Unpack immediately and start laundry (well, my husband does that), grocery shopping, then rest. Get all the things done so the trip is over and we can focus on getting back into our routine the next day as easily as possible!
I try this too Kate, with varying degrees of success. Most of the time, I totally unpack, husband dumps dirty clothes on laundry room floor & goes to the grocery. But if an exhausting trip (Memphis to Oregon for a wedding weekend this year), I’m just trying to get in the bed!
I wash my hands like a surgeon. Unpack toiletries, and wash my face. I change into house clothes, and then collapse in my own bed, until the motion sickness, or a bout of vertigo subsides.
Turn on boiler (ours runs our hot water) and valve to outdoor spigots; clean cats' litter box even though the sitters did it some hours earlier; depending on the weather, fling open windows and turn on upstairs ceiling fans to get air circulating again. All done at a run.
(In the winter, the boiler must stay on and the outdoor spigots have been drained and shut.)
I am not looking forward to year-long Daylight Savings Time. Standard Time would be healthier. I remember those preternaturally dark winter mornings: lots of sleepy drivers. Lots of people young and old sagging at their desks and blinking.
In my New York City-centric way, I think this year-long DST is a cratering to the bicycle and outdoor eatery lobbies that have wrecked so many neighborhoods. People who actually go to work and earn their livings -- nah.
We tried full time DST in the Arab Oil Embargo years. Quit it after a year of so. The more north one lives, the better DST is, but the worse ST is.
I like adjusting the clocks - especially in the Spring, it is like the first robin - a harbinger of better weather to come. That satisfies after long, cold, dark winters.
I don't really care which is chosen--just leave the clock alone!
The way I see it, they've already pushed DST further and further into winter (March and November instead of October and April). Here in Iowa, mid-winter is dark when you leave in the morning and dark when you get home, regardless. So I don't have any issue with going to year-round DST.
Everyone keeps talking about the 1973-74 experiment, but no one mentioned that we had year-round DST (called War Time) during WWII.
I remember going to school in the dark in 1973-74, but the weird thing is that it seemed like that came about as a result of a sudden time change (which it didn't!) instead of just gradually getting darker. Of course, I was only 7 that winter, so what did I know? Perhaps I was influenced by adults talking about it, because I also got the impression (obviously false) that it was a two-hour shift in time, not just one (or, in reality, none at all).
Ditto. The wife does the laundry; I do the heavy lifting. Unpacked by bedtime and at least one load of dirty clothes done and put away.
Now the interesting part is what she used to do before the trip. For the first few decades of our marriage, she would obsessively sweep out the garage before any and every trip. Now she tries to do all the laundry before we go. The morning we leave – paper plates and disposable cups only.
I get it! She wants to come home to a completely clean and composed house. Which is 1 million times better than coming home to a mess. Then you are both cleaning up and coming home from a trip at the same time.
Yes, but why sweep the garage? I clean the garage twice per year. Might get swept a bit more if we’ve been storing bags of yard waste or grass falls out of the lawn mower. But not a priority before leaving for a trip.
Based on John’s comment, I thought maybe the more interesting question is what you do before you leave on a trip. It seems like most of us in this group are unpack of some version or another which given the composition of this group does not surprise me.
Are you a pack for days ahead of time or an hour before you leave person?
Generally I'm a "morning of the trip" packer, because otherwise I *will* forget things that I had to use overnight or that morning.
Rather than a list, I use packing categories. I have a case that my diabetes supplies live in all the time. And I have small bag for my toiletries, which contains a set of toiletries exclusively for vacations. Then there's the medicine bag, which is similarly already pre-stocked with supplies. I just do a quick evaluation of each bag to make sure it has everything I'll need in it for the duration of the trip. My weekly pillboxes get tucked into my toiletries bag once I've taken my morning pills, since morning and evening meds are part of my wake-up and bedtime routines.
I lay out all the clothes I'll need and roll them up. I stuff them into my rolling duffle bag with the toiletries bag, the diabetes case, and my tablet (which has its own designated pocket).
If we're planning on eating 'trip food' instead of stopping at restaurants, the non-perishable food will have been put in a box days before, and the perishable stuff added at the last minute.
Any paperwork I'll need goes in its own carry sack--usually packed at least the day before--along with a notebook and pen. I rarely take my laptop unless it's an extended trip, but if I do, I pack that at the last minute.
Mr. Celia is pickier about leaving the house clean than I am. As long as the sink isn't full of dishes (in which case I'll run a load that morning), I'm not going to worry about it. I just check to make sure the cats will have adequate food and water, and that their catbox is clean. I also make a point of leaving lights on strategically to make it look like the house is occupied.
