Morning Dreaminess

Lately, when I walk to my office in the mornings, I get the feeling of being a tourist. Perhaps it’s because of the summer travel season. I see visitors touring downtown, the Capitol building, and its surrounding park. It’s more than just seeing tourists, though. Something about this season transports me to my own travels, memories of walking an unfamiliar city in the early morn, taking in the sights, sounds, and smells, seeing the denizens of downtown walk to their destinations with purpose, while I meander and marvel and take it all in. It makes me see my own downtown differently, listen to it, attend to its similarities to other places I have visited. I soak in the atmosphere, really feel my city, or at least my little portion of it. The combination of my sleepy brain, the gentle morning air, the early light, transports me and makes me long to explore another city. It has been too long since I have taken a proper trip. I spent a week in Washington, D.C. with my parents right after I got engaged in 2007. Since then, Chris and I have taken short weekend getaways, but never a real vacation. I would love to explore a new city with him, soak up its atmosphere, discover its quirks. I think we need at least one good, long trip together before we start our family. That gives me something else to dream about during the early mornings.