Thirty Three Days

That was a fast passing 33 days. I'm back California. It feels very good.  Today was a balmy 50 degrees with rain. Nice.

It is all relative of course.  While I was in SD the temp ran a pretty constant range between 0 and 20 degrees. I have all the right clothes, so I was never too cold - but I was constantly cold and when ever you went anywhere you had to take the weather into consideration.  So, I compensated and I did all right.

The drive back was two full days but, other then running out of gas in Nebraska because my gas gauge was inaccurate, an uneventful trip.  I'm tired now and spent most of today resting and relaxing. I am having an inner debate concerning whether or not I should take another day off. I probably won't.

My mothers surgery went fine and she is well into her recovery. Since that was the purpose of the trip, it's a good deal.

Tonight, my plan is simple. Rest. Relax. Take a hot bath. Sleep.  Plenty of sleep.

A Child of the Long Summer Twilight

Today was the first day back to the office after my vacation. I kept having to field the question “how was your vacation”? The question itself left me kind of ambivalent. A trip to South Dakota is time off from work but it isn’t what I would consider to be a vacation. To me a vacation is going someplace very nice and spending a large amount of time doing nothing or doing only those things you want to do. A trip to South Dakota is, well, a bit different.

When I go back to South Dakota the day begins, usually, with an early morning departure – around 6 AM or 7 AM. There are no direct flights into South Dakota from California so my choice is to go, generally, either through Denver Colorado or through Salt Lake City Utah. Inevitably, there is a layover at either airport of anywhere from an hour to four hours before the connecting flight into Rapid City South Dakota.

Once I am in Rapid City I either rent a car, or have someone pick me up, or borrow a car and drive about three hours to the ranch, or now, to Winner South Dakota. Depending on the length of that layover, and the weather, it can be either one very long day or two days to get home. The same rhythm applies on the return trip.

Then, I find myself in the bosom of my family. Now, make no mistake, I love them all dearly but… there is always a but… family can always be challenging. There is always some drama to navigate. There is always some ongoing crisis within which I can either intervene or avoid. For me it is an extraordinary event to go there. For them it is me arriving in the midst of their ordinary days. I have stepped out of my ordinary days, but they have not stepped out of theirs.

Adding to the mixture warring siblings, aging parents, a sick nephew, and the usual internal family politics and you have a great visit but not a vacation. This one was no exception. They’re much more working vacations. But, in spite of that, I enjoyed the trip. I love my family, all their faults included, just as they love me with all my faults included. And it is always great to set foot in the land that gave me birth both physically and psychologically.

I am a child of the Great Plains. I am a child of an endless horizon. I am a child of a long summer twilight. The journey from that place to this place marks the course of my life. That place contains within it numerous essential landmarks and milestones, memories tied to the land of my birth. It’s a great journey whenever I go home because many of those memories are flat out wonderful. So, at the end of the day, I am glad I am a child of that long summer twilight.

Home Again

Just a quick note tonight - I am downloading weekend photographs from my iPhone and my camera and I am going to begin the enjoyable process of going through them and seeing what sort of gems I managed to capture.  I've been back at work for two days - hectic days - but the afterglow of vacation is still on me. Tuesday was a little bit of a hectic day in my cranky pants, but I managed to get through the day. Today was just busy.  Just busy can be kind of nice because it makes the time fly, but, on the other hand, I prefer busy and productive.  However, it is the end of the day and I am settling in for a beautiful evening, so, in the scheme of things, I really have nothing to complain about.

Vacation - Day Six, Seven, and Eight - South Dakota

Let's see if I can provide a quick summary of the intervening days.  Tuesday was a very long travel day.  My alarm clock went off at 4:00 AM, I splashed through the shower, then called a cab for the ride to the airport. A smooth pass through TSA, a bit of a wait in the departure lounge, then a Delta flight to Salt Lake City.  A quick turn around in Salt Lake City - a scant thirty minutes to change from one plane to another.  Fortunately, it was only from the D terminal to the E terminal, so I made it. I was the last one on the plane and shortly after I boarded, the door closed and off we went.  All in all it was a smooth pair of flights though and I landed on schedule.

Once in Rapid City, I headed over to Walmart to pick up a pair of shoes and a pair of socks, then drove on over to Regional Hospital to pick Tom up. There was bit of a wait at the hospital while they cleared him. Then, we began the long days dance trying to get his medications approved (he is indigent) and issued.  We ultimately gave it up and were told to come back tomorrow. I did not feel like spending the money for hotel rooms, so we drove across the country to the ranch, got in, visited with mom and Bill, then created a nest to go to sleep.

We were up in the morning and returned to Rapid City.  We worked the phone and were able to make sure that one access point was temporarily closed, so we took another route.  After a few more hours of waiting and a bit of dance, he was able to get seven days worth of medication and he was directed to go to IHS on his home agency (which he has needed to do all along, but he has resisted - oh, the struggles our ego puts us through).  From there, another drive across the country and we arrived at the ranch at almost the exact same time we arrived before.  Two days gone in a very long blinking of the eye.

