FakeCation Adventures: Fishing, Shakespeare & Thrift Store Treasures! 🎣

Ciaran Blumenfeld

Hello magical friends!

Weekend FakeCation: Pretending to Be a Tourist in Paradise

This weekend I embarked on a delightful "FakeCation"—pretending to be on vacation in 3-5 hour magical bursts. Sometimes the best adventures happen right in your own backyard. 

First up: Fishing! It might surprise some to hear this, but I absolutely LOVE fishing (with the notable exception of baiting hooks—ew). We went out of Dana Point, and for most of the day we were in sight of my house! This was particularly fun because I'm always looking out my window at the charter boats wondering what they are (or aren't) catching. Finally, I knew!

We all caught one "keeper" fish. Mine was a Pacific Whitefish, my son reeled in a gorgeous bright orange Starry Rockfish, and my husband caught a Sculpin (aka Scorpion Fish). A kindly older gentleman fishing beside us generously handed off his Sheepshead and Calico Bass to us, along with some intriguing prep advice: Thousand Island dressing makes some fish (Sheepshead) taste just like lobster. Who knew? I haven't tried it yet but will report back if I do. 

Later we caught several smaller Calico Bass that we tossed back, but the most thrilling catch for me was a nearly two-foot-long Barracuda! He was promptly returned to the ocean as well. Such magnificent (and terrifyingly toothed) creatures deserve their freedom.

Night two brought Shakespeare under the stars! We headed to a local park for a rousing rendition of Twelfth Night. I had the absolute pleasure of sitting with fellow RomCom author, fellow former theater geek, AND fellow Blumie, Gigi Blume. If you haven't checked out her excellent books yet, you absolutely should. I've shared one of my favorites below in the book recs!

Sunday was "thrifting and sifting" day—one of my absolute favorite activities.  It was a super successful day at my usual haunt, and I scored an incredible haul: a croquet set for fun with upcoming visitors, a vintage-style bingo ball set that I'm repurposing for book events (stay tuned!), a rack I'm converting into a "Free Dog Stick Library" to mount alongside the Mermaid Library (also stay tuned!), some gorgeous designer dresses, 2 tote bags, and a hand-beaded couture purse. What a treasure haul! 

Would you like to see more pics of my finds? Send me a message to let me know

Shakespeare with a pirate twist? Yes please! 

Back to blog