Home!

Time goes by so fast on vacation!  We already miss the flowers, green grass, and budding trees, as well as the opportunities to walk to events, restaurants, stores, and the beach.  Seeing new things and having new experiences is the point of vacation, and we did that.   We also relaxed (sewing and reading for me, doing research and planning a new book for Paul).

We aren't sure we'll go to Fairhope again next year.  It seems too old fogey-ish to go to the same place four years running, but who knows?  There's still a lot of the world to explore, and we also want to get to Colorado to visit my nearly 95 year old mom at least once a year. 

On our last days, it rained quite a bit, so we read and walked around town in between rain drops.  Sunday, we returned to the Gumbo Shack for dinner.  Tucked away from the traffic and a bit of a dive, it does serve some really good food.  They smoke their own meats right out front.  Monday, we ate everything left in the apartment for lunch and had dinner at the Lebanese restaurant, Sage, another favorite. 

We were on the road Tuesday by 7:30 am, trying a new route by Birmingham.  This kept us in Alabama and the Central time zone most of the day until we crossed into Georgia.  The change to daylight savings time made for a double whammy, but over the four days we did adjust.  The trip took us through Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New York, with overnight stops in Chattanooga; Fairfield, VA (south of Staunton); and Montgomery, NY (near Newburgh).   A big snowstorm hit the eastern seaboard Tuesday, so we kept our eyes on the weather.  Wednesday morning found us crawling along the interstate over ice in Tennessee, but we didn't see much snow on the ground until we got to northern Virginia.  Then it started to pile up, with the most around Scranton (18" or so).   But the skies remained blue all the way, and the roads were clean and dry.  Good timing!

Besides the usual post-vacation grocery shopping and laundry, I have a long list of things to do, including picking up three quilts that were at the Wood Art Gallery show, working on a new budget for the state quilt guild, advocating for the library budget, and more.  Still, it's good to sleep in our own bed, make our own coffee, and just spread out a little more after living in a small apartment and the car for the last several weeks.  And... I'm looking forward to getting back behind my sewing machine!