Awesome Expectations

I had a really cool realization this evening after an experience on the beach. I have fun, interesting, new rendezvous every time I go out. The same way I have the expectation of meeting friendly people everywhere, I have the expectation of these exciting experiences. I adore the variety, diversity and range of them. I love the brief conversations or moments with animals or whatever it may be. This week alone, I’ve had several and it has me wanting to venture out even more often because it is so fun and satisfying. I love time and physical space to myself and I love connecting with others. I love being awake and I love being asleep. The ebb and flow and ease of it all is enjoyable. 

That said, here are some of the examples of these rendezvous of late. 

I was driving an EZ Go (that doesn’t have a windshield) and a butterfly came right at me. I ducked so it wouldn’t hit my face and had a good laugh. I love seeing so many butterflies happily fluttering around. 

A different location and butterfly that same day. Kudos if you can spot it there, somewhat central and left. 

Remember that post about my evening beach walk where I said it was an eagle I’d spotted, then corrected it as a hawk? It WAS an eagle. I saw one at the beach again today and got some pictures as it stood eating something it had caught. That was cool because I knew it was an eagle and not a hawk and now know I can be sure there are eagles here, at the beach. 

Eagle, right? It was big! I zoomed in quite a bit so as to keep my distance and leave it be. 

I have had some very nice short conversations with people who have had lovely things to say and have complimented me on some things I’ve been doing. Without getting into the specifics of that, I take a lot of pride in what I do and to have multiple people notice that and comment was incredibly fulfilling. 

I love excellent customer service and people who are kind and professional and that is always nice to meet with. I got some propane the other day when the weather was grey and storms had been passing through and this particular place is one I like returning to because, despite it being a fill station I need to go the “wrong” way into for them to reach my LP fill, they are always friendly and professional plus I can pay via credit card right there and the price is fair. Yeah, some places may be cheaper, I haven’t looked. I like paying for good service and the ease of it being nearby and I’m happy to return to this place. I was told they will not fill if there is lightning as that is considered dangerous for them. Thankfully the rain stopped for the bit of time it took and she got exactly the amount I asked for in! 

And then there is this evening when I was walking the beach, closer to the end of the walk. I saw some folks fishing and recognized a shark fin. The reeling it in was also noticeable as I’ve seen other-than -fish caught enough times at this point and I know what this looks like. It was a nice sized shark. I watched from afar, wondering what they’d do. Long story short, they tagged it, measured it, and released it. I took one picture since my camera is full and that was all I could get. I passed them but then went back and one saw I was going to ask a question. I asked if they’d tagged the shark and he said yes, they are volunteers with NOAA. He then explained that they get postcards from NOAA and, when they catch and tag the shark, they send the stats to them for tracking. This isn’t the GPS kind of tracking. I thought that was interesting and I was glad to have this experience as it was totally new to me. I also learned it was a lemon shark! I said I thought it was a great white and he laughed and said no. I know what great whites look like and hadn’t really looked at lemon sharks before. I can clearly see now that they are rather different and now I know how to tell them apart. 

Lemon shark. 

So… I have more to share about sharks at some point. For now, I will simply say that during a beach walk the other day I saw a fin very nearby me, close to where I stood with just my feet in the water. It was a shark moving swiftly and deliberately. I had thought it was a great white that was young but larger than the babies I’d been seeing. I now think it was a lemon shark. 

I love the beach! 

I love having these experiences. I love having awesome expectations for fun and satisfaction to be a part of my days in moments like these. I love learning new things and making connections. I love walking the beach and I have the expectation of enjoying it every single time. Each night especially, when I walk it, I look around so thrilled to be in such a beautiful place. It's one of the easiest places I know to be. I love it. 

Cloquet, MN: Free Concert, Cool Store, Nature, and Frank Lloyd Wright's Gas Station

My last post about wearing  rose colored glasses and my expectations referenced the "next post" and actually, I have this one first because I like to post in order of where I was. So, I enjoyed visiting Cloquet and it included one of my favorite MN experiences.

First, the drive there included a drive around the water (I did not note, apparently, what water nor the town(s) I went though. I just recall driving around thinking I could stop at the water, ending up wondering if I was on a road or about to pull into a house and barn driveway- it was a road afterall- and seeing the only public parking lot without being able to turn into it soon enough, then deciding to continue on instead of figuring out a turnaround to go back. It was a nice area to drive around.) I also found a rest stop with a walking trail and great nature views, plus a pay phone. Rare these days!

This road began to appear like a long driveway and I was headed to a barn and house. It was, in fact, still a road, thankfully. :)

I was driving to Cloquet and saw a sign for a European store up ahead. I figured I would stop. It was so nice because it had a lot of things from my family and childhood in it. Swedish Horse, trolls, Danish blue and white plates, and all sorts of things. A neat store, great prices. I am glad I stopped. As we were leaving, my cat got quite curious and began to poof up a little when we passed this large horse outside. LOL. Very cute.

I was listening to the radio and had changed the station when the DJ kept talking about a festival. This time, I was singing along to a song I really like and when it ended, the DJ said the band was playing in town at a festival today. The town was the very town I had just entered! I checked the event and park on my phone and saw that it was less than 2 miles from where I was. So off I went to check it out. This was a large festival with bands playing all day plus various activities. The park is nice and the people were probably the friendliest I met in Minnesota. I got to see an amazing performance and at one point, Canada Geese flew up over the audience and a bunch of us looked up. The lead singer had his hand in the air. I captured a picture of this fantastic moment. What a great night.

A really cool moment.

As it turns out, there is also a gas service station right there that was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. It was closed when I got there but I still looked around and climbed the steps to see the observation area. I had noticed it and didn’t realize this was an historic place until I looked it up.

The station. There was also propane there.

The overlook which views the park the festival was at, the water, and nature trail I walked at across the way. Nice view indeed.

Of course I went around the downtown:

This was the first night view from my dashboard after the concert. The windshield has a product to help with rain on it- works great when it rains! And looks unclear when it isn't raining... I prefer not to drive at night usually so not an issue.

I also walked around the other side of the river one day. It was a lovely spot. There is a campground right on the water plus camping in the woods along the river.

When I talk about inspired trekking, this is what I mean- that I was not listening to that DJ until I went back to the station, listened to a song I like, and then paid attention to the fact that the band was playing right in that town, right that evening, around two miles or less from me, for free so I could show up right then, park at the park, and attend without having known anything about any of this. This is the kind of rendezvous I love! This is the kind of inspired movement I enjoy. This is the kind of natural connection that happens when I allow for it. I gather many stories of such experiences where things naturally come together so easily on their own. The geese flying over us is another example. I had seen some just a bit before and thought how cool it would be to get a picture and then, soon after, it happened again with more of them, and I was able to. Maybe not everyone there saw those birds yet being a part of the collective moment with those who did was very cool. I love this stuff. All those little moments coming together in such fun ways... if I'm asked why I prefer not to plan much, this is why. I have my expectations  and believe me, they are enough to create the journey that I want and the details are filled in better than I even imagine. There is great fun in the unknown and unexpected when it's known that all is well, things are always working out, and I simply go with my inspiration, ride the wave, and have fun with it.