The Great Adventure

Our vacation is winding down. The first half was full of visiting family. We don’t make it to California all that often from Texas, and so we tried to see everyone we could in northern California and Oregon. It was good.

The second week was better. We hit Monterey last Sunday, and when we rolled into town, I felt like I had found my Valhalla. “This is the place I want to retire!” I told Shelly, and she promptly rolled her eyes. That feeling continued until I started looking at real estate prices. When one ad talks about mortgage payments of $8,800 a month, well, that’s what I call a reality check.

The week was filled with walks along the rocky shoreline, with and without fog, a whale watching tour where we saw and photographed about 20 humpback whales, an excursion through billionaireville 17-mile-drive Carmel, shopping, shopping and more shopping, kayaking with the sea otters and seals, sunning on the beach, a movie, and other stuff I’m probably forgetting. It’s one of those vacations you remember for years to come.

Today we’re headed for Sacramento. This evening, we have dinner with my college roommate Robert Peterson and his wife Kathryn. We’ll spend the rest of the weekend in Sacramento just chilling, then fly home Monday. Then it’s back to work. I have a book to finish, classes to prep for, a lawn that has turned into a jungle, and a pickup that has suddenly decided to stop running. But as the Bible says, “Don’t worry about tomorrow; tomorrow has enough worries of its own.”

Goodbye, Monterey. I wish I could pack you in my bag and take you with me.