Sometimes I envy geeks. Sorry, fantasy gamers.
How wonderful it must be to construct and live in a make believe world that is better than the real one. I imagine that if you immerse yourself in that fantasy from dusk to dawn, it actually is a kind of reality.

I'm wondering whether my view into the hobbithole was another sign of my longing for escapism.

Last night, I was walking by a Games Workshop, and as seems to be the habit (or is that hobbit??!) in every one I pass, two of the staff were still sat in there after 8 o'clock. Like two drunks sharing a table, or the cop interviewing the suspect - sat there at either side of this immense, crafted landscape.
ShadowMaster and the Elvish Warrior, lost in their own little world.

Stubble and long unkempt hair? Check.
Rucksacks full of fantasy paraphernalia? Check.
Geek glasses, periodically returned to the bridge of the nose by a grubby, chubby digit? Check.

One can only imagine the conversations driving their battles through Middle Earth, the Shadowlands, or the Silver Mines, wherever they may have transported themselves. If you overheard without the benefit of seeing, you would probably dismiss them as two E-heads or care in the community cases.

"With the spell of Mirangoth I cast your feeble warriors into the fiery pits of Kalengor."
"But I am shielded from your spell, as I am cloaked in the ointment of ancient Elvish crimson bloodberry vines."

And so on.

God alone knows what time they stay there til each night. Or perhaps they live there, and when the moon rises to its highest point, they retreat to the basement with their knapsacks and potions, where they remain until sunrise.

Either that, or Mum picks them up in the peoplecarrier.

Ho-hum.

As you might have guessed, Im a bit obsessed with escaping at the moment. Aside from questions I have over what I want to do with work, Ive also been itching to go travelling for about 2 years now. During one of my usual wanderings around the net, I was provided with a link to somewhere I hadn’t really thought much about before. However, having viewed what the region holds, its now on my ever growing list.

The USA is somewhere that doesn’t always conjure up the travelling bug in me – but every now and then Im reminded of just how much there really is there, beyond the metropolis like cities. Cape Cod was the place I was shown and it looks just fantastic.

Cranberries, fishing, wine regions, beaches, wildlife, nature reserves…and all in a quaint, rustic and peaceful looking setting. Mmm, at this moment in time it looks like bliss. Funnily enough, Im reading a book at the moment which is a collation of extracts about writers who have lived or resided abroad for some or all of their life. One of the extracts that struck a chord with me was about the Marthas vineyard region. Now being a huge wine lover, not to mention pining for somewhere atmospheric to hone my writing skills, I was swept away by the imagery of it.

I didn’t realise it then, but its also in the Cape Cod region, so when I was reading up about the area, I got drawn in even further.

Some of the pictures are fantastic (have a look), and at this moment in time, faced with a dull day in a British office, or relaxing in that region, I know which one Id choose.