My vacation takeaways

I like pinpointing the peak of an experience — sometimes during, sometimes afterward. Any experience can have a peak — eating a sandwich, a day at work, a weekend away. Whatever.

A couple of weeks ago I took my first true solo vacation. I hit the road by myself and drove a total of about 1,800 miles. I wasn’t sure I’d have much fun without a traveling companion but honestly, it was great and I did have lots of fun. My trip involved revisiting a familiar place — the Great Smokey Mountains National Park, including Cades Cove and Townsend, TN. I also picked a couple of new places to visit — Beaufort, SC and Savannah, GA. Both new places were towns I’d heard nice things about. A few years ago, my scattered family and I had talked about meeting up in Savannah for a vacation but that trip never materialized. But I’d researched Savannah online and it sounded really cool.

My southeast tour part III: Savannah, GA

Thursday I did maybe 10 minutes of yoga in the a.m. I was tired and my shoulder and elbow were sore. I ate another good Hampton Inn breakfast, including a pre-made bagel half loaded with eggs, bacon and cheese, then loaded up the car for Savannah. MapQuest says it’s 47.25 from Beaufort to Savannah.

My southeast tour part II: Beaufort, SC

Tuesday morning after coffee in my room and another fine yoga practice, I packed up and left Townsend around 10 a.m. According to MapQuest, it is 392.91 from Townsend to Beaufort, SC.

About the time I was getting into Beaufort, Kim from Beaufort Kayak Tours called and said the historic Beaufort tour was canceled due to storms in the area. I told her I’d call her back for the salt marsh afternoon tour the next day. After checking into the Hampton Inn, I did 30 minutes of laps in the pool. Afterward, I sat on a bench overlooking the water and a huge oak draped in Spanish moss and updated my trip journal.

My southeast tour part I: Townsend, TN

My solo vacation itinerary included Townsend, TN, just outside of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, plus Beaufort, SC and Savannah GA. I left my house in Pensacola around 6 a.m. CST on a Sunday. My Saturn Vue was fully loaded with crap — bicycle, yoga mat, water-jogging belt, noodle, aqua gloves, cooler, clothes, tote bag full of food like cereal and Triscuits, cutting board, apples, yadda yadda. According to MapQuest, I had 519.89 miles to go. By 3 p.m. EST, I was checking into Headrick’s River Breeze motel. Townsend is known as the “quiet side” of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. And compared to Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, quiet it is.

Making your own vacation fun

A couple of weeks ago I did what I always advise people to do when they leave one job to take another — give yourself a break between gigs to have a carefree vacation. As far as I’m concerned, there’s no job that offers an adequate supply of days off. The best I’ve gotten was five weeks a year — and that wasn’t nearly enough. Of course, if you take a week or two off between jobs, it’s unpaid but still, it’s completely and 100 percent yours. Ahhhh.

How can I tell if he likes me?

The signs indicating whether a guy likes you depend on how old you are. If you’re under 10, he likes you if he pretends he doesn’t. No, wait, that also applies to some egotists of any age. Avoid them.

The bottom line is that usually, unless you’re still in grade school, you can tell whether a guy likes you if you’re honest with yourself. He pays you compliments or keeps calling you or emailing or texting you. In short, he follows up with you. He pursues you. Sometimes he’ll give you a hint by saying something like I really like you.

I’m here for the vacations

I think people need to sign a legally binding document committing them to return the winning ticket if they decide to continue working after they hit the lottery jackpot. What a crock. Why waste your money on lottery tickets if you love your job so much?

It’s not that I hate my job. I’ve just got better things to do. The only reason I keep going back to work every day is that I’ve gotten used to the luxury of a roof over my head and food in my belly. Kinda hard to feed my habit without a paycheck.

Cold lemonade with hot rolls fresh from the oven

So it is me, Genno, trying to write about something that might interest a few people. I am going to blog about the early days of my life.

For the first time in 50+ years, I have been spending time remembering the early years of my life. Events of the past crowd my mind as I try to organize my thoughts. There is a dream-like quality in the remembering — a reflection of someone else other than who I see in the mirror.

A perfect day in Greenwich

Funny that today while pondering the cloudless blue sky, I thought of a day I spent in Greenwich while on a London vacation with my brother a couple of years ago. After checking my trip journal, it turns out I was in Greenwich exactly two years ago to the day. My day trip to Greenwich was one of those rare, magical vacation days when your expectations are exceeded by reality. It’s a lush, green place with beautiful architecture and lots of history. Getting there was fun and being there was both invigorating and relaxing. Details may seem fuzzy but that’s how the whole London trip was — I was enraptured and captivated and somewhat overwhelmed. While I can recall almost no factual information about Greenwich, my mind’s eye can see the Royal Observatory on the green hilltop. And a sunny, summery day always seems to call Greenwich to mind.

I Heart Wakulla Springs State Park II

On our Saturday morning cruise, Luke kept backing up the boat so we could get a better look at some bird or snake. And his commentary was this truly unique, repetitive patter like nothing I’ve ever heard before. As we were approaching the dock, he sang us happy birthday. The wildlife we saw was incredible. I guess since the only boat traffic since the 30s has been the park boats, the wild creatures take the boats in stride. The number and variety of birds were incredible.

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