DMAng and Jen , nice photo ( and my son is a Wolverine!). Curious if you live north or south etc of Lakeland as i live in Martin County ( in NE right now). Love to meet you both come fall.or winter.
Hey Clarity, I’m one county south of Martin —you know, where the airport got a new name. BTW, while I love the photo of DMang and Jen their shirts inflame my Wolverine eyes.
I'm in! I live in Broward, and would drive up in a heartbeat. Look at you, Clarity Seeker - wanting to meet JiPers up and down the East Coast.
GO BLUE! My ex-husband (amicable divorce/no children) played ice hockey for the University of Michigan. Ann Arbor was cold, but a beautiful college town in my opinion.
Now, now…we preplanned wearing our shirts to easily recognize each other for our meet up, not to anger any Big 10 haters. No need for blue vs. red acrimony here in JiP, since we get enough of that in the media. Red and blue together equals purple, right? Besides, how could anyone see Jen’s lovely smile and feel negative?
Indiana was underrated all year. So glad they beat Miami. We have several good friends here in FL from Indiana. They were ecstatic. I was happy for them.
Big ten rivalry is as American as it gets. I have many buckeye friends and we have a jolly time with the trash talk over beers. Now hopefully we can all agree that notre dame sucks 😉
Unwoke - I live in the way west City of Weston, in southwest Broward County. I am familiar with Boynton. My sister lives in Boynton. I'm sure your son lives way west. The east end is not desirable. Boynton (west), as the crow flies is approximately thirty miles north of Weston. Driving from Weston to Boynton is about forty-eight miles. Depending on traffic, I can get there in under an hour.
"Flakowitz" of Boynton is my favorite spot for a New York Jewish (not Kosher) style deli and bakery. They also serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Flakowitz has an old-school atmosphere, with an elderly clientele. It's a great spot if you're in the mood for that type of fare.
Nice, I’ve skied Snow Bird, Canyons and Park City in Utah. I really like skiing in Utah as well. People are always friendly, the snow is great, the mountain is a challenge and it’s very easy getting in and out of through the airport in Salt Lake City.
My favorite is between Vail (Colorado) and Big Sky (Montana). With respect to Vail, I spend all of my time in the back bowls and Blue Sky Basin out in the wilderness.
I think I skied at Alta once, when some college friends organized it. As I remember it, I was not impressed. I learned to ski at Sundance when I was about 11, and skied there for several winters thereafter, but I lost interest...not sure why. Perhaps the depression that started coming on in my mid-teens. Perhaps Wolfe's Sporting Goods stopped offering the ski school, which included a bus trip to and from Sundance every Saturday (although I'm sure my dad would have driven me up the canyon).
I think Vail is overrated personally. Big Sky kicks ass, big time. Haven't been in a while but they have sunk a ton of money into the last few years. Aspen with its four mountains is under rated IMO. But the altitude is really hard on many, you're up there. Thats a problem at a lot of Colorado ski areas.
Love the Bird too but the boarders can be real jerks sometimes. No boarders at Alta. 😁 Mineral Basin on a powder day is as good as it gets.
Alta is really an experts mountain. While they do have some green runs, the jump from beginner to intermediate is hard there. Most of Alta's best terrain is all gate access and many require hiking and/or climbing, but thats what sets Alta apart.
Jackson Hole is in my top three for sure. Same problem for beginners there as at Alta. Jackson Hole is responsible for two scope jobs on left knee. 😎
Makes sense to me based on your skill level. I never achieved “advanced” or “expert” level in the powder so that excluded me from a lot. I just didn’t ski enough because I lived on the east coast. That’s why I really like the back bowls at Vail, Blue Sky and Big Sky, because a good packed powder skier can do well there. I have a buddy who owns a house at the base of Big Sky, ski in ski out. What a blast.
It has been so long since we have taken a REAL vacation, and I cannot even remember what we did! Mostly just "stay-cations. We always had to take care of various animals and our daughter, so going anywhere was just a dream. But now, since our daughter is living back with us, and working remotely from home, plus our two chihuahuas died last year, we are free to spend a bit of time somewhere else for a change. Our daughter can care for our remaining cattle dog, so it only remains to plan something, ANYTHING, away for a change. A four-day trip is about all that I can handle, so maybe a trip to Helen, Georgia, a four-hour drive from home, is in the near future. My wife has been mooning over pictures of that Appalachian, German-influenced tourist trap, so that will be the target. The "WHEN" is the only issue.
