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Printed from https://www.writing.com/main/profile/blog/sgcardin/day/8-19-2025
Rated: 18+ · Book · Personal · #1051691

Life, Adventure, Family, Writing what else is there? Random thoughts.

WELCOME TO:

GEMINI RISING

Banner for my blog, "Gemini Rising"

*Flower1* *Flower1* *Flower1* *Flower1* *Flower1* *Flower1*

UPDATED INTRO 30 JUNE 2025:

Just a little about me. I've been married for 33 years this past NOV and currently live in Southern California, but I grew up in New Hampshire.

I've got 2 boys who are young adults.

I work as a 911 dispatcher for LAPD. I enjoy my job a lot. Still. If you can believe that.

I love to write. Thankfully both of my boys achieved Eagle Scout. My Scouting days are over and I'm back to focusing on my writing.

I like to get out in nature, drink coffee and watch football.

Here's a little bio about my zodiac.

GEMINI: Gemini, the sign of the Twins, is dual-natured, elusive, complex and contradictory. On the one hand it produces the virtue of versatility, and on the other the vices of two-facedness and flightiness. The sign is linked with Mercury, the planet of childhood and youth, and its subjects tend to have the graces and faults of the young. When they are good, they are very attractive; when they are bad they are more the worse for being the charmers they are. Like children they are lively, and happy, if circumstances are right for them, or egocentric, imaginative and restless.

Their good qualities are attractive and come easily to them. They are affectionate, courteous, kind, generous, and thoughtful towards the poor and suffering - provided none of the activities resulting from expressing these traits interferes too greatly with their own lives and comforts.

Geminians can be successful in many walks of life though their general characteristics tend to make them unreliable. They are often skilled manipulators of language, in speech and writing, and may be: debaters, diplomats (though in politics they are more interested in theory than practice), orators, preachers (brilliant rather than profound), teachers, authors, poets, journalists, or lawyers.



50 STATE TRAVEL BLOG PROJECT, SUMMER 2025:


FORUM
BCoF 's Virtual 50 State Bucket List Open in new Window. (18+)
We're going to explore one unique place in each of the 50 states in alphabetical order.
#2342653 by Lyn's a Witchy Woman Author IconMail Icon


Merit Badges Collected from Virtual Blogging &Virtual Blogging Friends:
Merit Badge in Let Dreams Take Wing
[Click For More Info]

To my upcoming virtual traveling blog companion. Dream big and fly high! Merit Badge in Normal Is Boring
[Click For More Info]

here's to another week of creating adventures! Merit Badge in Blog Camping
[Click For More Info]

Thanks for completing  [Link To User elusive4lyn]  July 2025 blogging vacation!! Great job!! Merit Badge in Travel
[Click For More Info]

Woohoo! We’re halfway through! Merit Badge in BCoF 2
[Click For More Info]

Thank you for your participation in BCoF's 50 States Virtual Blogging adventure.

*^*Heart*^* Lyn

BLOG ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

SEPTEMBER 2024:

I participated in the
FORUM
Blog Week Birthday Bastion 2025 Open in new Window. (E)
Blogging event from September 1-7, 2025. OPEN for Signups
#2277665 by WakeUpAndLive Author IconMail Icon
which was a big challenge for me due to my schedule, but I hunkered down and got it done. There's some great entries for the contest and the blog earned the following:

Merit Badge in Nonfiction
[Click For More Info]

Congrats on your Honorable Mention in Blog Week Birthday Bastion 2024

Big thanks to WakeUpAndLive Author IconMail Icon for hosting the contest!

OCTOBER 2024:

I participated in the
FORUM
13 Poetic Days of Halloween Contest 2025 Open in new Window. (E)
Let your spooky poetry shine. Oct. 13th 12:01 am WDC time. - closes 11:59 pm WDC Oct 25th
#2328177 by Lyn's a Witchy Woman Author IconMail Icon
which honestly was a big challenge for me considering my schedule, and again I hunkered down and did it! There's some great poetry to be found this October and the blog earned the following:

Merit Badge in Halloween
[Click For More Info]

Congratulations on completing the 13 Poetic Days of Halloween.

