Thursday, August 10, 2017

Vacation and Domestication



I have been on vacation since August 4.  I spent Friday to Wednesday in the Berkshires.  I love western MA and I can feel a heavy blanket of stress lift once I get past the 84 split on the Mass Pike.  I stayed here. It isn't a fancy hotel but the location is absolute perfection!  Unfortunately, I came down with a head cold the days leading up to my vacation.

My big plans and to do spots were sacrificed to recovering from my cold and also cold rainy weather. I did score well shopping at the Lee outlets.  I checked out the Norman Rockwell Museum.  There is an Andy Warhol exhibit there too - which doesn't really make sense to me. I'm not a huge fan either. The only solidly nice day was Sunday which is when I tried to rent a pedal boat to go out on the lake. One person in a pedal boat does not really work because only one side of the boat is sitting fully in the water so I killed myself going ten feet due to inefficient pedaling. I tried to straddle both seats so the boat sat in the water better but it killed my back. Did I mention all this happened with a restaurant of people sitting in front of windows facing the lake? After thirty minutes, I gave up and headed back to the dock.  No one was around to help me tie the boat or de-board so of course I fell in the lake.  I was wearing a bathing suit under my clothes so no big deal.  The bigger deal was wrenching my right leg and banging up my arms and shins. I was amused, embarrassed, and sore. The next day I was at a stop light in Pittsfield when I decided to drive to New York on route 20.  I love having a strong sense of direction and an efficient Ford Focus. The drive was gorgeous and desolate.  My last full Berkshire day was all about Great Barrington.  I stopped by my favorite store. and then I was off to two hour spa treatments. It was all completely lovely.

This whole vacation was on my own and it struck me how socialized/domesticated I have become. I missed home three days in. That's what happens when you have a great living situation I guess! I texted my roommate regularly and even asked for cat pictures.  The toughest part was missing my bed. I have a memory foam/gel blend mattress and My Pillow at home. No hotel in my tax bracket can match that. Since I also watch a good share of Law & Order, I made sure I checked in with my brother and posted regularly on Facebook. I also got a little creeped out on my New York drive so I made a deal with myself that if I saw three creepy things in a row, I'd turn around. 1. Creepy bearded redneck with a broken down car on the side of the road. 2. Burnt out 1960s car half sticking out of the forest. 3. Crumbling house with siding curling off  Trump flag waving high.  Run away!  Run away!