keris stainton

Walking in the air

I've found that when I really, really want to do something, I can feel it in my gut. It's like butterflies but even more frantic. This morning I saw something that made me double over with excitement.

It's a glass skywalk out over the Grand Canyon. I have got to go! David said there's no way in the world I'd get him out there, so it looks like I'm going alone. I don't care. I'm still going.

And, while we're at it, I badly want to go here too:

It's the observation deck on top of the Rockefeller Centre in New York and it's been closed since 1986. This is what it used to look like - so glamorous. I can't find a picture of it now, but look at this view:

Breathtaking.

No cameras!

I love this idea from 52 Projects.

The next time you go on vacation, don't bring a camera. This sounds counterintuitive but think about all the memories you have of places, times, and events that actually come from photos and not actual memories. Rather than taking photos to remember your holiday, collect tidbits from your days and nights out: the coaster that sat under your beer while you watched people hurry down a Parisian street, a wooden bookmark bought from a girl hawking her wares at a Mexican market, the beautifully printed ticket stub from the Uffizi. Put these items in a box when you get home. They will help you remember your vacation in a different light than through photographs in an album.

I know that on holiday I spend too much time seeing things through my camera and not enough actually seeing things. Sometimes when I get home I look at the photos and I can't remember being there. Last time I went to New York I thought about not taking my camera, but in the end I couldn't leave it behind. Maybe next time ...