Pachelbel for the Potomac

This pic was taken on vacation just two weeks ago. 

You'd think we were white water rafting on the Colorado River, or the New River Gorge. 

Nope. Believe it or don't, this is the Potomac. Not the nice tranquil part you see going through DC. Not even the churning part near Harper's Ferry. 

This is Great Falls, VA. About a half hour from DC. 

Who knew?

I mean, who besides 710. But he grew up on and around the Potomac, so.........he kind of knew. But not to the extent of what we would see. 

Hiking in the area is not bad. The climb onto the rocks where I took those pics weren't easy for a man of a certain age. And of course once you get up there, barriers appear. However, the need for selfies, the barriers are meaningless. 

Couples (or singles) up and over the barriers / fences / whatnot and standing in all kinds of stupid "I'm an influencer" poses. 

The signage saying and average of 21 people die there per year is probably not from the rock climbers in the title image, or the kayakers below. 

I'm not 100% sure I'd even report it if someone went over trying grab that IG pose they need so bad. 

It was completely wild there. I'm not sure how the hikers got out to their rock formation. What you can't see is on the right of those rocks is just more raging river. 

This was something new and different for us. It might be a one and done. At least for the next few years. The George Washington Parkway into the city from there is under massive reconstruction. It took forever to get into town on single lane traffic. 

That seemed more dangerous than the park. 

Song by: Laura Sullivan

Back Home

When we travel to the beach, we always take a few days to get there with either the first stop being a secondary destination or a number of small stops along the way to see things. It's a good way to ease into vacation. 

We did a little of both this last time. Two stops on our way to our first destination. One family business, the other just a sightseeing adventure. 

Once at the beach, sometimes we just never leave. We only got in the car once after arriving. Either we stayed in and made our meals or walked to the places to which we ate out. The rest of the time was reading, relaxing and swimming.  And running - for me.

Grandiose plans of going to movies and the like all fell away. A few dinners where we were going to go out just ended up simple meals sitting outside on the deck watching the ocean. 

Coming back is quite different. 

We start early and drive straight through - save gas, food and pee stops. About 11 hours. And we're beating a two hour window when we can pick up Shep from boarding. 

Knowing I'd be in a car that long, my day started earlier: a four mile run starting shortly after 04:00. 

I wanted some movement time knowing I'd have close to none until we picked up the dog and took him for walk. 

Oddly - or not? - there was one other person running at that time. Not so oddly, the two times we passed each other, there was zero interaction. No "'sup", no wave, no nothing. I put my hand up the first time to no response. I didn't bother the second. 

All said though - the stars and planet were amazing to view at that time. 

The drive, while not grueling during a holiday weekend, did provide bleacher butt that required stops to stretch............and buy a Powerball ticket worth $1 billion dollars (say like Dr. Evil). 

We are happy to be home, as a pack. Shep is beside himself. It might take him a few days to get back to normal. 

Song by: Graham Nash

Margarita

Part of vacation for 710 and myself is our own happy hours.

It's not that we're cheap, but traditionally we do this at the beach house we are renting. 

It is both convenient and limiting. 

Chance are, I can make a better margarita better than most bartenders. And cheaper. But two of those make it almost a certainty that we don't go out to dinner - which means we have to make our own food or have it delivered, which isn't easy where we go. 

I mix a fairly strong drink. 

We don't just drink. We have historically had an assortment of cheeses, crackers and grapes to compliment the booze. And sitting outside watching the sun sink, the surf and the surfers in the late afternoon is just a major calming effect. 

At home, we rarely go out to dinner. We are fairly Shep-centric, so we stay in. I kind of miss not taking full advantage of that while we are away, but daddy likes his alcohol too. As it is, I drink more this week then I do the rest of the year combined. Ditto for 710 and he drinks less than half of what I do during the year - and lately, my intake has been 4-5 drinks per year!

With our low alcohol intake, it does not take much to get us tipsy. There used to be a time, this would be my warm-up to going out all night. Now I just hope it doesn't fuck up my run the next morning. 

Still, it's good down time, good relaxation. And after seven years here, it is just tradition for us. I like the consistency. 

