Homer's Travels: 2009 Vacation - Epilogue And Lessons Learned

Friday, July 03, 2009

2009 Vacation - Epilogue And Lessons Learned

Our 2009 vacation turned out to be a mixed bag of good, bad, ordinary, extraordinary, cheesy, and cool. The first half, except for our day at Little Bighorn, was dominated by drizzly, gray, rainy days that, at least to me, sucked some of the excitement out of being on the road. What saved the vacation for me was Arches and Moab, UT. Arriving at Moab marked the return of sun, warmth, and new places to visit. Moab, for me, saved the vacation though the stuff we did and saw in western Nebraska comes in a close second.

So, my favorite stop was Moab and my favorite activity was the jet boat ride on the Colorado River. The boat ride was comfortable, relaxing, full of incredible vistas, and calmed me down. By far the most relaxed and most content I felt on the vacation. The Chocolate Mousse Pie we had in Moab helped quite a bit too.

My biggest disappointment was Yellowstone. Not sure what it is about that place. I've been there twice and both times, good weather and bad, crowded and not so much, the park has left me empty. Despite the incredible volcanic features, gorgeous waterfalls, and the wildlife, it left me weary and wanting. I wonder what it is.

So, lessons learned, there are several.
  • Until I figure out what I'm doing wrong, stay away from Yellowstone.
  • Having a laptop with us helped. We were able to look up information about where we were/were going and it was nice to get directions. It was nice to upload pictures on the road to see if they'd come out.
  • Having said this, having a laptop doesn't mean you should Blog. I was a lot more tired at the end of the day than I expected I'd be and adding the burden of blogging kind of stressed me out. I would have rather sit with the Wife and talk about the day instead of what actually happened - The Wife watched TV while I slaved over the lasted post.
  • Peru, ruined me. This vacation, a substitute for a Thai/Cambodia vacation we'd wanted to go on, seemed so ... pedestrian, mundane, bland. Oh, there were many things I liked about it and I really did enjoy myself but the idea of exotic Thailand was lurking in the back of my thoughts. Don't get me wrong, the Corn Palace was fascinating but it's no Angkor Wat.
  • I like driving - not really a lesson learned as I already knew this, but this vacation reaffirmed it. Driving through the green, rolling, sand hills of Nebraska was a treat.
I'm sure there were more lessons learned and quite a few that I should have learned but was clueless.

2 comments:

  1. Hmmm, strange is your reaction to Yellowstone, given the variety in the park. Maybe try it in early September, near the end of the summer season. Just a thought...

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  2. GH: The first time I went to Yellowstone was in mid September. There was more wildlife and the weather was cooperative. I still didn't like it for some reason. We just don't get along.

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