So We're Back

And we've been back for a while now. We got back on Saturday, and I'm feeling a bit depressed about it. I know, I know, in this economic climate many people can't afford to take vacations, so stop complaining, right? Okay, I will stop, but know that I'm not happy about it.

In a nutshell, the time away was wonderful. Just what the doctor ordered. We didn't have an agenda, so we just meandered, did whatever we felt like at the moment, and just relaxed. I should mention that the only thing that was scheduled the entire trip was when we wanted to go watch sunset. Around 8:20 each night, you would find us by the water, usually armed with some wine and the camera, watching the sunset.

The other day when I was helping my friend Amy in her classroom (hi Amy!) she asked how our trip was. I laughed when I told her that every picture on my camera was sunsets. So that's all the pictures you'll see in this post, sorry. I didn't take pictures of us, because really, most of them would be Stein in a chair reading, or me in a chair drinking sangria, or the two of us at a restaurant eating whitefish, or walking along the beach looking for Petoskey stones. Yeah, you know those pictures. I didn't take any of those because I didn't want you to be jealous. And also, because I just didn't feel like it.

We were able to see some new places and try some new restaurants, which was fun. Our friend Jim has a place on Elk Lake, and offered it to us for a few nights. While we were there, we ate at a great cajun restaurant, and another local restaurant that had a really cool interior, and great food too. It was nice to be in a different place, see different things, and just be.

We were also in Petoskey, where we seem to have more of a routine. We have our favorite restaurants, so we usually space them out so that we get to each one on different days. Some of the places are in Charlevoix and Harbor Springs, which are a distance away, so we try to only do so much driving on one day. We need time for sitting, after all.

The driving is just as fun as the sitting. Short trips through the small towns up north just make you slow down. The roadside stands with fruits and vegetables, sometimes unattended and on the honor system for paying. Some of the bigger stands have signs that have the available fruits and vegetables listed on them. While we were up there, cherries were just about done, and peaches and apples were aplenty. Also, tomatoes, corn, and peppers.

I said to Stein when we got back, "I'm sad to be done with vacation, but happy to be home." So true, but I would love to be back there. Right now.