We bought a small RV to move our cat across the country when we moved from CA to NC (really, for the cat - my husband is over-indulgent). Once here, the RV just kind ofsat there, through the last two years of the cat and my third run-in with cancer.
Then, we started to take it for little trips, during the pandemic. It gave us a freedom others didn’t have. I stopped complaining about the monthly payments we’ll be paying till death. For three years, we went somewhere every month, April to September - usually just three or four days - but we got to get to know the South East and visit all the Civil War sites.
Then, God said, “This catless state has got to change!” So, he sent Meowsolini, a little bundle of yellow fur and energy, tagging along with a family of raccoons.
He fills our lives, but he’s terrified of other people and we live up a dirt road, so a sitter ain’t gonna happen.
The RV mostly just waits.
Go when you can! Now! Before life gets in the way again!
We think we could train him to travel in a regular RV, where you park it with the AC on and use a towed vehicle to see the area. But the Travato doubles as a regular van, so we just unhook and go. Cat can't sit in the parking lot while we antique or wade through a museum.
First I kiss the ground (well not literally) and thank God I'm back in the USA Then definitely laundry. Especially summer vacations - nothing worse than a suitcase full of stinky clothes!
I saw that some phony Iman, Omar Suleiman, is celebrating the death of Senator Graham. So much for the "religion of peace." The sneakily leftist Wiki says he was born to "a family of Palestinian Muslims in New Orleans:" but conspicuously omits whether they were legal or not. Thank you, again, John Roberts, for endorsing an idiotic view of birthright citizenship. In any event, shouldn't it be patently clear that Islam is not a religion, but an anti-American terror cult, and that membership and fealty to its satanic tenets should disqualify anyone from attaining American citizenship?
I agree but that would be a tough sell as the definition of religion is quite expansive for 1st Amendment purposes. If Satanism and Scientology make it, so will Islam.
The first thing I do when I get back from a trip is unpack and CLEAN THE LITTER BOXES. A certain someone cannot get himself to do this, even though one of the litter boxes is in his man cave. Perhaps this is why the cat is practically hurling the door open to greet me. Help! I've been wading in my own waste matter for days! HELP!
I enjoy unpacking, especially if I've been gone for a while.
There is a certain feeling of getting home after a trip that I enjoy very much. Your post reminds me of the simple joy in my childhood of returning home in the back of the big blue station wagon on a cold winter night. The porch light on, along with the one lamp inside to make it appear as if someone was home. The family wading into the silent house and making it noisy again. Since I was just on a road trip to retrieve the old family photos / my mother's papers etc, I've been wading in sentiment.
UD- that is a beautiful obit! I feel as if I knew your mom! i would've totally related to her! What a rich, full life! It's obvious that her memory IS a blessing!!
It's terrific to see more pics of JIPers! So glad you were able to connect and share. These days I feel like stocking up at the grocery store is a major trip and I try hard to unpack as soon as I get home so I don't have to face it in the morning.
While the complicit and treasonous mainstream media seeks to downplay China's election interference and the complicity of the deep state, the documents posted on Whitehouse.gov are damning. How many people have taken the time to peruse them? Or do you trust the summaries of the lying MSM and Democrat pols who are in China's pocket? My own idiotic dolt of a Congressman, Jimmy Himes, sent out an e-mail claiming the Trump would say he won the 2020 election. Really, Jimmy? Nope he never said that. He just presented the facts, showing that China preferred its bought and sold member of the Biden crime syndicate to do its bidding. Just like they would prefer their allies in the DSA to govern and take over what remains of the DNC. How stupid are we?
I subscribe to Matt Taibbi just for this reason. He is a pit bull when it comes to reviewing document dumps and providing a fair assessment of the contents. He will even remind us of contradictory information spewed by the media or Party at the time of the alleged occurrence.
I dropped Matt after his split from Walter Kern. I still love Matt, but I felt he was always pussy footing around on issues that I'm just a bit more hard line on. i don't have the band width to read the soft soap!
I stopped subscribing to Racket News when things got weird over there. He went the same path as Bari Weiss--turning the operation over to Leftist kids (which may have been the reason for Walter's departure). Then he got bitchy about people complaining. I was done.
I dump everything out of my suitcases. Clothes are on the floor and toiletries are all over the bathroom counter. Don’t put anything away or in the laundry until the next day. If it’s daytime I will take my dog for a walk to unwind. At night we’re cuddling on the couch and I’m catching up on the tv shows that I like.
Well, it looks like Im just about ike everyone else, I get the suitcase emptied and put away, toiletries back where they belong and any goodies bought along the way put away. We're fortunate enough to have someone looking after our dog and cat, so we enjoy a lot of tail wagging and petting without having to clean out our automatic litter box (if you have a cat and don't have a self cleaning litter box I highly recommend getting one!)
