Home on the Range

Charles and I talked for weeks about taking a “Staycation.”  Spend less money, sleep in our own comfortable bed, ignore the phone, pray for no emergencies at work or with the kids, catch up on household tasks, eat out every night – sounded  “de-lite-full.”  I can’t believe we actually pulled it off.

We began our great adventure the week leading up to Easter. We each had a goal for the week—Charles was going to write more of his life story in preparation for his book. Frieda’s plan was to clean out her clothes closet, store winter clothes, and bring in the spring/summer clothes from storage. We didn’t want to spend all our time just relaxing, as tempting as that was.

By the end of the week, Charles actually produced 8,500 words for Frieda to edit into his manuscript. Frieda loaded up three big boxes of clothes to donate to the local homeless shelter. We ended up with our pickup truck full of odds and ends to donate. I felt ten pounds lighter when all that stuff was gone.

All work and no play was out of the question, so we took one day to visit Gibbs Gardens near Ball Ground, GA.  The Gibbs family has landscaped over 200 acres with beautiful trees, flowering shrubs, ponds, and bridges. Thousands of daffodils dotted the hillsides, and the pinkish Japanese maples were just starting to bloom. It was a beautiful 80 degree day-perfect for strolling on the garden paths midst clouds of yellow pollen unique to Georgia and its pine trees.

Picking a different restaurant every night was the frosting on the vacation cake. We decided to explore the USA via our food choices. We started out the week with Huey Lueys for a taste of south of the border foods similar to what we could find in Texas. Next we went to California Dreamin for some fresh vegetables and a taste of Los Angeles.  Our next stop was to Boston for Irish food at O’Charleys (use your imagination please), then to Chicago for Italian food from the local Parkside Grill. We concluded our week by eating Memphis BBQ at our BBQ Cutie, and finished our imaginative tour of the US by consuming Southern fried chicken and biscuits at the Whistle Stop.

I didn’t want the week to end, but Charles was ready to go back to the office. Doctor and dental appointments and a trip to see the tax man demanded our time and attention. Our week practicing retirement put a new spring in our step. Another staycation in the future is definitely on our  
“to do” list.