.....I'm also a little drunk as I draft this. 

Song by: Traveling Wilburys

Dream Police

My favourite heard criticism of porn is how it sets unrealistic expectations of how quickly one can get a plumber to come over. 

I've said similar things about the attractiveness of cable guys, truck drivers, firemen and police. 

Yesterday did nothing to disprove my thoughts. 

As promised, before the sun was over the Atlantic horizon, I stepped off into what would become a seven mile run. Once completed, I walked around the house in which we are staying, shed everything but my shorts and jumped into the ocean. It felt great. 

710 was watching me from the upper balcony with his morning coffee and was nice enough to meet me with a towel. I showered (well, in the most liberal sense of the word) outside wrapped a towel around me and went in. 

Our bedroom is on the second level. The kitchen and main living area are on the third. I know. It seems weird. But on the second level outdoor area, I finished toweling myself off and put on my clothes. For 0.87 seconds I had nothing on. But worry not, I'm not visible to the beach and there is no one occupying the places on either side of us. And anything longer than a full second, I start charging. 

I go up to 3 and make my oatmeal. It cooks, I pour milk in and then there is a pounding on the door - down on 2.  

"POLICE!!!!"

Well. Fuck.

As I open the door to two cops, it seems 710 encounters another out back with a third - as that is where he was having his coffee. Just three floors up. 

To relieve your suspense, no one called on me for being indecent. 

A "neighbor" had called saying it looked like someone was "b&e'ing".  It took me a second. I was not breaking and / or entering. Well, I entered, I suppose.

"They" told the po-po that the place wasn't being rented (!!!) and there was no car, but someone ("matching your description") tugging on doors and walking outside the perimeter of the house. 

710 got his phone to show them the rental agreement. Me telling them my car has been inside the garage for three days and I came back from my run and walked behind the house to get to the ocean. 

The only tugging on a door was me closing the front one behind me. IF anyone saw that, then they also saw me doing 10 minutes of stretching before I ran. Pervs!

I mean, I get it. Better safe than sorry shit. But how the fuck would anyone know - save the owner and rental property folk - who or when something is being rented on an island that has hundreds and hundreds of rentals.

About this time the Sargent came up the stairs and semi-apologized saying that people around here were skittish, as there has been an active shooting incident the summer before. I only half-believed that story. 

Each of the cops were professional and appropriate.  Just unattractive. Each uglier than the last. I mean, where's the payoff????

And the kicker??  My oatmeal had congealed in that 10 minutes. 

Where's MY justice??

Song by: Cheap Trick

That's It

You know, it's vacation. 

What's to write about? 

I'm not in the mood to discuss BLOTUS militarizing DC. 

We are in the last throes of Hurricane Erin. We saw no bad stuff, but the surf is rough. Red flags everywhere. Allegedly our beach had 50 rescues the week before due to rip currents. 

Save going in knee deep after a run and splashing myself with the Atlantic, I haven't been in. Yesterday it seemed much calmer, but I was lazy and read all day. Well, we did do a five mile walk. 

Mondays are generally my 'rest' day from running. One of them. I needed it too. So, I got up late, ate my gruel and read. I'll start book #2 today. 

Sunday it was ok to run a little later than I normally do. The temps have gone up up up, so I suspect I will be running before the sun fully rises tomorrow. It'll be a quick 6-8 miles. Or is the plan in my head. 

Allegedly we'll be able to see a rocket launch tonight (last night now), but it's getting foggy, so I suspect we will see nothing, which is a shame. 

Ok. That's it. Almost time for bed. 

Song by: the Cars

Dimming of the Day

While not a throwaway post, it is keeping with the minimal blogging experience of vacation. 

Today is technically the last day. As most of you read this, we will be heading home to rescue Shep from his boarding time. We will all be happy to be reunited. 

The week (plus) was grand. I logged into work thrice, for a few moments only.  Of course, I'll pay for not doing it more, but being disconnected was far more important to me and my mental health. 

We still have the weekend too, but that will be at home. As much as I like being away, I do love home and the consistency it brings. I am a creature of habit for sure. 

