And, just like that, Summer vacation is over.

Now I need a vacation from my vacation...

...which is how you know it was a good vacation.

The third deepest lake in the USA is Lake Chelan, which is an hour from my home (the first is Crater Lake in Oregon, the second is The Great Salt Lake in Utah). Friends and I decided to spend part of our week hanging out at the local big deep.

The weather yesterday was perfect. Plenty of blue sky and sunshine, which means the lake was fairly calm and we could take a boat out to swim and soak up the sun...

Half-way up the 50-mile lake is 25 Mile Creek, where we stopped for ice cream...

It was a fantastic day and a fantastic trip on the lake.

But not all was perfect when we got back.

The condo room I rented inexplicably has a set of stairs immediately after walking in the door...

Now, keep in mind that from the perspective of the photo above, you can actually see the stairs. But if you are on the top of the stairs, you don't see the sides. From your perspective, you can barely see stairs exist and it looks much like this...

Which means that I charged right through the door, concentrating on not catching my bag and suitcase on the closing door, didn't see the stairs... and walked right off the edge, catching myself on the little sink there.

I wrenched by back pretty good, and spent two days of my vacation in pain.

I don't understand how this is even a legal construction. Don't stairs have to have guardrails to keep you from falling off? I'd think that the owners would want to have a railing of some kind for safety. Because even after I learned (the hard way) that the stairs are there, I was still running into them (particularly at night, because the bathroom is just past the sink.

Oh well. I had pills on me so I could push through and have a good vacation despite it all. That's probably the thing to focus on.

Some friends and I decided to do some floatin' on Saturday.

It was bordering on hot, but the water was cold, so it all balanced out in the end.

It seems strange how the water just gets lower and lower every year. Used to be you could float until August. Now it's almost too late to float in July...

Lower...

And lower. I was close to dragging ass at this point...

Duckies were out again this year...

Some with babies...

I didn't see any deer this year, but I did see a raccoon, which is more rare since they usually only come out at night. Guess he just wanted a drink and a quick dip to cool off...

And despite being warned, there were no bears again this year...

And that's my first and only float in 2025.

I honestly didn't think I would end up floating the river again today given all the work that's piled up... but I finally said "What the heck" and went along anyways. I am supposed to be on vacation, after all.

And the weather was just absurdly gorgeous.

Which has resulted in my getting some nice color on me so I don't look so much like a ghost. The only problem is that it makes my molten metal scars really, really noticeable...

But, hey, chicks dig scars, and I can say that I got them fighting a T-1000 Terminator! So I guess it’s all good?

Anyway... back on the river again, which I swear has dropped a foot from yesterday...

The deer was back. Or probably it was a different deer...

One of my favorite parts of stopping along the river for a break is running into people who bring their dogs along...

These little puppers were almost more lifejacket than dog!

And now? Time to collapse into a puddle of sunshine. Hope y'all are having a good Summer!

I was supposed to be out of a job, but then ended up not out of a job, so this week of vacation I had scheduled for myself has been weirdly un-vacation-like. I work in the mornings, then try to get together with friends in the afternoons to partake in all the big-time Summer Fun.

This afternoon was spent floating down the Icicle River into the Wenatchee River. It's a relaxing, lazy 3-1/4 mile journey with beautiful scenery and beer-soaked memories...

Now, as you might expect from something with "Icicle" in the name... the water is cold. As in COLD-COLD. It's all snow melt and since snow is cold the water is icy. Like an icicle. Hence the name. When you first flop down into your tube, there's a definite shock as your balls do their best to retreat into your body cavity for warmth. Fortunately, after a few minutes, you're completely numb and not feeling much of anything.

The sun beating down on you also helps... as I discovered later this evening...

Guess I didn't apply enough sun screen?

Oh well. It was a lovely float, and I even got to see deer and duckies!

Not a bad way to spend an afternoon. Except now I have to go back to work. ON VACATION.

I cannot seem to catch a break on this vacation thing. This morning a full city maintenance crew started working in front of my house AT SIX FORTY IN THE FUCKING A.M.! At the time I have no clue what in the hell they are doing, but it's so noisy that the cats wouldn't even come out to eat breakfast.

Why do I even bother taking a vacation if I can't sleep in and have to go to work all the time?

After me and my houseguest got up to start our day, we quickly figured out why The City was making so much noise so early in the morning.

The water was out.

Oh.

Yes, please feel free to make noise at any time of the day or night to restore water service. I am perfectly okay with that!

Especially since I had a doctor's appointment today. I spent yesterday afternoon in a pool and would prefer not to smell like chlorine, sweat, and laziness while I'm being examined by a doctor who deserves much better than that.

Lucky me, the water was restored in time for me to take a shower, wash some clothes, and get on with my life.

And now? A drive over the mountains so my real vacation can start...

Happy hump-day, everybody!

Yesterday morning I spent my vacation working.

Clearly I am doing my vacation all wrong and need to change things up.

So yesterday afternoon I spent my vacation drinking blueberry margaritas...

...then making an impulse decision to go floating down the river with friends again. It's just such a relaxing way to spend a lazy summer day...

The river is getting really low in spots, so I spent a good chunk of my time lifting my butt so I wasn't dragging on the riverbed...

It was a nice day, and ducks were out everywhere...

As the sun started falling, it got to be pretty shivery. Having your butt in cold water with cool breezes is fine when the sun is warming you... not so fine when it's not. By the time we made landfall, I was a popsicle.

And then my cold, dead heart was warmed watching a momma duck with her four babies...

The little ones move so fast they were almost impossible to photograph...

That poor mom had her wings full, I tell you. Two of her babies would go one way... two would go another way... then she'd have to run back and forth until she had them all corralled. It's a tough job. But she was up to the task.

That's pretty good vacationing, isn't it?

Which is why I didn't feel quite so bad that today I spent half the day working, then cut my hair, cleaned my house, and paid my bills.

I did go swimming in the late afternoon though, so I guess it's all good.

I just finished a big project at work that's been consuming my every waking moment for weeks. A part of me is anxious to move on and start on something new (heaven only knows there's enough to be done), but there's a part of me that wants so badly to do nothing at all. Just for a little while.

Good thing I'm on vacation for a week...

Maybe if I wasn't so exhausted I'd be motivated to do something, but I'm really just not.

Work has been killing me as of late, which means I don't have time for anything but working. Part of it is my fault... I volunteered for a project I really shouldn't have with all I've got going on... but blame doesn't much matter when deadlines are looming.

And so. Work. Nothing else.

Well... nothing except trying to get my year-end vacation arranged.

Last night I built the flight itinerary that gets me to Buenos Aires. It was such a long process with so many pro/con decisions to weigh that I ultimately left it so I could take a look with fresh eyes this morning. When I woke up, I was more confused than ever, so I decided to leave it until lunch. At noon I waded through it all again but still couldn't decide what I wanted to do. The plan was to take another look tonight after dinner, but the thought of looking at it again was filling me with dread. So while I was waiting for my computer to run a backup up this afternoon, I logged in, booked the flight as it was, and will just trust it will all work out. If not, I guess I'm stuck in South America for a while...

8,600 miles of flying. Which is not quite as bad as the 10,600 miles it took to get to Johannesburg on my last big vacation.

But, still... quite a lot of flying.

I have post-vacation depression.

Fortunately I go on another vacation in one week.

Happy Friday!