Two weeks ago I had my busiest, most stressful week of the year. Last week I had my most laid-back and relaxing one. Together, they balanced out to an average two-week period that I need to get you caught up on. Time is a factor as I write this, so forgive me if it gets a little sloppy.
The cause of my stress was, of course, my job. I was expecting a busy week, but I never saw the extent of the overtime hours and flat out mental exertion coming. At 5:30 on Monday evening, my boss gave me a week's worth of work to do... and he needed it done that night. Well, getting it done that night was impossible, but I did finish by Wednesday evening after working on it for pretty much two days straight, taking breaks only for dinner, commuting, and a few hours of sleep. I was telling myself I would take it easy for the rest of the week, but Thursday and Friday were frantic, full days of work as well.
Needless to say I needed a vacation. It started out strong with a four-course dinner at the grand opening of a Wilmington restaurant called The Exchange. We met some friends from Out & About magazine there and had a great meal of gazpacho, salad, steak (salmon for R), and a French toast dessert. I had a beer with the first course and a glass of wine specially paired with each of the others. What a way to end a tough week. I recommend the place.
We got home late that night, packed for our trip, and slept for three hours before catching a flight out of Philly. We were in Duluth by early afternoon. My parents picked us up and took us to their place on the Range. That night we attended my 10-year high school reunion. I enjoyed seeing my old classmates again, some of whom I hadn't seen in the full 10 years. It was as interesting as expected, but I was more than happy to leave at the end of the night. We went back to my parents' and crashed into bed like a train off the tracks.
The next day we ate a turkey dinner with my grandparents and also stopped by my cousin's house to see his and his wife's new baby. That night and the next day we hung out with my parents and ate some more -- my parents' famous South Americans, dinner at the Wandering Pines, fresh walleye prepared by my talented mom, and various other snacks and desserts. The weather was poor, but we still managed to play some ladder ball, go for a pontoon boat ride, and soak in the hot tub. The relaxing had begun.
On Monday night we headed west for my father-in-law's house, where we woke up on all three mornings to massive breakfasts. There was also a wild rice meatloaf dinner comsumed at Itasca State Park's Douglas Lodge that was quite memorable. It was a good visit. I was able to relive my youth with my cool 11-year-old brother-in-law by taking the Super Mario World by storm. The two of us also took a spin on a carnival ride called The Orbiter on the night of the 4th that had me hanging on tighter than I like to admit. The rides were set up in Bemidji, the town we visited to see some fireworks. Our time with R's pop, bro, and sis also included a mosquito-y hike to a fire tower, an afternoon at the beach, and many fierce games of croquet.
The third leg of our trip was spent at R's mom and step dad's house. By this time in the week, the weather was perfect, and we made use of it on the lake, swimming and sailing. The eating continued as well -- think shrimp, grilled steaks, good beer, and tons of summery finger food. We made a trip down to Sartell to visit R's grandparents (and eat a pizza) and also spent an afternoon back on the lake with R's extended family. Good times and good people.
We spent our last night in Duluth catching up with my older brother and his wife. He was nice enough to wake up at 3:30 on Sunday morning to drive us to the airport. The return trip was pleasantly uneventful. It felt really good to get back here early enough on Sunday to do the laundry, buy groceries, and even take an afternoon nap before beginning another busy week.
Recurring themes of the vacation: food, relaxation, and family (like, but not quite like, the loons above). Thanks to all of our accomodating hosts!
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