Got Them End-O-Vacation Blues

I'm back from vacation and sorry to see it end.

Time Passes Too Swiftly

The past three weeks seemed to pass as three seconds. I am told time perception is a matter of metabolism -- and I'm wishing I had my 10-year-old's metabolism back. That is to say, allegedly, when you're young your metabolism is running at fever pitch and time seems to drag and drag.

Now, at "over 50" shall we say, the days pass like lightning strikes.

Does it seem that way for you as well?

At this point it's Sunday afternoon, the wind is blowing outside my Sierra window and it's 78 degrees (whilst 90+ in Sacratomato, Fornicalia -- where I'll be reporting for work tomorrow -- heavy sigh). At least I had some time to decompress at home, unpack, do wash, clean the deck and enjoy the wafting pines. I came back to massive green deposits of new fir and pine pollen coating everything in sight -- as well as evidence it had rained in my absence; the green garden cart was full of water.

This has certainly been an interesting past year in terms of the weather. Last Saturday, May 27th, I got back briefly from Southern Fornicalia early in the morning to 32 degree temperatures and falling snowflakes! On May 27th I started a fire in my stove that night!

Where I Went And What I Did

Boring to some, sorry, but I at least have some recommendations for places to stay on the Fornicalia coast.

First, I went to Long Beach to watch my fiance graduate from the University of Fornicalia, Long Beach (UCLB), with her Masters Degree following two long and difficult years of taking extension courses in Sacratomato. We had one dinner in Buena Park at Medieval Times -- a hokey place but, actually, entertaining nevertheless. The show was interesting and the horsemanship was exquisite. We also spent the day at the Universal Studios park which was much more entertaining and engaging than I would have thought. Wish I'd had time to take the formal tour of the lot itself.

Last week I reserved a room at the Beachcomber Motel in Fort Bragg so we could take in the Fornicalia coast and, more specifically, Highway One. We had a huge second story room with a wonderful and complete view of the Pacific Ocean and a set of cypress trees adjacent the cliffs (ask for room 232!). I ordered the room with the fireplace, king bed, full sized hot tub (in the room) and private deck with its own stairs down to the trails leading to the beach. This was a wonderful motel, and the hot tub -- well, I don't have one at home so we used it a lot. The tub's jets were much quieter than I would have imagined.

I also got my honey a full 90-minute "Masters Graduation" massage at the Bamboo Garden Spa in Fort Bragg, after the Mendocino Massage spa in the town of Mendocino stood me up and decided not to return my call; I suppose they weren't interested in the $200+ I was willing to spend in their business. The Bamboo Garden Spa, however, was interested in making a couples deep-tissue massage arrangement and, I must admit, it was clearly the best massage I've had yet! Perhaps things happen for a reason! In the area? I would recommend it highly! And, I will be back!

Two places we stopped to visit on our journey -- and two places we'll be staying in the future?

One was the Timber Cove Inn near Jenner, Fornicalia -- also directly on the Pacific Ocean. This place had my attention from the moment we hit the parking lot. The huge fireplace in its grand room, the bar, the rooms -- one very nice man at the bar took quite some time to explain the inn to us and its benefits and attractions. The whole place is constructed from rough-hewn timbers and combines a rustic effect with massive amounts of class. The bartender spoke of the two kinds of return customers they encounter: those who come to watch the crashing 35-foot winter waves during the off-season, and those who take rooms to view the annual coastal whale migrations in February and March. This inn will be in my future late this year or early next.

The second place my honey and I will be staying is the North Cliff Hotel in Fort Bragg. Though the website isn't much to see, the motel and its rooms certainly are. When they say that "all rooms have a view" they aren't kidding. The concierge at the desk was kind enough to provide us with a key to an empty room (103, on one of the lowest levels) and said "Go look at a room. Take your time." That, in and of itself, was impressive enough. The room we saw was stunning and the attention to detail was evident. Soft fuzzy white robes hung in the closet; a Jacuzzi tub adjacent a picture window to the Pacific Ocean; a fireplace next to the tub; a private and segregated balcony unenterable from the next; microwave, coffeemaker, refrigerator, fully stocked bathroom, beautiful glass shower stall with multiple fixtures; provided hair dryers; continental breakfasts delivered to your bedside -- and for a price that I recently paid for the Beachcomber. This place is in my immediate future.

Thinking: I Am One Lucky Guy

That I am. Thankful for having a beautiful woman in my life, a mountain home, a consistent job with benefits, lead in my pencil, the ability to walk upright when I wish, the freedoms that living in America provides, the serendipity to take my woman, a car, and visit what I wish, when I wish, for whatever reason(s) I wish, at any time.

And the ability to realize just what a wonderful nation it is that I inhabit.

And why, precisely because of that, this nation deserves to survive, thrive and defend itself.

God bless America.

BZ

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P.S.
I took close to a thousand photographs of my recent trips, archived on Sony Memory Sticks. Yes, I can be a bit overwhelming with my interest in photography. It was a massive undertaking just to whittle down my photos to the one you see here. It drove me nuts to limit my vacation photos but -- there you have it. I had to GTFOI.

Except that Blogger won't let me publish a photo now. Guess I'll have to try to attach a photo later -- dammit, Jim!