Hello again awesome people-
Part 2 is longer than part 1.
During the frenetic last five months that I've been writing my current novella, I traveled twice. The first time, I went on vacation to San Diego, CA. For those of you outside the U.S., that's about 120 miles (193 km) south of SG headquarters in L.A., and 811 miles from where I live in the Pacific NW. I go to San Diego every year in February. This year, I went to the Japanese Friendship Garden in Balboa Park. Someday, I hope to see this beautiful place in the Spring or Summer. It's still beautiful even when there are no flowers.
This year I learned that Japanese legends say that Koi fish are the larval form of dragons, and that Koi have been documented to live more than 200 years. As I watched them swim, it was not hard to imagine the Koi transforming into dragons. If you ever have the opportunity to visit the Friendship Garden, don't miss it. Three things in particular inspired me during this trip: the Koi legend, the remark my best friend made about the iridescence of the common Grackle, and the amazing waterfalls that the Japanese engineered for the Garden.
