{"id":11895,"date":"2021-12-10T02:33:00","date_gmt":"2021-12-10T09:33:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gentryconnects.net\/?p=11895"},"modified":"2021-12-07T14:40:11","modified_gmt":"2021-12-07T21:40:11","slug":"special-places-for-contemplation-relaxation-or-just-reading-a-good-book","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gentryconnects.net\/?p=11895","title":{"rendered":"SPECIAL PLACES FOR CONTEMPLATION, RELAXATION, OR JUST READING A GOOD BOOK"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Sometimes we need a break! A little fatigue has set in from the pressures of life, too much social media, Netflix\/Amazon Prime, and unending emails and texts. We need and love connection but there are days when some quiet escape sounds pretty darn good! Where do we go? I look for a place to recharge, to stare at the beauty of our world,…or just to grab a good book. The bench above is at Denver’s Botanical Garden. I’ll share a few favorites.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A beautiful morning at a lake house in Texas.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A hammock at a friend’s home in Kailua Kona, Hawaii.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

My nephew Stephen took a self-portrait of “his bench” on the I<\/strong>sland of Guernsey in the Channel Islands.<\/strong><\/a> It looks blissful!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A carved bench to just sit and watch things grow. Wildflower Bread in Freestone, California.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This is one of my very favorite places to sit and enjoy the beauty of life. Icart Point, Guernsey, Channel Islands.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A serene area with a delightful bed at the La Striscia Wine Resort in Arezzo, Italy.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A wonderful spot overlooking Saint Peter Port, Guernsey.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sit on a stool at an old bar and order a cocktail or a beer on tap. My uncle sat me down on these exact stools many years ago at the Union Hotel in Occidental, California. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Our grandson Vaughan found his special spot at the Lawrence Museum of Science high up in the Berkeley Hills.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

My Mom liked this bench at the Muir Woods National Monument.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

These rocking chairs have my name all over them. Gorgeous <\/strong>Holualoa Inn <\/strong><\/a>above Kailua Kona, Hawaii.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A secret bench at the “Lost Gulch Overlook” on Flagstaff Mountain above Boulder, CO.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Our terrace overlooking the Front Range and a superb sunset.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We loved these chairs overlooking a nice garden at a AIRBNB in Walnut Creek, California<\/strong>. The one-eyed cat loved it as well!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I love an old-fashioned picnic table under majestic Redwood trees! This one is at a family favorite: <\/strong>Samuel P. Taylor State Park<\/strong><\/a> in Marin County, CA.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A perfect picnic table on Flagstaff Mountain above Boulder, CO.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A Russian River reverie.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The fabulous view of Isola Bella from our VRBO rental near Taormina, Sicily. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A perfect bench<\/strong> for a quiet brotherly moment at the Sonnenalp in Vail, CO. I love the teak root bench!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photos: Dick Gentry. Not to be used without permission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sometimes we need a break! A little fatigue has set in from the pressures of life, too much social media, Netflix\/Amazon Prime, and unending emails and texts. We need and love connection but there are days when some quiet escape sounds pretty darn good! Where do we go? I look for a place to recharge, to stare at the beauty of our world,…or just to grab a good book. The bench above is at Denver’s Botanical Garden. I’ll share a few favorites. A beautiful morning at a lake house in Texas. A hammock at a friend’s home in Kailua Kona, Hawaii. My nephew Stephen took a self-portrait of “his bench” on the Island of Guernsey in the Channel Islands. It looks blissful! A carved bench to just sit and watch things grow. Wildflower Bread in Freestone, California. This is one of my very favorite places to sit and enjoy the beauty of life. Icart Point, Guernsey, Channel Islands. A serene area with a delightful bed at the La Striscia Wine Resort in Arezzo, Italy. A wonderful spot overlooking Saint Peter Port, Guernsey. Sit on a stool at an old bar and order a cocktail or a beer on tap. My uncle sat me down on these exact stools many years ago at the Union Hotel in Occidental, California. Our grandson Vaughan found his special spot at the Lawrence Museum of Science high up in the Berkeley Hills. My Mom liked this bench at the Muir Woods National Monument. These rocking chairs have my name all over them. Gorgeous Holualoa Inn above Kailua Kona, Hawaii. A secret bench at the “Lost Gulch Overlook” on Flagstaff Mountain above Boulder, CO. Our terrace overlooking the Front Range and a superb sunset. We loved these chairs overlooking a nice garden at a AIRBNB in Walnut Creek, California. The one-eyed cat loved it as well! I love an old-fashioned picnic table under majestic Redwood trees! This one is at a family favorite: Samuel P. Taylor State Park in Marin County, CA. A perfect picnic table on Flagstaff Mountain above Boulder, CO. A Russian River reverie. The fabulous view of Isola Bella from our VRBO rental near Taormina, Sicily. A perfect bench for a quiet brotherly moment at the Sonnenalp in Vail, CO. I love the teak root bench! Photos: Dick Gentry. Not to be used without permission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11919,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[507,488,432,440,314,426],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11895","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-contemplation","category-emotional-journies","category-favorite-places","category-happiness","category-introspection","category-meditation"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gentryconnects.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/DSCN5500_result.jpg?fit=837%2C628&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gentryconnects.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11895","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gentryconnects.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gentryconnects.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gentryconnects.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gentryconnects.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11895"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/gentryconnects.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11895\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11933,"href":"https:\/\/gentryconnects.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11895\/revisions\/11933"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gentryconnects.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11919"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gentryconnects.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11895"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gentryconnects.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11895"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gentryconnects.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11895"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}