Vacation Plans

I asked Jeremy today what he wanted for his birthday.

"Sleep," he replied.

He's been working crazy hours for the last few weeks trying to get everything ready for deployment, and I think it's finally catching up with him. I'm probably not quite as burnt out as he is, but I'm nearly there. This is why I'm so incredibly excited about the vacation we've got coming up in May. My wonderful, wonderful parents are flying up from Texas and watching the little guy for us so we can escape on one last romantic getaway before Jer has to leave.

We booked our reservations yesterday for a B&B in Astoria, Oregon. Astoria is a sleepy little town down on the coast that has a few claims to fame. Lewis and Clarke built a fort and overwintered there in 1805, and apparently thought the area terribly wet and overrun with fleas. Other attractions include the Astoria Column (modeled after the Trajan column but with scenes of various moments in Oregon history) the annual Fisher Poets Gathering (it's a gathering of, well, fishing poets), and the Victorian homes. There are over a hundred of these homes in a town of about ten thousand people, and almost all of them seem to be converted into B&Bs. The entire town has a population of 10,000 people, and a quick Internet search brought up sixteen bed and breakfasts and six hotels in the immediate area for us to choose from. Can you guess what the main industry in Astoria is?

We picked The Rose River Inn, for the combination of reasonable prices, good location, attractive rooms, and best of all, the giant claw-foot soaking tub, which I plan to spend at least three hours becoming intimately acquainted with.

In the past, going on vacation meant going somewhere exciting and doing something new and thrilling. We've hiked into the desert and into rain forest, gone snorkeling, rock climbing, swimming with sharks... the types of vacations where you are happy to return to civilization. Well, not this time.

So what exactly are we planning to do in Astoria? Nothing, that's what. Hiking? Maybe we'll drive around town. Swimming? Only in the claw-foot tub. The only definite plans we've made are booking a couples' massage. Otherwise, we plan to maybe take a leisurely stroll around the block, watch a movie or two in our room, and catch up on sleep. Lots and lots of sleep.

I'm sure we'll eventually get back to the point where we want vacations that involve hiring llamas and setting up tents in the rain, but it probably won't be until life has slowed down a lot. I mean, the whole point of a vacation is getting away from your typical life and enjoying a change, right? Right now life is insane, and my idea of an ideal vacation has morphed into letting someone else clean up after me while I lounge around in a bathrobe with no makeup on, eating chocolate truffles directly out of the box and reading a trashy book.

Bliss. I can't wait.

~Jess