Last week I went to an area of Spain that I really love: Lagunas de la Ruidera, a national park area out in the middle of farmland in central Spain. It’s a collection of tiny lakes that stretch out over several miles...and nothing else. I actually love this area for that reason—it’s empty. Peaceful. Quiet. On my last day there I remembered to get a few rocks for my collection: I have some stones from most of my travels around Spain. In the clear water, I searched for some nice rocks, but I was disappointed to discover that all the rocks were ugly. They were sharp and misshapen, instead of rounded and polished by the water, as I expected. I was sure with so much water, there would have to be more attractive rocks SOMEWHERE. The shoreline and the shallows of the lake were nothing BUT rocks. But then it hit me; I realized why all the rocks were ugly.