I refused to have any but indoor/outdoor cats. At one time, we had four cats and two dogs. The cats kept the flower beds fertilized, none got run over, they were very happy cats and most pleasurable to us, each with fun-kinky natures, lived long lives. The dogs got walked, the run of a nearby park, run of the yard, no cages or fences. If you came to our door, they gave one sharp bark, and waited. Together, the animals knew their place and places, only the spaniel sneaking the cat's food, the lab had nothing to do with them. They all got boarded during vacations, survived it well, very few Vet calls, the dogs home-groomed, the cats spoke for themselves. We were a very happy group. Liberty ruled.
Our cats are also indoor/outdoor (although they get locked inside when we take a trip). All of us much prefer that. Although they still need litter boxes for the times when they need to go and the humans are not in a position to let them out. Still, less to clean when they habitually go outside if they can.
I’m an unpacker as well. Love seeing commenters meeting up! I made a friend in my small Sconnie town through The Dispatch comment section. She met me up in Madison one day during Covid and I said I’m from a small town nearby and she said so am I. Well, we happened to be from the same town! We meet and catch up a few times a year.
The air is finally breathable this morning along the shores of Lake Erie! Our senator, Bernie Moreno, let Canada know how displeased he was that they don’t give a rip about their southern neighbors. Not that his anger will do anything but I am happy to know I am not the only one irritated. I am off to do some wave-running and tubing with my husband and sons. The lake is “smooth as glass” this morning according to my 11 year old!
Unpack immediately and start laundry (well, my husband does that), grocery shopping, then rest. Get all the things done so the trip is over and we can focus on getting back into our routine the next day as easily as possible!
100%
I try this too Kate, with varying degrees of success. Most of the time, I totally unpack, husband dumps dirty clothes on laundry room floor & goes to the grocery. But if an exhausting trip (Memphis to Oregon for a wedding weekend this year), I’m just trying to get in the bed!
I get it, sometimes the laundry can wait until the next day - especially if you get back late from a trip. The laundry urgency is more my husband's. 🤣
I wash my hands like a surgeon. Unpack toiletries, and wash my face. I change into house clothes, and then collapse in my own bed, until the motion sickness, or a bout of vertigo subsides.
Precisely. Also:
Turn on boiler (ours runs our hot water) and valve to outdoor spigots; clean cats' litter box even though the sitters did it some hours earlier; depending on the weather, fling open windows and turn on upstairs ceiling fans to get air circulating again. All done at a run.
(In the winter, the boiler must stay on and the outdoor spigots have been drained and shut.)
I am not looking forward to year-long Daylight Savings Time. Standard Time would be healthier. I remember those preternaturally dark winter mornings: lots of sleepy drivers. Lots of people young and old sagging at their desks and blinking.
I agree with you about Daylight Savings Time B. I wish "they" would just leave time alone. Society would then adjust as needed.
I like the ritual of adjusting clocks. Oh, well.
I’m with you. I want standard time. I believe we tried this DST in the 70’s and it didn’t work out.
No, you're correct, it didn't work out at all.
In my New York City-centric way, I think this year-long DST is a cratering to the bicycle and outdoor eatery lobbies that have wrecked so many neighborhoods. People who actually go to work and earn their livings -- nah.
I agree. I don't know why those in power assume that DST is the way to go. Why not use our "squeaky-clean" voting system to ask the citizens?
💯 agree! Standard time only please!
Stupid people….oh, it’s better to have more light at night so we can eat later and shop more. Ugh.
That applies to an extremely small group of people and definitely more city dwellers than those of us in the rural areas.
Right. People who have year round nice weather. In the winter, I do not want to be outside, I want darkness and my jammies after work!
We tried full time DST in the Arab Oil Embargo years. Quit it after a year of so. The more north one lives, the better DST is, but the worse ST is.
I like adjusting the clocks - especially in the Spring, it is like the first robin - a harbinger of better weather to come. That satisfies after long, cold, dark winters.
I don't really care which is chosen--just leave the clock alone!
The way I see it, they've already pushed DST further and further into winter (March and November instead of October and April). Here in Iowa, mid-winter is dark when you leave in the morning and dark when you get home, regardless. So I don't have any issue with going to year-round DST.
Everyone keeps talking about the 1973-74 experiment, but no one mentioned that we had year-round DST (called War Time) during WWII.