Not blogging the events of the days - the not mine parts - was also great. I've missed some current events - none of them good or even up lifting. Maybe I'll recap on those later, but probably not. 

Song by: Alison Krauss + Union Station

Tequila Sunrise

I think you have a few more of these posts. I'm sure I'll do a wrap up here at some point, but you know.......vacation. 

Lots of fun. Great friends. Lots of good food and drink. Plenty of laughs. 

But lots of limited time for blog thoughts - and I'm sure I have many. Still, time slips away and tequila runs freely - so it's a bad combination when it comes to composing anything of substance. 

I'm four margaritas in as I lay in bed drafting this. I've decided that while I normally love white wine, this trip it has done me no favours. 

Ok. while it's only 21:24 at this point, I still have to go to bed. I still have to run in the a.m. For the most part, I don't suffer from hangovers (though they still exist from time to time), but I still run as the sun comes up. 

Song by: the Eagles

Games Without Frontiers

We've been having a lot of fun with games this vacation. 

You need friends for this, of course, but with or without booze, it's fun. 

Telestrations is one of those. 

Think "telephone" but with one word and pictures.  

Well more than one word.  Each person alternates between the word, drawing a picture of said word, then the other person guessing what it is supposed to be, with the next person drawing it - and so on. 

Probably an easier way to describe, but I'm three margaritas in and two glasses of wine. 

Let's see if I can share an example. 

The original word 710 had.  He passed it to Morty who drew......

Hip.  O.  

....or so he thought. Dith's guess was.....

Yes.  That. 

This is what I drew from Dith's guess.  Though mine was plural. 

Jon accurately - from my description, but not the original word, was spot on. 

George?   

Semi on the mark of Jon, but not really. And I don't even know what the four extra things are. 

Nor did Rebecca who guessed......this. 

Yes. hippopotamus to Dick Pimples.  

Our sides were splitting - and it was only one of our rounds.  We'd have been having a rip roaring time without alcohol, but it's been a fun game to play. 

I highly suggest it all for you and your friends. 

Song by: Peter Gabriel

House of Cards

Yesterday I said I might be drunk.  Today (last evening) there was no "might". 

I'm in bed, well after hours, barely drafting this as everyone says "goodnight".  We had an incredible dinner and drank and played Cards Against Humanity to hilarious results. 

I did not come close to winning, except for the fact that I have the best husband in the world, along with the best friends. 

This could be a longer post, but you know..........alcohol. 

Song by: Mary Chapin Carpenter

Harper Valley PTA

I'm just saying, I must love my husband because he continually wants to infuse educational aspects into our get aways. 

....and I let him!

Last year he wanted to go to Harper's Ferry, but I was in a boot. So, we went this year 

I mentioned to a few people about going, but no one knew about it. Or heard about it. Like they almost didn't go to elementary or secondary school. 

John Brown was the guy. The center of the story. An abolitionist - and "they" never quite told us what that word meant, or any context. I probably thought at the time that he was the bad guy. 

He wasn't. I mean, he kind of was, but with good intentions. 

Brown almost single handily kicked off the Civil War. Yes, two years between Harper's Ferry and the war, but his failed attempt kick-started the rights and wrongs of slavery.  There were no rights, of course, but people never truly addressed it or thought about it to a degree of change until then. 

The town was as is it was in 1859, though the restrooms did have plumbing. The National Park Service guy giving the 4-1-1 on the historical accuracy was good and relaxed. Honestly, I was waiting for MAGA or DeSantis supporting person to say "slavery is an opinion" and a learning opportunity, but luckily that didn't happen. 

I'm glad we went. I learned a few things. 

It would not be the last educational portion of our trip. 

Song by: Jeannie C. Riley

Get Away

There isn't a lot going on that isn't running, work or fraud protection. My life has been busy lately, but not in a horrible way. 

This year, I can count on two fingers how many days I've taken off. It's pathetic. I have to change that - and soon. A few long weekends or something. 

BUT - we do have our summer trip planned. 

I'm very excited. 

