Eat, Drive, See

not that anyone noticed, but i was on vacation the past two weeks — hence the lack of updates. Mo and i took a roadtrip that found us driving up, down and around the west coast, where we sampled great food, visited the best breweries and witnessed the many splendors that make the pacific coast so exquisite. we took scenic routes exclusively, with me driving the entire time. we went as far north as seattle, making frequent stops along the way in such places as santa cruz, san francisco, russian river, eureka and portland.

ultimately, portland was our destination, where we spent time visiting with my family and attending my cousin’s wedding. at the end of the two-week journey, the trip odometer clocked a total of 3,150 miles driven — and about as many bugs splattered across the windshield. in short, it was a fantastic vacation, amazing on every level, and i have many stories to share and pictures to post, which i will get to in the coming weeks.

now that i’m home again, of course it feels as though i never left and that those two weeks were just a hallucination. i’m trying to get it together and prepare for what will certainly be an arduous week of re-adjusting to post-vacation life. there is much to do, workwise and otherwise, a stack of unopened mail to rummage through and countless emails to read and reply to. i’m looking forward to exactly NONE of it, but i expect that a few nights’ sleep in my own bed will change my attitude.

i’m also hoping that i can keep perspective during the re-adjustment period and avoid the usual depression that accompanies such a return to reality. too many of my trips have been followed by an extended case of The Sads, which are full of pathetic lamentations of the “why can’t my life be a perpetual vacation” variety. this time, i’m going to take a cue from Billy Crystal’s character in City Slickers, who returns from his sabbatical saying, “i’m not going to give up on life. i’m just going to do it better. i’m going to do everything better.”