It's a Getaway

Before we moved to Austin in 2000, I used to travel a bit. Not the way I did as a kid with a military dad and a rambling mother – that was ridiculous… no, just normal traveling around the USA, a few long weekends mostly to see those old rock-n-roll shows… it was my middle-aged craziness.

In early 2001 I went to Las Vegas for The Moody Blues (a weekend) plus one night in St. Louis to see Eric Johnson, and in 2005 one night there for a nephew’s wedding party – then real-life started to settle me down good. I had a steady job that didn’t pay that well, a freelance job on the side that didn’t pay that well either and kept me busy around the clock, plus the 4 cats started needing more and more specialized care. We got to do day-trips only, and eventually not even not even those because of $$$ meds and med schedule… just stuff in town only. MrB would visit his family in MO once a year and I would stay home on kitty-care duty.

Oh, there’s a hell of a lot to do here, and we love this town dearly. No two-ways about that, but it has been difficult hearing about other people’s vacation trips – Ireland, Egypt, London, Venice, Paris, Portland, – not from jealousy, I’m glad when others have that luxury, but just from longing for a break and knowing that there wouldn’t be one. I've been bouncing between getting stir crazy and burning out. We've been trying to think up a plan for an escape for many months, now that we don't have cat-parent responsibilities.

We are going to Santa Barbara for 3 whole nights in July! Got a (hopefully) nice hotel right next to the beach where there will be fireworks for the 4th, and rest of the time just walking and wine tasting. I know, it's a short getaway and doesn't even leave the continental USA, but here's another advantage.

See our forecast temps for the coming week on the left compared to Santa Barbara on the right. (No forecasts yet for the week after… not that I put much stock in forecasts, but I do think there’s a 100% chance of “chilly” in SB and "blistering" here.)


Now that we decided to actually go somewhere, I've got some new issues - like... my luggage no longer conforms to the dimensional requirements for carry-on bags (crap! not what I want to shop for!) and I don't have a swimsuit (as Cathy would say, "AAACK").

Sing along now! V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N