I have been working non-stop for weeks on end. Even years on end. It is partly my fault, as I am a workaholic. In that respect, the weekends are really important to me. I need mini-escapes from my current environment. I love little weekend road trips. I get to get out and take in a new mini-culture. I get to get out and leave the madness of the world behind for a little bit.
On my weekend trips, I take out my fancy camera and lens and go all out in my adventure. Just because it is local travel doesn’t mean you can’t have a grand adventure. We go with an open mind to fully take in the new locale. A place that is only an hour or two away might not seem like it would differ greatly. However, I have found in my travels that even a location that is an hour away can be completely different in vibe, culture and personality from the one you are in.
This past weekend, I finally had a chance to decompress and traveled to a little town called Balboa Island that had frozen bananas, candy stores galore and puppies frolicking about. There was an old style firehouse and post office. For a few hours was taken out of the hustle and bustle of everyday city life and everyday troubling news from around the world. There was a sense of tranquility.
There was a recent study that found we are living in stressful times. Everybody is a walking stress ball. We are biting down our fingernails. We are wearing the soles on our shoes through our constant pacing.
I looked out at the boats and pictured myself relaxing in some far off island drinking a Pina Colada.
Maybe in a few weeks we can all take a deep breath and dream a little dream.
Categories: Culture, current events, Election, photography, Psychology, Travel, work, workplace
psychologistmimi 
Balboa island looks like a lovely place to breathe. I have a place like that on the ocean in a town called Montauk on Long Island. I find the ocean so therapeutic.
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yes! Montauk is lovely! indeed so therapeutic. If only we could bottle it 🙂
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You know, I’d forgotten that Balboa was an island. It was a summer escape for my family and some of our friends’ families when I was a kid, kind of like the Catskills where Dad worked during the week and came out on weekends. That’s how far out Angelenos thought the OC was in those days!
As usual, Wikipedia confirmed that Balboa is indeed an island, or more accurately Balboa an area of Newport Beach, California, actually comprising three modified or artificial islands in Newport Harbor. It has really changed in the last 50 years, so much so that I don’t think most families could afford a summer vacation there anymore.
According to the 2000 US Census, Balboa Island was one of the densest communities in Orange County. Approximately 3,000 residents live on just 0.2 square miles (0.52 km2) giving it a population density of 17,621 person per square mile—higher than that of San Francisco! It is also one of the most expensive real estate markets in North America outside of Lower Manhattan. One small upside, maybe: Balboa Island’s only bar, the Village Inn (or VI as locals like to call it), has sat near the end of Marine Ave for over 80 years.
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