Oregon, gone in a hurry

Why is it that getting out of town and having a great time makes you more tired than going to work?  Is it the force of the anticipation?  The intensity of family and friends (and all that wine?)  Or is it that we want it to last and last and it, the road trip, the party, the dinner, the conversation, is over in what seems like a day and a half.  Oh, yeah, it was just about a day and a half if you factor in the morning that was lost in a wine-hangover!

The drive up was great, left Santa Rosa at 5:00 am, went up 101 past Crescent City, took 199 over to Grants Pass and 5 up to Eugene.  I love leaving before sunrise, there is such mystery and promise in the dark, few cars on the road, no cops.  Light comes up quickly and by then you are almost in the Redwoods.  Beautiful.

Dinner on Friday where much red wine was consumed, a slow start to Saturday, the party with 200 pound pit-roasted pig on Saturday night.  Tons of sides, lots of excellent beer and even a bonfire, although I was on my air mattress on the patio, snoozing the night away by that time.  Very quiet Sunday, visited a couple of wineries, went to bed early, again outside on the deck.  We drove home down 5, which is fine until you get to Redding, then it gets boring.  We stopped in Redding to see the Sundial Bridge which is very cool and a good place to stop.  Took the turn-off near Clear Lake, came back through the Calistoga area, all in all a nice drive.

But honestly, this entire week has felt like I worked a double shift every day.  Maybe it is just that time of the year in the hospitality industry:  you have been working hard since May (4 long months) and you know that there are  almost three more months to go and just that realization is exhausting.  But then, after Thanksgiving, there are two weeks of vacation.  Vacation somewhere far, far away.

Now it's time to do research on plane tickets, hotels, trains, cities, foreign phrases.  Just realizing that fact is energizing!