The Week That Was

I am back from my first week off in three years. All around it was a fantastic trip, in the fact that I had nothing to do and did not have to deal with work at all!!! It all started on Sunday with a 12 hour drive from Indiana to Upstate New York (Saratoga/Lake George area). We stopped twice for gas and brought some sandwich fixings, DVD players, PSP, Gameboy and Suduko books. I drove the whole way and the wife kept me awake.

The next few days were those lazy fall days with nothing really planned, no alarms, meetings, rushing around. We visited with family; ate out, played games (board and video) and just sat around the living room and chatted. We prepped for the next wedding (next October), got to know the one year old nephew (he loves me), and did a little regional shopping. Our 3rd day there we got a phone call at 3am from one of the sister-in-law's stating that she could not breathe and was having stomach pains, one 911 call and 15 hours later her gall bladder was removed and we all let out a big breath (she is doing fine).

We then went to the Father-in-law's to visit with him. There we did the same thing, mostly. We drove to Vermont one day, watched a puppy be born, went apple picking, walked through Saratoga Springs State Park and drank water that came up, fresh from the ground (tasted like ass!!!). The wife and FIL knew exactly what that water tasted like. We saw the first of 50 springs and stopped and grabbed a water bottle and drank. The wife and FIL wanted to know what it was like and it tasted fine with a little aftertaste. They said oh and we moved on. Later we found two more springs and filled up the water bottle and I took a swig and nearly puked!!! The wife and FIL laughed and said that was the reaction they were expecting. The natural water is actually carbonated and has a very sulfur like taste. But people swear by it and have been drinking and bathing in it for years. The next few days were the same, relax, eat, shop and visit. On Saturday we had breakfast with the FIL and lunch with the SILs and then hit the road. 13 hours later we were home and slept till Sunday afternoon.

One thing I did notice was the MUST HAVES in New York. We had to have Dog Shack Hot Dogs, Finger Rolls, Boss Sauce, Nance's Mustard, Harvest Club, Harvest Pizza, Real Wings, NY Maple Syrup, Cider Donuts, DiBella's Subs, Mr. B's Best Roast Beef. We had all of it, or bought some to bring back home to Indy (2 gallons of Boss Sauce).

We had a fantastic week and did not want it to end. But you get to miss your bed, shower, type of soap and just sitting in your recliner. So Sunday was spent doing just that, unloading the car, doing some laundry but just sitting and watching football in my chair and seeing my dog play fetch. In the end it is the simple things that are missed when taking a time out from life, but boy oh boy was the time out needed.