This is the same location, but a new place in which we are staying. We thought we'd go somewhere else this year, but for what we have planned, going back to Maine this year would have been problematic. I would have been happy to do P-Town too, but I think I like the slightly off-season better.

Yes, things are a few months away but that's ok. It's a goal. 

I really cannot wait that long to not take off some work time. It is not healthy. So, something maybe in June. Maybe a place we can take Shep. 

Still.............I'm excited. 

Song by: CHVRCHES

On Your Shore

Pretty, aren't they? 

Jellyfish are like 90% water and have no systems like respiration, circulation or a central nervous system, though they can fuck you up. 

Case in point, our last day or vacation. Our last swim of vacation. 

Correct or not, our afternoon swims would usually happen was the lifeguards closed up shop at 17:00. That was usually ok, as we don't venture out and never swim if there are known riptides. 

And we never swim where there aren't others around, in the water or on the beach. 

It was hot and we were in the water.  There were not tons of waves this go-round. So we bobbed around - or Blobbed around, as the case may be - and talked. When it got too hot, I'd dive underwater, letting my whole noggin get wet. 

As 710 and I chatted, I felt sharp and painful stings. Multiple times. On multiple parts of my body. 

I can only imagine what I looked like to my husband. I know my face and body parts contorted. How could they not.  It all happened so fast and as I wasn't wearing any contacts, I couldn't really see a thing in the water - not that I was actually looking.  

I moved. I moved what I thought was quickly, but kept getting stung. Of course, while jellyfish (which was what I was assuming was stinging me) mostly drift, I don't think they come after people and chase them. But the current, which was behind me, as were the jellyfish. Still I tried to head to shore with 710 right behind me. 

Now, I might have started cursing, Loudly. My verbiage might have made sailors blush. 

It got people's attention. A few folks stood up - mostly to cover their kid's or nana's ears. 710 was trying to figure out what was going on and how I was feeling and where it hurt and I was not really able to tell him, as I wasn't actually sure. 

He's asking:  stinging? shooting pain? localized? electrical? throbbing?   Whatever the question - the answer was yes. This was a pain of which I'd never felt before. 

When I got to shore, a cute couple asked if I was ok. I wasn't sure. They were so cute I actually apologized for my language, though they didn't seem to mind. 

Another man asked I got stung. So had he a little while ago (not sure if he meant hours? days? months?) I asked what did he do that helped.  "I looked up some hymns", he replied. 

Never in my life did I want to say "Fuck! You!" to a person than I did right then and there. It's a testament to my strength that I did not. 

As neither of us had our phones, we had to make our way to our rental. Covered in sand, 710 sprayed me off with the hose, which was a different kind of hell. We got upstairs to see the damage.  Honestly, it looked a lot worse in person. 

This is only my two knees. I didn't get pics of my calfs and arm. 

Before you ask, NO, I did not ask 710 to piss on me. That's a wive's tale. And he'd have to buy me dinner first at least.  Best we could tell there were no tentacles stuck / left in me.  Websites said rinse with sea water!  As IF I was going back into the scene of the crime.  They also ice packs or hot water. 

JFC - make up your mind one way or the other!  I went with ice .But after a bit I couldn't tell if the pain was from the burn of the ice or the sting itself.  I went inside and swallowed a fistful of motrin. As it would turn out, fabric touching any of this was massively painful. I air dried after a somewhat painful shower. 

Of course, I had no calamine lotion or benedryl or cortisone cream. Before we went out to dinner, we hit CVS to clear them out of it all - just to be safe. 

As painful as it was - and it was - where it was, I internally freaked that I just had my face below the water, and could have just as easily got stung on the head and face. Or peen! Or hands!  Honestly, the legs, back of the legs and arms seemed like the best case scenarios. 

More importantly, I had no heart palpitations or any thing that could bring on respiratory distress or shock. It was all very inconvenient. 

I suppose I can be happy it happened last swim of the last day and season. Had it been, say day one, I'd never have gone back in the water. I still may not.  Future vacations might be planned around having access to a pool. 

