The Magic of a Day Trip
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The Magic of a Day Trip
Notes on Memories & Making Time for Friends
Letters from Tammy Strobel is a free weekly newsletter about creativity and curiosity, funded through Buy Me a Coffee.
I will be celebrating Thanksgiving with loved ones soon, so I’m sharing this week’s letter early. If you celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope it is filled with gratitude and love!
Thank you for reading!
Hi friend,
This year, I made an active effort to spend more time with friends—both locally and abroad. The adventures I shared with friends in 2022 were meaningful, fun, and joyful. Making time for friends will be a priority for me in 2023, too.
For example, one of my friends lives in San Francisco. During 2022, we planned an adventure together once a quarter. Planning our meetups has given both of us something to look forward to, and it’s fun!
About a month ago, we started to plan a day trip to Sacramento; a great meet-up spot because it’s equal driving distance from our homes. Plus, Sacramento is a cool town!
Logan and I lived in mid-town Sacramento from 2008-2010. We lived in a tiny one-bedroom apartment off H and 24th Street. The apartment complex was small and cozy, and that gave us the opportunity to get to know our neighbors. It’s also where we started to radically downsize our belongings and save for our tiny house.
Our recent day trip reminded me of: Early morning runs in mid-town with my friend K. Running and finishing my first marathon! Taking photos at the McKinley Park Rose Garden. Picking hydrangeas for my tattoo artist to reference while she tattooed hydrangeas on my arm at the Sacramento Convention Center. Walking to work. All the bike rides in midtown, downtown, and over the causeway to Davis and back.
Last weekend, we had fun exploring Old Sacramento and downtown. A few delights included: Trying to eat all the pastries at Temple Coffee (the S Street location is lovely), taking photos of the stained-glass windows in Evangeline’s Costume Mansion, and eating an early dinner at The Grange (located in The Citizen Hotel). We all had BIG burgers!
Downtown Sacramento felt vibrant. It was nice to see people out exploring and wandering on a Saturday afternoon. People were ice skating, kids were skate boarding, and we saw a dude breakdancing. A fun highlight—seeing dozens of people dressed in Alice in Wonderland costumes! We learned later that they were on a scavenger hunt; what they were hunting for was unclear. Their costumes were fun to admire, though.
Cheers to making more memories with friends!
GOOD LINKS
Here’s what I enjoyed reading and listening to this week:
1.) “A Notebook from the First ‘Thanksgiving:’ William Bradford, the Wampanoag, and what happened in Plymouth in 1621” by Professor Jillian Hess. {article}
2.) Writing Away: A Creative Guide to Awakening the Journal-Writing Traveler by Lavinia Spalding is GOOD. If you’re looking for prompts and ideas to kick start your writing practice—at home or on the road—this book is for you.
3.) Inciting Joy with Ross Gay: “… These days, Ross is in pursuit of understanding another transcendent human emotion: joy. The author shares what his practice of seeking delight has taught him about life, writing and language, and why he thinks poetry is the best coach for philosophy, mindfulness and gratitude.” {Podcast, The TED Interview}
4.) “Cheryl Strayed might be whispering your name into a candle: Hamish McKenzie talks to Cheryl Strayed about life after death, being friends with Oprah, and finding your own mountain.” {podcast}
THANK YOU!
A big thanks goes to: Nadya, Mrinalini, Jen, and Judy for supporting my work through Buy Me a Coffee.
Your support encourages me to keep writing. Thanks for being here!
With gratitude,
Tammy Strobel
FOOTNOTES
Read about our downsizing adventure in my first book — You Can Buy Happiness and It’s Cheap.
Here are a few Sacramento links to explore:
The Magic of a Day Trip
So glad to have found you on Substack! Your IG and book (along with a few other influences) changed my idea of what kind of life was possible!