So, last night, I managed to get a solid night sleep.  I woke this morning and was in the bathroom washing up and I heard Bill on the phone.  However, by the time I got out, he was gone - he'd had a doctors appointment that he thought was this afternoon, but it turned out that it was during the morning, so he dashed off to see the doctor.  Then, after the appointment was over, he has stopped for gas and ran into an old friend, one of the other local ranchers, and they ended up spending two hours visiting and drinking coffee.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I spent most of the day cleaning up what I will call Spare Bedroom Number One.  It took a while, I ended up throwing away two bags of incidental junk, then folding a lot of sheets and spreads and putting them away in the proper drawers.  Once all the straightening and folding was done, most all the stuff fit into the appointed places.

We then made a quick run into Mission to pick up some groceries, so it was a pleasant drive across the country side and we saw the tribes buffalo herd grazing off in the distance. It is a dry spring here, which is not a good portent for the summer to come. It is shaping up to look like a drought.  The grass is dry, pale green, and short.

I got back to the ranch and cooked up dinner for the folks - breaded home-style pork chops, fresh cut green beans and scalloped potatoes.  It was a tasty treat for dinner and was well received.  I am just now settling into the ranch and because of the two full days of travel at the beginning of the trip, I am actually pretty tired.  This is sort of a working vacation, as I intend to spend several hours each day (maybe more) cleaning and straightening   We will see how it goes.

As the evening settled in, I was sitting out on the porch with my mom, and we watched a flock of wild turkeys settle into the trees below the house, roosting for the night. It was a cool sight and not something that I see all the time in California, that's for sure. A little later, I was out in the front yard and I could hear coyotes howling in the distance.  It was also very cool.

So, at the end of the day I am waiting to watch an episode of Archer, then I am going to curl up and read myself to sleep.  It is nice being ninety percent off the grid, though it is not without a melancholy moment or two.  This is the first trip I have taken home in a long time where I did not close each night out with a conversation with T.R.  That has a melancholy feel to it.

Home Sweet Home

(This is just a semi-random note.  Dragon Naturally Speaking struggles when there is the background hum of the air conditioner.)

No matter how far or near your travels, no matter how long or short your journey, it is always good to be home. Today was a traveling day - nine hours, maybe a little more.  So, at this moment, I am sitting in the living room with the air conditioner on, feet up, waiting for the arrival of pizza.  I've already unpacked and once that pizza arrives, I am going to settle in for a night of mindlessly staring at the television and probably some picture editing. We had a pretty smooth traveling day, long, but smooth.  The central valley on I-5 was a cauldron, but that is typical for the central valley this time of year.

I thought I would pop onto my blog here and just record some random thoughts.

-The Marriott's on Coronado Island is very nice, it had great rooms, spacious and relaxing, and the full array of services, all of which met with my approval. It is definitely on my list of places to spend a relaxing weekend! 

-We had some excellent food there on the island and then in San Diego itself, probably one of the best parts of the vacation.

-Though we swept through the vicinity of Comic Con and did some of the unofficial events, it was kind of nice to be in San Diego and not be subject to the maddening pace, crowds, line standing and forced marching that is the Comic Con experience. Of course, I am still going to make a shot at getting tickets for next year, since it is the one and only San Diego Comic Con.

-I still find that I travel technologically heavy and I would like to figure out a way to travel lighter, when it comes to my technology.  Part of that burden was having to carry my work laptop for a meeting on Friday - that got cancelled.  Grrrrrrr.  Then, of course, they rescheduled it for Monday which, gee, was also my day off. I swear there has to be some sort of plot.

Well, my pizza has just arrived, which cuts my observations short tonight! More later.

Daily Life: Home

As much as I love to travel there is something about returning home that is wonderful. I am sitting in my living room, paused on a break in incidental house cleaning and boxing some things to take to the donation center. The patio doors are wide open. The windows are wide open. The morning fog is just starting to burn off and patches of blue are making themselves visible. There are birds chirping outside. There is a cool breeze flowing through the apartment. I started the morning with coffee and yogurt and conversation with T.R. It is simply a low key beautiful day at home.

I haven’t written much lately – I think this particular vacation was driven by a strong need to just get away from many things and turn the brain off, mostly. The San Diego Comic Con was an excellent time, at it always is. The city of San Diego was also an enjoyable place to spend the time. But, all in all, it is good to be home.

We got back into San Jose on Wednesday and then I spent most of yesterday morning lazing around and the afternoon running incidental errands and stocking my pantry with groceries. Then, I had a nice home cooked meal and settled in and watched a little TV, then closed the day out with a phone call. I thought about writing last night but I just wasn’t quite there. It seems to me like for this vacation I just needed a vacation from everything, including writing. But, the good news is, I have come back and am feeling truly rested and recharged.

I was just contrasting this August with last August when the stress was nearly breaking me. One year later and I am sitting in the cool and quiet living room, listening to those birds chirping, and very relaxed. Once again, after a nice vacation, it is good to be home.