I remember going to school in the dark in 1973-74, but the weird thing is that it seemed like that came about as a result of a sudden time change (which it didn't!) instead of just gradually getting darker. Of course, I was only 7 that winter, so what did I know? Perhaps I was influenced by adults talking about it, because I also got the impression (obviously false) that it was a two-hour shift in time, not just one (or, in reality, none at all).
Ditto. The wife does the laundry; I do the heavy lifting. Unpacked by bedtime and at least one load of dirty clothes done and put away.
Now the interesting part is what she used to do before the trip. For the first few decades of our marriage, she would obsessively sweep out the garage before any and every trip. Now she tries to do all the laundry before we go. The morning we leave – paper plates and disposable cups only.
I get it! She wants to come home to a completely clean and composed house. Which is 1 million times better than coming home to a mess. Then you are both cleaning up and coming home from a trip at the same time.
Yes, but why sweep the garage? I clean the garage twice per year. Might get swept a bit more if we’ve been storing bags of yard waste or grass falls out of the lawn mower. But not a priority before leaving for a trip.
Agreed! But we all have our own priorities!
O h yes, no dirty dishes in the house! Sweeping the garage is interesting psychologically.
Based on John’s comment, I thought maybe the more interesting question is what you do before you leave on a trip. It seems like most of us in this group are unpack of some version or another which given the composition of this group does not surprise me.
Are you a pack for days ahead of time or an hour before you leave person?
Do you make a list so nothing is forgotten?
Do you clean and if so, what and how much?
Generally I'm a "morning of the trip" packer, because otherwise I *will* forget things that I had to use overnight or that morning.
Rather than a list, I use packing categories. I have a case that my diabetes supplies live in all the time. And I have small bag for my toiletries, which contains a set of toiletries exclusively for vacations. Then there's the medicine bag, which is similarly already pre-stocked with supplies. I just do a quick evaluation of each bag to make sure it has everything I'll need in it for the duration of the trip. My weekly pillboxes get tucked into my toiletries bag once I've taken my morning pills, since morning and evening meds are part of my wake-up and bedtime routines.
I lay out all the clothes I'll need and roll them up. I stuff them into my rolling duffle bag with the toiletries bag, the diabetes case, and my tablet (which has its own designated pocket).
If we're planning on eating 'trip food' instead of stopping at restaurants, the non-perishable food will have been put in a box days before, and the perishable stuff added at the last minute.
Any paperwork I'll need goes in its own carry sack--usually packed at least the day before--along with a notebook and pen. I rarely take my laptop unless it's an extended trip, but if I do, I pack that at the last minute.
Mr. Celia is pickier about leaving the house clean than I am. As long as the sink isn't full of dishes (in which case I'll run a load that morning), I'm not going to worry about it. I just check to make sure the cats will have adequate food and water, and that their catbox is clean. I also make a point of leaving lights on strategically to make it look like the house is occupied.
DMAng and Jen , nice photo ( and my son is a Wolverine!). Curious if you live north or south etc of Lakeland as i live in Martin County ( in NE right now). Love to meet you both come fall.or winter.
Hey Clarity, I’m one county south of Martin —you know, where the airport got a new name. BTW, while I love the photo of DMang and Jen their shirts inflame my Wolverine eyes.
I will reach out when back in Florida. Pethaps there are others in the area between Miami and Port St lucie/Stuart. In the meantime GO BLUE
I'm in! I live in Broward, and would drive up in a heartbeat. Look at you, Clarity Seeker - wanting to meet JiPers up and down the East Coast.
GO BLUE! My ex-husband (amicable divorce/no children) played ice hockey for the University of Michigan. Ann Arbor was cold, but a beautiful college town in my opinion.
Ha ha.
Where in Broward. My son lives in Boynton way west. We visit him when we are in Daytona for the winter.
After I move to Florida, count me it.
I’ll keep you posted.
Target is before 1/1/2027.
As a Penn Stater, I was also offended by the Buckeye shirt.
Hear, hear!
We R!
Penn State !
Now, now…we preplanned wearing our shirts to easily recognize each other for our meet up, not to anger any Big 10 haters. No need for blue vs. red acrimony here in JiP, since we get enough of that in the media. Red and blue together equals purple, right? Besides, how could anyone see Jen’s lovely smile and feel negative?
The shirt was attached to a human ?
Just kidding. Sure, I get it. I’m just having a little fun. I’m certain my friends from Michigan are laughing too. But Ohio State ? Come on man.
Malarkey!
Those blue people sure do get their hackles up!
I most definitely wore my script Ohio to agitate the losers of the Big 10! Hahaha...success!
Lunch was fun. I see that Clarity Seeker's way over on the east coast...
😂
I would have proudly worn my Ohio State shirt as well.