Big Thanks to Lyn's a Witchy Woman Author IconMail Icon for hosting the contest!



Find me at:

WEBSITE:
http://www.stephanieburkhart.com

FACEBOOK:
https://www.facebook.com/StephanieBurkhartAuthor

GOOD READS:
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4031660.Stephanie_Burkhart

YOU TUBE CHANNEL:
http://www.youtube.com/user/botrina?feature=mhee

*Exclaim* WARNING *Exclaim*

I intend to be open, honest, and forthright. No topic is off limits from religion to you name it, I'm going there. If you think you might be offended...back up now - this blog isn't for you. For those who "dare" *Wink* check out the "Gemini Rising..."


Another Signature
August 19, 2025 at 2:41am
August 19, 2025 at 2:41am
#1095551
SandraLynn Author IconMail Icon drove the Party Bus to our hotel in Washington DC and we all checked in. There’s a lot to do and see in our nation’s capital. WakeUpAndLive Author IconMail Icon, Jellyfish Author IconMail Icon, and SandraLynn Author IconMail Icon wanted to see all the monuments. It’s embarrassing to admit I’ve never been to Washington DC, but I haven’t. Maybe next year. My husband is talking like he wants to go and I’m game.

Our first stop is the National Law Enforcement museum.



I’m not a police officer myself, buy my husband is, and we’ve been involved with law enforcement since we’ve had jobs. I was an MP in the Army and he joined LAPD in 1997. I just dispatch for LAPD. Law enforcement means a lot of us, so seeing the museum was very touching, especially since I’ll be retiring in about 18 months, and my husband in 30 months.

Next we went to the Smithsonian Air and Space museum. There was a long line to get in even though the museum was free! Jellyfish Author IconMail Icon loves Space and stargazing, too, so we were two peas in a pod as we shuffled out way through the museum. We saw mockups of shuttles and rockets. The planetarium had a great show about the constellations. They even had a Soyuz exhibit.



Afterwards we went monument hunting. AmyJo-Moving day's soon here Author IconMail Icon thought the Washington Monument was cool. It was an obelisk. She loved the view from the top! You could see the whole city.

{embed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDSxKC3hOdk}

The Lincoln memorial was a big hit with Sung'manitu Author IconMail Icon and Lyn's a Witchy Woman Author IconMail Icon . The Lincoln memorial faces the Washington Monument and in between is the national mall with a reflecting pool. Krista Author IconMail Icon snapped a lot of pictures for her Instagram.



Princess Megan Rose Author IconMail Icon liked the Jefferson memorial because of all the cherry trees planted nearby. The cherries smelled sweet and the blossoms were beautiful.



We also visited the Vietnam Veterans and Marine Corps War Memorials. Very sobering, but I’m glad we paid tribute to the brave warriors who served the nation.

That night we went to Tiffany’s Bar & Bistro and had a light meal. We laughed over our past adventures and some of our favorite moments – Especially when AmyJo-Moving day's soon here Author IconMail Icon Nalgene flew off the trail and she found a dinosaur egg. There were some hair-raising moments, too like in Colorado and all that HEIGHT. We wouldn’t have eaten as good as we without Sung'manitu Author IconMail Icon researching all the food places. Ah, well, there’s always next summer. Thanks for the fellowship, friendship, and smiles:
Lyn's a Witchy Woman Author IconMail Icon
SandraLynn Author IconMail Icon
WakeUpAndLive Author IconMail Icon
Jellyfish Author IconMail Icon
Princess Megan Rose Author IconMail Icon
AmyJo-Moving day's soon here Author IconMail Icon
Krista Author IconMail Icon and
Sung'manitu Author IconMail Icon


August 19, 2025 at 1:12am
August 19, 2025 at 1:12am
#1095546
Wyoming is one of the western states. I always thought the western states possessed rugged land and cowboy things. So today, we’re all channeling our inner cowboy/cowgirl. Princess Megan Rose Author IconMail Icon wore her pink cowgirl hat. Sung'manitu Author IconMail Icon had on a Stetson hat. SandraLynn Author IconMail Icon was concerned that Wyoming didn’t have any 7-11’s so she stocked up on her Big Gulp as we passed through Minnesota.