Over wine, before going out to CVS and dinner, 710 said, well, you'll have to rearrange your blog posts now to get this one in.  I said I couldn't - it was Sophie and Shep day, I'd have to rearrange what I had planned for on Sunday.   ....and I did. 

I hate that this has ruined the ocean for me. I mean, I'll see what previous years bring, but right now, I shudder at the thought of going back into the water. 

Song by: Enya

Cloudbusting

Sorry (not sorry) folks. 

I'm on vacation.  Actually have been for over a week and you've gotten mostly prepared posts that I had drafted in advance. 

But I'm out of those. And lazy. Possibly drunk. 

So, here are some butthole and vagina clouds for you.  Or the one on the left is giving the alt-right symbol / signal. I mean, it is North Carolina. 

Song by: Kate Bush

On the Beach

I haven't written about vacation - sure, it's a month late, but would you really want to hear me prattle on about our newest SOCTUS member? 

Yeah. I thought not. 

I can give vacation highlights, though I can't say there is tons to discuss. It was a 2020 vacation, so........you know....it was different. Weird, perhaps. 

For starters. No video for you. I started to. I tried. But my heart and mind weren't in that creative space. 

We started in DC. We stopped at 710's hometown, which isn't our normal route to North Carolina, but going via DC only added like 50 minutes to the trip. So we stayed the night in our nation's capital. 

The place was deserted. We rented bikes and rode down Constitution with nary a car to be seen. The hotel was fairly dead. No museums open. The outdoor monuments you could visit, but indoors were not an option - not that we wanted to. ....and that afternoon, RBG died. So, we got off on the wrong foot - though we did stop by the Court itself the next morning. 

North Carolina beaches in off season are a little different, but we knew that and it was by design. I mean: 2020. 

Normally the beach would be greatly empty. Bonus.  But with a hurricane right after we left last year and another one two months before going, left them with very little beach, unless it was low tide. At high tide, there were places where the beach no longer existed. 

The weather was cooler than July or August. Due to a gulf storm, we got residual winds. We couldn't even think of going in the ocean for the first four days. So rough, there weren't even any surfers. 

The new place we rented was nice. In someways better than the last, in some ways not. But with no chance of eating out, we cooked, or got carry-out. The Shark Bar had the best set up for carry out that I've seen during Covid. And the Texas Tots were AMAZING.   .....even better, it was a block away, and waking there and back whilst drunk we a breeze. 

Oh yes. Wine on the porch nightly and no car keys. 

So it was a lot of walking the beach  - sometimes 15 miles per day......barefoot.  And my feet were feeling it after a while. But it was nice to get away. I logged into work once. And only once. That was once more than 710 did. Good for him. 

This was not our planned vacation, but again: 2020.   Nothing has gone as planned. Nothing. 

Speaking of...........

The trip through Pennsylvania, I thought was frightening with the amount of BLOTUS signs. DC and NoVA was a brief respite. The rest of Virginia and North Carolina were nothing but BLOTUS banners, flags and billboards. They didn't even bother with "yard signs".  Ditto with West Virginia on the way home. 

And save for service workers - especially on the way home - no one, and I mean NO one, wore masks....save 710 and myself. 

It was essential for our well being to go somewhere and do something, but it was not the end-all / be-all vacation..........except for the Texas Tots. 

Song by: Neil Young

Under the Boardwalk

2020 has kind of sucked. 

And by "kind of", I mean "blows the big one".  And in a big way. Big time. 

Between quarantine and work, I can count on three fingers - other than holidays - how many days I've taken off this year. And one of those was for oral surgery.  My PTO bank is maxed out. I currently cannot accrue more until I take some. 

We had plans for Maine this year, but, well, but they were opening up - potentially - too late for us to know if we could go, should their open date get delayed. And it's almost impossible to not eat out there. This would have been a vacay place where only one unit has a kitchen, and this year, we felt that need - but it wasn't in the cards. 

We batted around other ideas, places, and the idea of doing nothing. And to add stuff to the mixture, 710 has a HUGE project that goes live near the end of this month. So it soon became evident that late July on was a non-starter. So we set sights on September. 

