Safe at Home

We wound up cutting our vacation short by one day. It took so long to get to Lincoln City, that my brother-in-law wanted to break his travel into two days. He has four more hours after we got home.

I actually parked with nothing but fuel vapors left in my tank. I'm hoping I have enough left to deliver the camper about ten blocks away and get to the gas station without running completely empty.

It's kind of a bummer to cut a day off the trip, but I admit it is a marathon drive. We came back through Bend this time. I always liked Sisters and Bend, and love looking at the volcanos as we drive along.

Otto was so happy to get home that he ran crazy circles around the living room. He also ran them again in his back yard. He doesn't know it yet, but he's getting a bath today. I'll try to post another Otto video on Facebook in a few minutes.

This vacation is all about point of view. I could dwell on the blown tire, and the lost day, but choose not to.

We caught enough crab one day for a nice cookout. We got to watch whales right off the beach. On our last day we went to the big aquarium, and the giant pacific octopus was out in full view this time. If I can figure out how to resize a photo, I may make a cool jellyfish into my August wallpaper. He's just strange enough to fit in around here.

I got a great short story idea, and it fits my Macabre Macaroni theme too. I just don't know if I can make it short enough for a blog post.

The weather was great for the Oregon Coast. I thought the morning fog was awesome, and it reminded me of how I came up with the character of Jason Fogg. Jason has another story in my new Notebook, if you are a fan of his.

I even got a kick out of the early morning coffee runs with my daughter. Everyone else was asleep, and we grabbed her coffee and parked so she could catch Pokemon. I know it's a super popular game, but this one looks pretty fun.

We ate some great seafood and it seems like every place touts itself as having the best chowder. For my money, the Pelican Brewing spot in Cannon Beach does. We drank some great local beer too. I love the craft brew movement, and seeing what's local is part of the fun.

My wife and sister-in-law made an appointment with a glass blower on Thursday. They each got to blow and shape their own candy bowl. I, naturally, had to watch the dog. My daughter got some interesting videos of the process, but I can't share them. I try to keep my family somewhat anonymous online.

I'm kind of bummed about missing the glass blowing. The main character, Cobby, from The Cock of the South started life as a glass blower. I know it's backwards to call it research, but I would have liked to watch. At least there is video.

Everyone is gone now. The in-laws left at six AM. My daughter went to Sun Valley to visit friends almost immediately after we got home. Apparently, eight hours in the car wasn't enough for her. It all has the taste of, “Thanks for the free vacation, see ya!”

My wife is still asleep. Otto is sacked out on the couch, and I am barely awake. Today will be all about getting the camper cleaned up and put away. Then there are bills, mountains of bills.

With the end of the month looming, it's time to put the final touches to the second Experimental Notebook and send it to the formatter. There are still a few beta copies out, and I hope to hear from those readers in time. This is the first time I've used a formatter, and set an absolute date for publication. This means I have to live with deadlines.

I've also been a bad blog friend. I managed to read a few, but my comments were minimal. I'll spend some time today trying to catch up, but probably won't get to everyone. Sometimes you just have to go on vacation.