On our way to Jackson Hole I made SandraLynn Author IconMail Icon stop by Cheyenne (the capital of Wyoming) so I can stock up on my favorite coffee – “Warpath Coffee” WakeUpAndLive Author IconMail Icon loved it and bought a couple of cases for herself to ship over to Europe.



Once we made it to Jackson Hole we went to our hotel, The Rusty Parrot, and unloaded our stuff. Lyn's a Witchy Woman Author IconMail Icon booked us to take a horse ride and we headed out to the Bridger Teton National Forest. I’d never ridden a horse before so I was game. Horses are chill. I liked my horse. Princess Megan Rose Author IconMail Icon was having too much petting all the horses she didn’t go horse back riding. AmyJo-Moving day's soon here Author IconMail Icon made sure her $50.00 nalgene bottle was clipped to her leather belt with a massive carabiner. Let me tell you – everything in Wyoming was BIG. Krista Author IconMail Icon *Heart* her horse and wanted to take him home. SandraLynn Author IconMail Icon Jellyfish Author IconMail Icon and WakeUpAndLive Author IconMail Icon skipped the horses and took a guided bus tour through Yellowstone. Can’t say I blame them. I hope they saw that massive geyser that likes to go off.

We visited the world’s finest wildlife museum. I mean it was alright. There were lots of taxidermy and it got old for me quick. Sung'manitu Author IconMail Icon thought it was cool seeing all the stuffed animals. They had a pretty cool gift shop, though. Krista Author IconMail Icon, Lyn's a Witchy Woman Author IconMail Icon and SandraLynn Author IconMail Icon bought a couple of native American ponchos.

Lyn's a Witchy Woman Author IconMail Icon bought us all shots of tequila at the Million Dollar Cowboy bar. Let me tell you, that was a BIG shotglass. Everyone was smiles after that tequila. Next, we went to the rodeo. Princess Megan Rose Author IconMail Icon kept yelling, “Buck him off!” It was wild times watching the cowboys ride those bulls. Sung'manitu Author IconMail Icon channeled his inner cowboy with his leather boots, leather belt and silver belt buckle. He wore a leather vest over his flannel shirt and his Stetson. At one point all us cowgirls thought he was going to ride a bull, but I think the tequila wore off and he came to his senses.

After that rodeo, we had the munchies and went to the Mangy Moose for some late night yummies. I had the mangy moose burger. That thing was BIG. Sung'manitu Author IconMail Icon had the Elk Stroganoff. Jellyfish Author IconMail Icon and WakeUpAndLive Author IconMail Icon had the fried green tomatos. They were HUGE. Lyn's a Witchy Woman Author IconMail Icon had the venison tenderloin and shared it with Krista Author IconMail Icon and AmyJo-Moving day's soon here Author IconMail Icon . Princess Megan Rose Author IconMail Icon kept it safe and had the chicken with the Wyoming Chicken au jus. SandraLynn Author IconMail Icon was hooked on the Idaho Fries which looked a lot like poutine.

Well, after all that fun we went back to the Rusty Parrot and passed out. One more trip to Washington DC and our summer travels will be over. I’ll be honest, I kinda got used to SandraLynn Author IconMail Icon driving the Party Bus, Princess Megan Rose Author IconMail Icon petting all the animals, Jellyfish Author IconMail Icon English accent, Sung'manitu Author IconMail Icon taking us to great foodie places, AmyJo-Moving day's soon here Author IconMail Icon high maintenance Nalgene bottle, Krista Author IconMail Icon taking her Instagram pictures, WakeUpAndLive Author IconMail Icon’s coffee, and Lyn's a Witchy Woman Author IconMail Icon organizing this whole adventure and herding us like cats. Only one more day to enjoy…



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Printed from https://www.writing.com/main/profile/blog/sgcardin/day/8-19-2025