Still, we had issues not just on where, but if we should go at all. We weighed options and opted to repeat our last two years outside of Wilmington, NC.  We like the beach, we liked the place we rented........only to find out they had rented out all of September.  

Whaaaaaaat? 

In a way, we went back to the drawing board. 

After much discussion, we decided to try the same location,  new place. None, I don't think, are as nice as what we had rented, but with as many stipulations as we had on timing and locale, we couldn't be super duper choosey. But I think we will do ok. 

I know what you're saying:  "a beach during time of Covid????"  Trust me, it was a huge discussion. 

The great thing about our schedule and the beach itself is a few fold.  Oddly, during the week, the beach is not very crowded. My first outing and swim is at sunrise when you can almost count all the people out on two hands and feet. Social distancing is not that difficult. 

And most importantly, it's our own place with a full functioning kitchen, so where as now and then we would have gone out to eat, this shan't be the case this time.  On the plus side - it means more wine consumption, as no one will be driving anywhere. That one bottle per evening can be doubled!

We also bought travel insurance - due to, you know, "illness" and well, hurricanes. 

I have major mixed emotions on this. We do need to get away. For me, a staycation would mean me me doing work from home. And I think I'm just as happy watching the surf from a deck as being on the actual beach. 

I think we can make this work without fear of contagions.  .....well, except for the rest areas along the way.   

Only like a month and a week to go. 

Song by: Rickie Lee Jones

Sleeping Single in a Double Bed

Our long weekend get away has been faboo. 

Originally, the trip was planned for April, for 710's birthday, but then, The Covid hit. The park was shut down. Given we had a tough to come by pet friendly cabin, they were great enough just to move the dates for me. 

So we were at a state park. Lots and lots of land and a big ass lake. Horses too. Golf course, etc. This was new to us, we've never been or tried to go. But 710 wanted a trip with the dog in tow, and I was determined to make it happen. So I did. 

The original plan was to surprise him - not with the cabin - was to have friends join on the second day, with food and cake, etc. Clearly, that did not happen. And even before that, I opted not for a surprise, as, well, no one really likes those. 

As it turns out, a two month delay didn't quell the enthusiasm for attendance. One afternoon, we hung out, talked and had a drink or two. We all discussed masks or no.  Two people fully quarantined before this, three others when not have been mindful and two of us get our temps checked daily when going into a hospital. We felt fairly ok with, though we were somewhat distanced. Not 6', but not too too close. 

These are people - some of the VERY few - who get hugs and kisses from me. It was tough not being able to do that. 

The cabin is nice, but you know, it's a cabin. I swore it said it slept 10, but even if using the couch, you might get seven.  

Shep's lower bunk you see is one of four. I took another. The main bedroom is a double. A DOUBLE. I'm good with a queen, but two of us, and possibly Shep, would never fit in a double. So for the first time in a long long long time, 710 and I slept apart. I though the dog would sleep with him, but he hung with me.

We've been hiking, swimming, dog parking and generally just been relaxing. We are all exhausted, yet in a good way. 

Mike, whom you've about here ALL too often, texted and seem worried we were 'camping'.  I can't go that far:  there were no tents, sleeping bags, s'mores, or Coleman lanterns. We had running water - but hot and cold. 

We'd do this again sometime. 

Song by: Barbara Mandrell (ok, I don't own the song, but......it fit)

Rules of Travel

It's been like two weeks. I think it time I wrap up my vacation posts. This is the last one, I swear.

We opted for a non-scenic route back to the city. Hello I-101.  Actually, being the geeks we are, we headed first to Cupertino. Blobby and 710 wanted to see Apple's new-ish circular building.  So, we find it (ugly campus btw), and pull into the visitor center. On the roof of the center (which is really just a big ass Apple Store) has a deck that overlooks the new building.

But there's a guy in the lot who axes us if we are there for 'the event'. Clearly not. He tells us the building is closed. But we park anyways and see what is what - which was sort of, kind of, just walking into the building anyways........and maybe getting on the elevator......with a security guard (who never looked down to see we didn't have Apple employee ID badges).....and up on to the roof.

