After driving all day yesterday from my daughter's home in Kenosha, Wisconsin we finally made it home to the U.P. of Michigan late yesterday afternoon!It was very nice to be able to end our trip by visiting (even though it was brief!) with her and her family. And of course, the hugs from my two grandchildren was the frosting on the cake!
They have grown so much from in January when we saw them last!
Anyway, today is full of all those things that you have to do when you get back from vacation....you know: the laundry, cooking because you left the refrigerator naked, heating up the house again to a comfortable level, catching up on mail and newspapers. Even though we were only gone for 3 weeks, it seems a lot longer!
So today, I will just list the TOP TEN things I love about getting home from vacation:
1. My own bed! No matter how comfortable it is to sleep in anyone else's home or how hotels try and make their beds comfortable, nothing is like sleeping in your own bed. I sunk in last night, and except for a whole lot of crazy dreams, it felt wonderful.
2. My own shower. Gosh it is good to feel the water pressure you are used to and know where to reach with soapy eyes to get your shampoo, cream rinse and razor...and where you hung your towel, etc.
3. My own loofa. Hotels always have washcloths, but I really missed my squeegy and my liquid soap to whip up a lather. And whip it up, I did!
4. Washing laundry. It will be so nice not to worry about using up my last day of clean underwear on the road. ha
5. Our own TV. It is great to be back and know what channels are where and get back to the routine of watching what we want when we want to. And of course this involves also being able to stretch out on the couch and snuggle together, along with getting fantastic head rubs and massages from my hubby as we watch TV. (Yeah, I know I am spoiled!)
6. No more restaurant food! We actually got tired of eating out. I actually feel like cooking! And, if I see one more McDonald's, I think I will ralph!
7. Wonderful Lake Superior Clean Tap Water! Lord, the water down south is NASTY. Our water is really good, like spring fed water. When we eat out we always like a cold drink of ice water with our meals. When we were on our trip, the tap water all tasted awful.
8. In-floor radiant heat: We are blessed at home with warm, radiant floor heat on all walking surfaces. When it was chilly on our trip, the floors were always cold whereever we stayed. Tile bathroom floors were the worst. I know in the south, these are a blessing and a necessity to keep it cool from the heat...but yowsa!!! (when I got up in the morning an
d my feet hit the floor!)!
d my feet hit the floor!)!9. Local newspaper and news: I love turning on our local news each morning to go with my coffee and to read our local newspaper. I had them hold ours while we were gone and they will all be delivered tomorrow. I can't wait to read and catch up on people we know and love.
10. Neighborhood and Family Hellos: I love getting back and running into folks we know in stores, & at the post office. They know us, our history and our family. It is a supportive community with caring, warm, salt-of-the-earth people who genuinely care about you. They hoped for us that we would have a nice, safe and fun trip. They sincerely are happy for us that we did and really want to see and share the photos. I know I was missed, and I missed them.
And of course, I missed my routine blogging and reading all of your blogs. I did my best on vacation and loved sharing my photos with all of you on the road. But it will be a lot easier now that I am home and back to routine.
So thanks everyone who kept checking the blog for something new.
And thanks to everyone who left comments for me to check while we were on the road. It was so much fun getting them every night as I checked from our hotels!!
Ahhh the comforts of home!
ReplyDeleteThat is something I noticed moving from Alaska to Kentucky; the water here tastes and smells like pond water! And apparently it's "good" water...well, I am spoiled by artisan spring water from a glacier! ha! Needless to say we have a commercial grade water purifier installed here in our tiny apartment!
Oh I have to go pick a new winner for my contest! ACK! Glad you're back! :)
Insanity Kim: I bet Alaska water was pure! Pond water? Maybe it will turn some frogs into princes? I would HAVE to have a purifier or buy water. Thanks for the welcome home wishes..it is great to be back. The weather here even is warmer than when we left. I can smell spring in the air!
ReplyDeleteNice to hear from you. I totally agree with you on all those special things that mean "home". It is fun to go but more fun to come home (not the trip home) but once you get there. I hate motel and other peoples beds. They are always too hard and I am miserable. Welcome back.
ReplyDeleteGrannyann: Thanks for the welcome back. Yes, I like softer beds where you can sink in and hunker down. I have homemade baked chicken in the oven and I am glad to be home.
ReplyDeleteGood to know that you have recovered from the "post-vacation syndrome" (or is there any appropriate term?).
ReplyDeleteI think the thing I miss most about vacations is my own bed. Sleeping somewhere else always bothers me maybe more than for most people. Maybe I associate that with home more than anything else. If not for that, I could travel forever.
ReplyDeleteRainfield61: Yes, I am recovering nicely. Thanks. I love to travel, but I love to come back home,too.
ReplyDeleteRatty: Too bad one couldn't take their own bed everywhere with you when you travel, right? Well, maybe when I hit the Michigan Lotto...........:-)
Yes there's something almost magical about coming home and getting back into the old routine. For me, the worst part is going back to work but other than that, it's pure bliss :)
ReplyDeleteNumber 10 is the reason why we like to vacation. So we DON'T run into family and friends who know us and our family history. In this town, you can throw a rock and hit a cousin.
ReplyDeletePerhaps I like to hide my bad girl ways. And by bad girl I mean eat an entire pack of Twizzlers at the movies by myself or rent Harry Potter at Blockbuster. I walk on the wild side.
Loree: I am lucky to be retired. I remember I would grump for the last 2 days of vacation about having to return to work, knowing that the work would have piled up while I was gone. Sometimes it wasn't even worth leaving!!
ReplyDeleteKearsie: I hear ya. I have been in that situation too. Actually, we moved about 24 miles from another community where a lot of my friends live to a smaller community where folks don't know our business so much. I like it that way! I think there is a support group for Twizzler consumers such as yourself. "hello, my name is Kearsie, and I am a twiszzler-olic". Group (in unison): "hi Kristie!"