Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Vacations ~ Are They Really Worth It?

We just returned from a mini-vacation to Sedona, Arizona; something we do every year. By we, I mean my “main squeeze” (Kit) of five years. It borders on a miracle that she has stayed connected to me for five whole years. She’s either very tolerant, or possibly, and I emphasize the possibly, mentally deranged. I’ll leave that up to the people who know her well.

Actually, this trip, we took her granddaughter with us. Okay, maybe it wasn’t really her granddaughter that we took … as none of our four sons (two each) have blessed us with grandchildren. Could it be that we both failed them in our “birds and bees” conversations? Time will tell … though we (Kit & I) are both running out of time. Who invented death, anyway? Jeez.

Okay, I’m obviously digressing on the subject at hand. The so-called “granddaughter” we took was actually a three-month old female puppy. To be more specific, a Pomeranian-Poodle mix, though she appears to be more Pomeranian than Toy Poodle. Her name, by the way, is Dakota. Oh, I should mention, though I’m not required to, that Kit’s “love” for me was quickly transferred to Dakota. That will obviously teach me a lesson for buying her the puppy in the first place. Maybe I’m the one who is mentally deranged.

Anyway, I continue to digress off the main premise of vacations, whether mini- or long term (meaning one or two weeks). This trip, which was scheduled a few months back, only because we stayed at an exclusive place, rained the entire time (Yuck and more yuck). Not only did it rain, and hard, but it was cold as well; we could even see the snow on the mountaintops. The main “touristy” part of Sedona was totally absent of people.

So, needless to say, we were pretty much holed up in the hotel … a hotel with their own restaurant and bar … so not all was lost. I think it goes without saying that we ate most of our meals at the hotel (all except for one before the rains came). Room service is nice, isn’t it? Of course, having to “potty” Dakota was a challenge. She doesn’t like rain any more than we do; but we managed. Or should I say that she managed. When nature calls, she calls. The fortune part being that just shy of three months she is pretty much potty-trained. Smart dog.

Back to vacations. In spite of getting away for a few days, or weeks, it is always good to be back home. And yes, we say this every time after every vacation. Our own bed (most important), our own showers/bathtub, our own meals, etc. All of which makes me wonder why we even take off for a vacation anyway. Aside from the fact that vacations put a big dent in our wallets. And I mean BIG.


So, why do we even bother to go on vacations? Could it be to simply break the monotony? Even though we know that it is “great to be back home” in our comfort zone, our daily routine. I wish I knew the answer.