It was nice to see Indiana win it this past year.
It was fun to watch.
Indiana was underrated all year. So glad they beat Miami. We have several good friends here in FL from Indiana. They were ecstatic. I was happy for them.
Ohio was how we recognized each other.
Not everyone can be The Ohio State, but with enough time and practice...and money...maybe one day it'll happen for y'all. 😀
Here in Tampa they cheer for the Bucs, too. Having moved from OH-IO, I thought that was nice.
My favorite marching band performance is Script Ohio.
Big ten rivalry is as American as it gets. I have many buckeye friends and we have a jolly time with the trash talk over beers. Now hopefully we can all agree that notre dame sucks 😉
ND, the only team not good enough to join a conference 😬.
Such arrogance, OMG.
Oh come on people. Give Ohio a break!
OH is right BD!
Unwoke - I live in the way west City of Weston, in southwest Broward County. I am familiar with Boynton. My sister lives in Boynton. I'm sure your son lives way west. The east end is not desirable. Boynton (west), as the crow flies is approximately thirty miles north of Weston. Driving from Weston to Boynton is about forty-eight miles. Depending on traffic, I can get there in under an hour.
"Flakowitz" of Boynton is my favorite spot for a New York Jewish (not Kosher) style deli and bakery. They also serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Flakowitz has an old-school atmosphere, with an elderly clientele. It's a great spot if you're in the mood for that type of fare.
Still haven't unpacked 100% from ski trip taken in March. Bag sits at the top of the stairs open and daring me every day to put stuff away! 😂 NEVER!
Where did you ski ?
Alta in Utah. One of my absolute favorite places to ski.
Nice, I’ve skied Snow Bird, Canyons and Park City in Utah. I really like skiing in Utah as well. People are always friendly, the snow is great, the mountain is a challenge and it’s very easy getting in and out of through the airport in Salt Lake City.
My favorite is between Vail (Colorado) and Big Sky (Montana). With respect to Vail, I spend all of my time in the back bowls and Blue Sky Basin out in the wilderness.
I think I skied at Alta once, when some college friends organized it. As I remember it, I was not impressed. I learned to ski at Sundance when I was about 11, and skied there for several winters thereafter, but I lost interest...not sure why. Perhaps the depression that started coming on in my mid-teens. Perhaps Wolfe's Sporting Goods stopped offering the ski school, which included a bus trip to and from Sundance every Saturday (although I'm sure my dad would have driven me up the canyon).
I would have thought skiing would good for depression.
Flying down the mountain with the wind in your face.
I can’t ski anymore because of nerve damage in my feet from neuropathy.
I really enjoyed it for most of my adult life.
A fucking blast.
Amazing fun.
My favorite.
With depression, it’s a question of what you can motivate yourself to do, not the benefit you gain when you actually do it. Alas.
Back bowls and Blue Sky Basin - quite impressive!
OMG, it’s heaven on earth back there.
I think Vail is overrated personally. Big Sky kicks ass, big time. Haven't been in a while but they have sunk a ton of money into the last few years. Aspen with its four mountains is under rated IMO. But the altitude is really hard on many, you're up there. Thats a problem at a lot of Colorado ski areas.
Love the Bird too but the boarders can be real jerks sometimes. No boarders at Alta. 😁 Mineral Basin on a powder day is as good as it gets.
Alta is really an experts mountain. While they do have some green runs, the jump from beginner to intermediate is hard there. Most of Alta's best terrain is all gate access and many require hiking and/or climbing, but thats what sets Alta apart.
Jackson Hole is in my top three for sure. Same problem for beginners there as at Alta. Jackson Hole is responsible for two scope jobs on left knee. 😎
I just love the vibe at Alta.
1. Alta
2. JH
3. Snowbird
IMHO
Makes sense to me based on your skill level. I never achieved “advanced” or “expert” level in the powder so that excluded me from a lot. I just didn’t ski enough because I lived on the east coast. That’s why I really like the back bowls at Vail, Blue Sky and Big Sky, because a good packed powder skier can do well there. I have a buddy who owns a house at the base of Big Sky, ski in ski out. What a blast.
It has been so long since we have taken a REAL vacation, and I cannot even remember what we did! Mostly just "stay-cations. We always had to take care of various animals and our daughter, so going anywhere was just a dream. But now, since our daughter is living back with us, and working remotely from home, plus our two chihuahuas died last year, we are free to spend a bit of time somewhere else for a change. Our daughter can care for our remaining cattle dog, so it only remains to plan something, ANYTHING, away for a change. A four-day trip is about all that I can handle, so maybe a trip to Helen, Georgia, a four-hour drive from home, is in the near future. My wife has been mooning over pictures of that Appalachian, German-influenced tourist trap, so that will be the target. The "WHEN" is the only issue.
