked up along the years and even sent Christmas cards from the North Pole one year.
I know all about SLO. It’s beautiful. For years I attended a PE and Coaching workshop at CalPoly in the summer. We had so much fun I nicknamed it Camp PE. People from all around the world and the States would attend. I have fond memories of the attendees from Oregon bowling against the Washington attendees and the Oregon and Washington attendees bowling against the California attendees. Then there was the Graduate where we would go after the Farmer’s Market on Thursday night to show off our Country Western dance moves we learned earlier in the week. What a great time it was!
I too moved from one coast to the other 32 yrs. ago this September but it was from east to west and I’ve never looked back. Even though I was homesick for a long, long time until I purchased my own home 20 yrs. ago. It’s my own little beach house in the valley. LOL. I couldn’t afford to live at the beach so I brought the beach to me. :))))
Thanks for sharing with us and I wish you all the best. Aloha!
Good morning, Susan and everyone!
It has been a very long time since you posted, but I am so glad to see by the notes and comments here that you should be home from your long, long road trip… I bet Jack and Girl Kitty were SO very glad to have you home again! Looking forward to your next post… you have been truly missed!
Missing you but figure you need a breather. Hope all is well with you and your family.
Loved, loved, loved your latest blog!! So glad you are home safe. We have missed you!! I always look forward to all that you do and all that you are so generous to share with us. So sad to hear about your Dad. We all need to love and rejoice what and who we have in our lives. Thanks again and have a really great time in Colorado. Hugs…
Hi Susan and Joe,
It just finally dawned on me after finishing your book that it was number two in the trilogy of which I did not know. It was mysterious to me when I read the book about the beginning was. Now I know. I will be reading the other two.
I recently met you both on the M.V Governor and Titcolms with my son Joseph. I thought I had lost my spiritual connection to the island when my friend Betty Carroll passed last year from Menemsha. Now I feel like I have it back after reading your book. I also lived on the island on Indian Hill Rd in my early thirties after my first relationship ended but didn’t end up staying. I did however meet a lot of new friends. I did meet the love of my life Joanie later like you and Joe. We are the ones that have the cottage in Grafton VT and live in Sandwich. I also like to paint and of course I’m a huge Gladys Tabor fan and have been a member for many years. I wanted to go to the reunion this year but thought I would be the only male. I actually don’t understand why though as she is in the same come company as Hal Borland, Thoreau etc when it comes to nature writing. See you folks on the ferry!
You’re a very special guy Chris, your son is lucky to have you for a roll model. I feel like people who live here, spend their lives here, leave something very huge and almost tangible behind. I can feel all the folks who’ve lived in my house since 1849 when it was built. I’m so glad you’re feeling your spiritual connection to this amazingly spiritual place . . . I know it’s harder when you’re working as hard as you do, out in the public, but every day, give yourself an extra moment to soak in the amazingness of it. YOU drive a ferry boat!!!! Wow!
i was very happy to see your latest post and revel in your road trip adventures…
but saddened of the news you shared about your dear dad…..
i am sending my deepest condolences to you and your family. know he is safe in the arms of the angels. i will light a candle for him and offer this prayer …
‘Eternal rest grant onto him oh Lord and may perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace.’
Darling Susan,
My how we have missed you! So glad that you and Joe are safely home and had a marvelous adventure. We travel vicariously with you, so there will be a lot of re-reading of this post. It is wonderful! So happy to see all the beautiful Girlfriends and their fellas. This group really knows how to have a party! Hope you felt the love every mile of this trip.
Please accept my deep sympathies for the loss of your dear father. I’m with you – my beautiful, 87 y.o. mother passed away on May 30. No matter how old we are, we are never ready. We have to soldier on. I send you peace, prayers and comfort. Take care of your dear self. Your dad was a fine man and was so proud of you.
I have friends frisking about Scotland this week, and they say it is cold. (We’re from the South, so maybe you should factor that in.) So plan on some sweaters to go Over There! Can’t wait for the next Big Adventure!
So happy to see you are home safe after a wonderful trip. I just know your kitties are soooooo happy to have you back!! I must say, I am so bummed that I see you had an unscheduled stop in Grapevine, TX and I didn’t know about it!! I recently moved to Texas from Maryland and am learning my way around. I never would have made it to Austin, but live only about 20 minutes from Main Street Grapevine (my favorite go to place). I was so hoping to try to attend one of your book signings….(sad face). Thank you for your wonderful blog post. My friend from Maryland and I are both turning 70 this year and we are planning a trip in the Fall to Martha’s Vineyard because of you!!!! We are both avid followers of yours and this is a treat to us for reaching this milestone year.
I have just discovered you and your books. Have read Fairy Tale Girl and Isle of Dreams! I LOVE YOU!!! Thank you for being you! For your talent! For your faith in God! For your wit and sparkle!!! I will be reading everything you have ever written and buying all of them. I’m a former English teacher (retired now) and wish I’d had your books to share with students!!! You’re a wonderful writer and artist! So much talent in one small package!!! Thank you!
Big compliment coming from an English teacher, thank you!!! (As you might guess, I LOVED my English teachers, they were the ones I remember for the gifts of inspiration they gave me.)
Hi Susan,
Planning to visit Martha’s Vineyards next year in the Fall. Can you tell me if Sept/October is a good time to travel back there? Also any recommendations as to where one could find a responsibly priced B&B or Hotel to say in town close to where you live? Like looking for a needle in a haystack. Filling a Bucket list dream. Missed not seeing you when in California this time, but will next time you are near. Wishing you and Joe a wonderful trip back to England this Fall. Take care Girlfriend…….Hugs from Southern CA Madelyn
It’s the perfect time. Much quieter than summer, and leaves turning, cool breezes, just beautiful on the Island that time of year. Plus, prices go down. As for a place to stay, I’m the wrong person to ask because we never stay in any of the hotels. Google it, or look at the Chamber of Commerce. Houses can be rented here by the week too. Also, Air B & B — brilliant way to find really special and inexpensive places here on the Island.