How I Spent My Summer Vacation

When you are retired it sort of feels like you are on permanent vacation. Not that I am trying to rub it in or anything. In reality, retired people also have things to do, responsibilities to family, etc, so planned vacation time is still essential to a person's well being. That being said, I took three trips this summer that offered not only the good but also the bad and the ugly.

The first trip was to Fairhope, Alabama and then on to Gulf Shores. Who doesn't love the beach? Using Airbnb  accommodations that allowed pets was a bonus and we set off with the two pups and high hopes!

Traveling went well and we arrived at our vintage Airstream trailer all in one piece. Unfortunately, the Airstream was not all in one piece as evidenced by the use of duct tape. Duct tape, people, around the windows, on the door handle (what there was of it) and holding the screen door together.

Let me go on to say, I am not anti-duct tape, so please save your indignant comments. But, really, duct tape?

The condo at the beach met and exceeded all our expectations so all was not lost!
We enjoyed three days of strolling on the beach and eating shrimp. Actually, more eating than strolling but, hey, we were on vacation.

The next trip came in July. It was a trip that had been planned since February. We were totally pumped up because we had tickets to see Jimmy Buffett at Wrigley Field in Chicago! We could not wait for the day to arrive. Finally, it was time to go.

Now, this is where the bad and the ugly parts come in, so if you are squeamish , I suggest you stop reading.  I won't go into all the details, but there were three people in our group and two of us were struck with a stomach virus. Fortunately, the one who was not sick is a nurse so we were well taken care of. Two of us, one very excited and healthy and the other on heavy drugs made it to the concert.

I am here to say that when you have to turn to your beloved and say, "could you please pass the Imodium AD?", a highly anticipated, fun-filled vacation goes down hill very quickly.

Last but not least, my last trip included stopping to look at dew drops on a leaf, admire a root system of a tree, examine peeling bark, eating bagels and drinking chocolate milk, visiting the local bakery for cookies, both large and small, playing many, many games of Spit (which actually does not involve spitting) , Stress, and Sorry, making an ankle bracelet, and playing the part of a chemist while making lip balm!

You may have already guessed that I was spending the week with a nine year old.
Definitely the best trip of the summer!

That's it for now.
Check back later!