(the camera is still packed)

The drive home was a flavor of grueling only made tolerable with good company and audio books.

Stopping once to sit down and eat – the trip took exactly ten hours from door to door… and one tank of fuel. (insert plug for the Volkswagen TDI cars).

I headed straight to the bathtub to soak my right ass cheek which had gone numb from mashing the accelerator to keep us at a steady 80MPH. (insert gripe about how the cruise control went on the fritz and the occasional, odd electrical problems of Volkswagens).

Ex-urban fantasies about being held up in an isolated cabin in the mountains of Pennsylvania aside,… everyone agreed – it’s nice to be HOME.

Deprivation is the best route to appreciation – and at the risk of sounding corny and metaphoric, “the route” was a ten hour schlep down highway 70 which landed us in the driveway of our little home we’ve worked so very hard for… a sense of gratefulness I’ve not felt in a long time overcame me.

We agreed we should keep dreaming of the mountains – but as a second home if it should ever come to fruition.

It was great to spend time with Kevin and Chad’s families.

It was great to meet a couple of LJ-folk.

It was great to change our scenery for a while.

It’s great to be home.

It’s great to not blog.