We bought a small RV to move our cat across the country when we moved from CA to NC (really, for the cat - my husband is over-indulgent). Once here, the RV just kind ofsat there, through the last two years of the cat and my third run-in with cancer.
Then, we started to take it for little trips, during the pandemic. It gave us a freedom others didn’t have. I stopped complaining about the monthly payments we’ll be paying till death. For three years, we went somewhere every month, April to September - usually just three or four days - but we got to get to know the South East and visit all the Civil War sites.
Then, God said, “This catless state has got to change!” So, he sent Meowsolini, a little bundle of yellow fur and energy, tagging along with a family of raccoons.
He fills our lives, but he’s terrified of other people and we live up a dirt road, so a sitter ain’t gonna happen.
The RV mostly just waits.
Go when you can! Now! Before life gets in the way again!
Can’t the cat go with you in the RV?
We think we could train him to travel in a regular RV, where you park it with the AC on and use a towed vehicle to see the area. But the Travato doubles as a regular van, so we just unhook and go. Cat can't sit in the parking lot while we antique or wade through a museum.
I've heard Helen, GA is absolutely lovely, in an old-fashioned European way.
First I kiss the ground (well not literally) and thank God I'm back in the USA Then definitely laundry. Especially summer vacations - nothing worse than a suitcase full of stinky clothes!
I saw that some phony Iman, Omar Suleiman, is celebrating the death of Senator Graham. So much for the "religion of peace." The sneakily leftist Wiki says he was born to "a family of Palestinian Muslims in New Orleans:" but conspicuously omits whether they were legal or not. Thank you, again, John Roberts, for endorsing an idiotic view of birthright citizenship. In any event, shouldn't it be patently clear that Islam is not a religion, but an anti-American terror cult, and that membership and fealty to its satanic tenets should disqualify anyone from attaining American citizenship?
Alternately, if it were argued successfully, that Islam is not a religion, most of the protections in the law dry up.
I agree but that would be a tough sell as the definition of religion is quite expansive for 1st Amendment purposes. If Satanism and Scientology make it, so will Islam.
Good to know Ken, thank you Counselor.
Nice to see some faces to go with some names!
The first thing I do when I get back from a trip is unpack and CLEAN THE LITTER BOXES. A certain someone cannot get himself to do this, even though one of the litter boxes is in his man cave. Perhaps this is why the cat is practically hurling the door open to greet me. Help! I've been wading in my own waste matter for days! HELP!
I enjoy unpacking, especially if I've been gone for a while.
There is a certain feeling of getting home after a trip that I enjoy very much. Your post reminds me of the simple joy in my childhood of returning home in the back of the big blue station wagon on a cold winter night. The porch light on, along with the one lamp inside to make it appear as if someone was home. The family wading into the silent house and making it noisy again. Since I was just on a road trip to retrieve the old family photos / my mother's papers etc, I've been wading in sentiment.
I wrote my mother's obituary the other night: https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/chicago-il/lenore-lev-12959820?fbclid=IwY2xjawTIQcFleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFMRkJjcjJ4a2gwQkFQUm00c3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHrGmUcvLA5qLBN_UgPREgJRAOs8XIX6lK1rSRghVlWLKLo4hvygNBmgkKdsK_aem_MaCUZxSRKi8CVxadBDUIew
Lovely obit Dog L. A very full life indeed.
Beautiful, Dog.
Thank you for sharing this loving and lovely glimpse of your mother with us, Under Dog L. God bless her and you.
That was a beautiful remembrance of your mother.
Nice 😊
Very nice obit, well done, like the life.
UD- that is a beautiful obit! I feel as if I knew your mom! i would've totally related to her! What a rich, full life! It's obvious that her memory IS a blessing!!
That is beautiful!
Beautiful woman! There is not much I can add.
Great obituary. She sounds very creative and with the gumption to enter an entire career field as a law librarian in mid life. My condolences 💐
❤️
It sounds like she made a great life for herself and made good use of that high IQ. May her memory be a blessing.
It's terrific to see more pics of JIPers! So glad you were able to connect and share. These days I feel like stocking up at the grocery store is a major trip and I try hard to unpack as soon as I get home so I don't have to face it in the morning.