Alas, this is where this part of the tale ends. A very nice lady, who clearly knows every one of the 141,583 Apple employees, immediately comes up to us and says, "ohhhh, sorry........the center is closed today.....".  So off we went.   ........down the street to Gooooooogle.

A slightly nicer campus with drab buildings. And a LOT of campers parked everywhere. Clearly, the Googlers (yes, that the employee name) live in them to avoid paying rent that they can't afford.

I may - or may not - have hopped on a Google bike and rode around.

Then it was up the highway, over The bridge......

.....and off to Muir Woods.

I went eons ago with my friend Jon. It's really a beautiful place - almost a religious experience.

I don't care what Ben Wyatt said on Parks and Rec, this isn't Endor. That was up in the Redwoods, which is closer to the Oregon border.  I'd show more pictures, but as it turns out, there is no way to shoot the scale of this place. Things are far too high and sometimes narrow to get a grasp of how it is.

We hiked some harder trails and barely passed anyone. The ones lower down, had plenty, but not tons, of folks.  710 was just in awe. This totally made his trip.

....well, that and........a night time trip to Twin Peaks.

710 loves loves loves cities and cityscapes, so, it only made sense to trek up there before heading to the airport for our red-eye home.

We really milked it all till the last minute.

I won't belabor the rest of the trip, which was just airport fuck-up-erry.


.....and we got through the trip without a disagreement. That's not nothing, when you spend 24/7 with me. I'm kind of frustrating.     ......no no.......it's true.


So we can drop the curtain on this trip.  You might see a few other pics in my Year in Pictures post, which will be coming up in a few weeks.



Song by: Rosanne Cash

San Francisco Days

We are back from vaca.

It was not quite the one we had planned, but.......we are nothing if not adaptable.

The plan was for part city, part Sonoma. But those pesky fires that devastated everything and everyone in its path, we had to change gears.

Besides nothing left to see up there, any hotel rooms needed to be used for those who lost their houses - the ones who needed beds.

I will probably break this into two posts - maybe consecutive, maybe not.

With plans changed / dashed, we ended up not having any set plan. It turns out we'd spend three days in the city, two and a half in Monterey and the last day back in San Fran.

Each of the three days we walked not less than 16 miles. I mean, it's great and all, but we're not gluttons. There were times we just hopped an Uber if we'd gone too far and nowhere in sight of a MUNI.

Our first day was beautiful. Until we got about a quarter mile from the bridge. THE one. The Golden one.  But Karl the Fog rolled in......and stayed.  We stuck around for about 90 minutes, but he was going nowhere.

Karl has his own Twitter account, which just makes me laugh.

So we walked partially back and hopped an Uber.

.......and did one of my items: the Contemporary Jewish Museum. which was designed by Daniel Libeskind. It was actually a nice visit.

Stumbled across a Claes Oldenburg piece. I'm a fan of his work and knew / assumed it was his as soon as I spotted it.

I'd say we went into the Hyatt to see where they filmed some of High Anxiety - and you must remember the elevator scene(s), right?  - but honestly, I went in there to poop.

We ended up walking to the DeYoung museum in Golden Gate Park. It was a l-o-n-g walk, but ate at some great little place along the way.

The next day it was out to Lands End and the Sutro Baths. Beautiful hiking along the bay. The hike from Lands End to Baker Beach to the bridge.......

And then an Uber to Sausalito for lunch - and a ferry ride back.  And on the walk back we hit the SF Modern Art Museum. 

I seem to have a love-hate relationship with the city. Of course, parts are beautiful, and honestly I marvel at the Golden Gate Bridge - even after all this time. The arts and the independent places to eat. YES!  

It is the abject poverty there that is rampant that just digs into those above things. The streets in lots of places just reek of urine. Poverty and homelessness are one thing (well, two), but it is the mental illness that accompanies that which makes it so much tougher - for them more than residents or visitors. 

We stopped a few times to even see if the person lying in the road was alive. The only thing more disconcerting was that no one else did.  NO. ONE.   We didn't stop for everyone camped out, but these weren't camp-outs in the normal way. 

