First things first… I have added some creatives you should know to my Creatives to Know page. I discovered these amazing artists last weekend when I visited Laguna Beach with a group.

Okay, now on with my story. Last year, I found a duplicate of a denim jacket I had purchased that was a different size. I had forgotten that I had purchased it and set it aside to return later. Not sure what to do with it since so much time had passed and it fit me now, I talked with my husband about it. He suggested that I keep one jacket plain and paint whatever I wanted on the other one. GREAT IDEA! But what to paint? He said, “Well you like lighthouses a lot, how about that?” GENIUS. And so I researched West Coast Lighthouses to find one that had the little oil house below it and the perfect silhouette at sunset. I have painted plenty of watercolors of east coast lighthouses, but not west coast. I stumbled across the Pigeon Point Lighthouse and immediately did a sketch from a photo and transferred the drawing to the jacket. I painted wave patterns across the cuffs, neckline and pockets. Then I started on the lighthouse scene. It took several layers of paint to get the vivid look I wanted, however, finally it was done and I sealed it with an iron (heat sealing). I wore that with pride to several local art events and people were very complimentary.

Then earlier this spring, my husband had earned a work sabbatical and wanted to travel up the west coast to see our 4 young relatives graduate from high school before they all went to NY or WA for college. He also wanted to visit some book stores, I wanted to see some lighthouses and we wanted to see a few friends along the way. So we packed and off we went on our big road trip! We spent about a week and a half in the Bay area for the various graduation events and toured some historic places there, that we had not seen before, and also snuck in a day with a long time friend. With all of that accomplished we headed out for see bookstores and lighthouses.

When we drove up to the Pigeon Point Lighthouse I was struck by how amazing the area around it is and the perfect location of the lighthouse and additional buildings around it. It truly was a light station, not just a lighthouse. I was also startled to see it was undergoing a complete renovation with much work under way, and much more still to be done. I had never seen crews working on the base of a tower before, that was exciting! And the wonderful informational signs that covered the fenced off area around the tower helped explain exactly what the surrounding community had planned. Another sign closer to the street explained the NUMBER of people who were coming together to preserve this important part of our American history. Inspiring! There was a time when the government invested a decent amount of money (at the time) in safety for those at sea and bought the best designed lenses in the world! Preserving that chunk of history and the stories that go along with the locations is priceless. I am so glad the community is doing this.

We spent a good amount of time watching TINY baby harbor seals learn to navigate the waves and how the constant winds have bent the cypress trees over the fence! Wild what mother nature can do. I am so glad we made the time to stop here on our travels and we both plan to come back and see it when it’s finished and possibly stay in some of the buildings they are renovating for guests.

So… find something that ignites your creative spirit, create it and then go out into our physical world and connect with how it is now. It’s worth your time.