While the complicit and treasonous mainstream media seeks to downplay China's election interference and the complicity of the deep state, the documents posted on Whitehouse.gov are damning. How many people have taken the time to peruse them? Or do you trust the summaries of the lying MSM and Democrat pols who are in China's pocket? My own idiotic dolt of a Congressman, Jimmy Himes, sent out an e-mail claiming the Trump would say he won the 2020 election. Really, Jimmy? Nope he never said that. He just presented the facts, showing that China preferred its bought and sold member of the Biden crime syndicate to do its bidding. Just like they would prefer their allies in the DSA to govern and take over what remains of the DNC. How stupid are we?
I subscribe to Matt Taibbi just for this reason. He is a pit bull when it comes to reviewing document dumps and providing a fair assessment of the contents. He will even remind us of contradictory information spewed by the media or Party at the time of the alleged occurrence.
I dropped Matt after his split from Walter Kern. I still love Matt, but I felt he was always pussy footing around on issues that I'm just a bit more hard line on. i don't have the band width to read the soft soap!
Good observation.
I’ve got too many subscriptions and am cutting back some.
I just can’t read everything.
so much to read- so little time to do it in!
Exactly, and I scroll X everyday for up to the minute news on points of interest. X is really good for this aspect of what interests me.
I stopped subscribing to Racket News when things got weird over there. He went the same path as Bari Weiss--turning the operation over to Leftist kids (which may have been the reason for Walter's departure). Then he got bitchy about people complaining. I was done.
I agree.
When the host gets Bitchy (like calling you immature)....... it's time to go.
So true! I tried cutting the youngsters some slack, but I gave up!
I really miss Walter.
Yup
METOO!!!
Taibbi makes no apologies for his left leanings but much like Glenn Greenwald, he’s a ferocious opponent of censorship which I appreciate
I dump everything out of my suitcases. Clothes are on the floor and toiletries are all over the bathroom counter. Don’t put anything away or in the laundry until the next day. If it’s daytime I will take my dog for a walk to unwind. At night we’re cuddling on the couch and I’m catching up on the tv shows that I like.
Nice pic! Glad you two could meet and it's so fun to put faces to names.
Well, it looks like Im just about ike everyone else, I get the suitcase emptied and put away, toiletries back where they belong and any goodies bought along the way put away. We're fortunate enough to have someone looking after our dog and cat, so we enjoy a lot of tail wagging and petting without having to clean out our automatic litter box (if you have a cat and don't have a self cleaning litter box I highly recommend getting one!)
I refused to have any but indoor/outdoor cats. At one time, we had four cats and two dogs. The cats kept the flower beds fertilized, none got run over, they were very happy cats and most pleasurable to us, each with fun-kinky natures, lived long lives. The dogs got walked, the run of a nearby park, run of the yard, no cages or fences. If you came to our door, they gave one sharp bark, and waited. Together, the animals knew their place and places, only the spaniel sneaking the cat's food, the lab had nothing to do with them. They all got boarded during vacations, survived it well, very few Vet calls, the dogs home-groomed, the cats spoke for themselves. We were a very happy group. Liberty ruled.
Way to go Michael! I'm w/ you on the indoor/outdoor cats! I have 3. They prefer going in the great outdoors!
Our cats are also indoor/outdoor (although they get locked inside when we take a trip). All of us much prefer that. Although they still need litter boxes for the times when they need to go and the humans are not in a position to let them out. Still, less to clean when they habitually go outside if they can.
Ya gotta love our little feline cohabitants!
Unpack, open the mail, eat, relax.
Nice pic, not so happy about the Buckeye thing, but ok.
1. Dump the suitcases in the hall for the next week or so
2. Take the AC off eco and attempt to cool this furnace-like dwelling
3. Retrieve a very disgruntled cat from my neighbor, ensuring litter box, food bowl, automated drinking fountain and treat dispenser are in order
4. Run to 7/11 for milk and eggs
5. Light up a couple of mosquito coils on the deck
6. Kick back with a Fuente Hemingway and crank up some 50’s doo wop
7. Thank the Almighty for the blessed life we lead
I’m an unpacker as well. Love seeing commenters meeting up! I made a friend in my small Sconnie town through The Dispatch comment section. She met me up in Madison one day during Covid and I said I’m from a small town nearby and she said so am I. Well, we happened to be from the same town! We meet and catch up a few times a year.
Love The Ohio State University shirts!!!
The air is finally breathable this morning along the shores of Lake Erie! Our senator, Bernie Moreno, let Canada know how displeased he was that they don’t give a rip about their southern neighbors. Not that his anger will do anything but I am happy to know I am not the only one irritated. I am off to do some wave-running and tubing with my husband and sons. The lake is “smooth as glass” this morning according to my 11 year old!
Have a great Saturday!