Then there was the guy punching himself........hard!  Or the guy with his pants around his ankles, no shirt and dancing around (?), struggling (?).  I'd say 'off his meds', but doubtful he had taken any ever. 

Apple is pledging $2.5 billion (with a B) to combat the housing crisis affecting the homeless. Good for them, but this goes beyond having no roof. This incorporates mental health, violence, substance abuse and a plethora of other things.  I'm all for them doing what it takes to better the situation, and it's fucking sad when you don't know if $2.5 billion (with a B) will or can even scratch the surface. 

That all said, we still enjoyed our time there. Clearly, we wandered, not always with a destination, but that is what kind of makes it fun for us.  And the weather, save Karl, couldn't have been nicer. Sunny (mostly), high 40s as the low, mid 60s as the high. 

I'm sure we did other things, though none are popping to mind. It had been maybe 15 years since we've been to the city. We liked it, though probably won't rush back anytime real soon. 

Song by: Chris Isaak

Dorian

Dorian is not hitting Alabama - obvi - but unfortunately, it's not taking a toll on Mar-A-Lago. 

Honestly, I was hoping it would decimate the property.

Where it hitting:  North Carolina.  One of the places it's hitting, exactly: Wilmington.

This doesn't bode well for 710 and myself. This is twice in as many years of a major hurricane making landfall in Wilmington.

This is where we spent our last two summer vacations. It doesn't seem that Florence damaged (at least seriously) the place we rent. But how many times can you get lucky?

We haven't discussed a third time in a row, but depending on what happens in the next 24 hours, that decision might be taken out of our hands.

After the Florence, Wrightsville Beach (where we stay, actually), had to bring in $16 million in sand to rebuild the beach.  I can't say what we spent there helped that much to offset those costs.

Let's hope the folks there, and in the other regions fare well.

If we have to skip a year, so be it.  We can crash at Mike's place in P-Town.  I'm sure he won't mind.



Song by: the Smashing Pumpkins

the Tide

Let's step away from gun violence and politics at least for the day, shall we?

710 and I went on vacation last week. Back to the beach of North Carolina. Right outside Wilmington, actually.  Same place we rented last time, as we were so taken by it.

Unlike last year, we had no thunderstorms, which I loved, as they mostly happened at night. But last year was humid and we couldn't comfortably leave the doors and windows open. This year, humidity was low, so everything was open. I love going to sleep, and waking up to hearing the crash of the surf.

Beach life was a vacation for my tinnitus. I mean, night inside it was more of the same, but outside there was no notice of that constant ringing.

Unlike last year, our next door neighbors, Janet and Mike (and his areolas) weren't there. Maybe on vacation himself, or they sold after last year's hurricane.  Until the last day, we had no neighbors at all. It was quite ideal - as we didn't have to interact with anyone.

The weather was in the mid-80s. The ocean temps were about 82F.

Every morning I was up with the sun. Shortly after, I was on the beach, walking 3-4 miles, passing a few people and day after day being the same folks. The morning surfers showed up no matter how still the waters.  At the end of my walk, I went for my a.m. swim.  As I'm not a complete moron, I did it in front of our place where there were always a few people around.  Most days, 710 would be on the porch having coffee and watching me not drown.

We had our day walks too and afternoon swims. My black toe nails weren't even noticed.

Each afternoon or evening, we were on our top porch with wine and cheese, just watching the world go by as we'd kill a bottle of wine. After that - we wandered into town for dinner......and maybe another drink.

Truth be told, I took a new book with me and never turned one page. I just sat and watched beach life without once ever sitting on the actual beach.

It was as low of a key as a week that could be. It's exactly what we wanted and needed.  We had everything we'd want, except to have Shep with us.

With SPF 50 and up, you'd never know I was anywhere, but that's ok. I'm not 100% we will go back next year, but it's a high probability.  It was also lengthy discussion {again} if this is somewhere we'd retire one day.

It was a great week. I highly suggest it.



Oh yeah - I didn't do a vacation video this year.  That's my gift to you!



Song by: Lucy Kaplansky