In & Out Travels

Hello, tender friends!

I attended a writing conference this past weekend in Bluefield, West Virginia. This message on the marquee warmed my heart when we arrived.

Bluefield was a boom and bust coal town, so much of the city is in poor condition. But the venue itself was beautiful. I’m a sucker for gilded wall embellishments.

The bathroom setup also warmed my heart. How cool is it that they had these old fashioned vanities in the bathroom with a sign calling it the “Women’s Refreshing Station?”

This might be a weird gratitude moment, but I never sat down to pee when I did non-profit work because there wasn’t time to do so. I was MASTER of the squat and run back to class. This bathroom set up was such an antidote to how I used to live that I paused and thought Thank you, Lord, that I no longer have that job.

I’m also a sucker for ambient evening lighting, and even though this picture doesn’t look like much, walking outside to the street lit up like this was one of my favorite moments:

My friend Sarah (shout out to Sarah if you end up reading this!) and her family also stayed in Bluefield while Sarah and I attended the conference. Jacob had a blast playing with her son all weekend and riding the trolley and visiting a local art museum.

The man who welcomed us at this museum said that everyone who makes art there is a self-professed dumpster diver. The dumpster diver artists take pride in creating all of this art without spending even $1 on materials.

Sarah and I managed to enjoy a mom date during Saturday’s lunch break at an organic cafe called Blue Spoon on the same street as the venue. I highly recommend this if you ever find yourself in Bluefield, as the quiche and tomato soup that I ordered were fresh and flavorful. My tomato soup was chock full of fresh rosemary. The goat cheese in my quiche with some of the creamiest I’ve ever had. The acidity of the sun dried tomatoes perfectly balanced out that creaminess.

Sarah and her family stayed through yesterday, but we drove back on Saturday and were able to attend church this morning.

I’m calling this post “In & Out Travels” because we have a few days of rest and then we’re headed to New Mexico at the end of the week! This will be Jacob’s first time on a plane and my most ambitious trip with him to date, so prayers, if you feel led, would be amazing.

I’ve got some snacks packed and I’m going to buy him a new coloring book, but if you have any other ideas to keep a 5-year old happy during a full day of travel, I’m all ears!

Okay, that’s all for today, tender friends! Thank you for following along, and thank you for sharing!

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