Respite

Vacations are often a cornucopia of expected and unexpected events. A recent trip my husband and I took was certainly filled with all of the above. No surprise for us that the days before departure were a little frantic but we did not anticipate the three EF-2 tornadoes touching down in our city the day before we had planned to leave. We delayed our departure so we could clean up some of the storm's aftermath. Blessedly, we were spared the worst of it. Then a deluge of rain hit our state and many of the main arteries to our destination were closed due to flooding. Despite my maudlin moments prior to leaving, we were able to carve out a detour plan around the flooded roads. It added an hour to our trip, but we were grateful to find a work around. As we made our way across the state, a headwind picked up with such fury that we spent the rest of the drive bucking against a wall of moving air. Gas mileage was abysmal but we finally arrived at our destination, looking like dog spit and ready for a break.

Here are a few moments from the trip. No extra charge for the poor photography skills.

I know I am in the right place when I see a sign like this in the window. What a relief to see folks looking at each other rather than down at a little screen and scrolling away. Stroll not scroll, people!

Everyday I took a walk in and around the woods. Quite a stretch for me as I am not very outdoorsy but I loved peeking into nature's purse of goodies. Little wildflowers never fail to please.

If you look carefully, you can see a stream gurgling in the background. It was my go-to spot each day. The sound alone is enough to keep one sane and centered. 

I couldn't resist the calling of this little chapel in the woods. No preachers when I was there but plenty of birds giving me advice. 

Speaking of birds, look carefully at all the ospreys in the sky. Not. My hopes of watching ospreys skydancing were dashed by maintenance closings near the trail and 90 degree weather, both of which made me one cranky chick. We did, however, see more turkey vultures than we could count everywhere we went. All God's creatures. 

Another creature that always fascinates me is the Pollenia rudis, also known as a cluster fly. They love to bumble their way into warm places when fall arrives. Their loud buzzing is as if they have a summer's worth of stories to tell. Soon enough they are on their backs in the throes of death or a bad landing. 

My reading chair. My favorite spot. Enough said. 

The cabin on our veranda was my husband's favorite spot. Shade if it was warm. Sunshine if it was cool. I joined him if it was a Goldilock's moment, temperature just right. 

Sadly, the time comes when the trek homeward must begin. Rest stops were our friends. And snacks. Lots of them.

My trip souvenir. Shortly before returning home, I broke out in a nasty case of hives. Nothing says creepy like a bunch of welts erupting over your face, arms and neck. I blame it on my tromping around in the woods, but the truth of the matter is I don't think I will ever know for sure what was the cause. I do know our trip was worth the hurdles of storms, flooding, delays and lesions.  

Especially when we could end the day with this.

Six Eyes

It was my birthday last week and I have to say it was a top five day. Nothing flashy or dashy. No surprise parties or fancy cakes or city proclamations. It was just a day awash with love sent my way. It started with texts from my siblings reminding me to enjoy a day of cake and fun. Then, my former co-workers sent me a picture of them celebrating my birthday with doughnuts and smiles (and a puppet, but that is a story for another day). One of my nieces joined us for lunch and conversation. I attended church with my mom at her assisted living home and we enjoyed tea and cookies in celebration of the day of my birth. When I returned home from mom's assisted living home, a package filled with birthday goodies from my sister-in-law awaited me. She knows I love Cheetos more than cake and my fingers soon glowed with neon orange dust. The day continued with phone calls sharing birthday wishes with me.

My day ended with dinner out at a favorite eatery. As we neared the end of our meal, my husband suggested we go to the sports store next door for a present he had spotted for me. I nearly choked on my bacon as I tried to process what in the world I would want in a sports store. I balked a bit and reminded him that I have yet to wear out a pair of sneakers and expensive sport clothing is lost upon the likes of me. He smirked and said it was nothing like that and he was pretty sure it was something I might enjoy. I still had visions of hiking boots and heavy duty socks as we entered the sports store, but sometimes one has to just let go and trust that one's spouse may be right. We took the escalator up to the second floor and I followed my husband to a corner niche filled with binoculars. He looked at me and said, "You always say we need better binoculars, so let's get a good pair." I broke into a smile of relief and let him know that he was indeed on to something with his birthday idea.

We own an array of hand-me-down binoculars of varying degrees of ineffectualness. One pair has no option for adjustment, one has an adjuster that provides blurry or blurrier views and one pair is a big beast from many decades ago. I fuss every time I use them but I am too cheap to do anything about it. Making the purchase a birthday gift solves the problem. My husband had done his homework so the selection was fairly simple. We did not purchase a pair from the locked display case filled with the serious bad boys of the binocular realm. We settled for a modest pair based on the answer to the clerk's question, "What do you want to use them for?" I replied that they would be used for birdwatching. And the neighbors, occasionally.

We returned home with our new toy ready for action. Oh my, what an improvement. I still need some practice, especially in light of my myopically challenged eyes and trifocal glasses. But I'm sure six eyes are better than two. And birthdays should always make you smile.