Summer 2020: Days 75-80

The staycation is coming to an end. It's been mostly fun, somewhat adventurous, occasionally exhausting, and, of course, hot. Let's break it down day by day.

WEDNESDAY

This was supposed to be our big family adventure day, but it sort of fizzled. We drove to Brigham City, picked up Subway, then found a park to eat while Lori was on a phone call. Our decided plan was to drive through Logan Canyon and to Bear Lake, but a truck had driven into the river and the canyon was closed -- and there's no other direct way to get to Bear Lake from Logan. Instead, we headed to the Spiral Jetty near the Golden Spike National Historic Site.

We had visited the Spiral Jetty five years ago and enjoyed the spectacle of it. This time, the journey wasn't as memorable. The road to get to the Great Salt Lake was even worse than last time and required almost an hour in each direction. The sun was beating down on us, and Lori and Michael were ready to go back to the car after five minutes. Ben and I walked a couple hundred yards to the water but turned around. By the time we made it back to Golden Spike, it was already past 5, so Crystal Hot Springs was out of the question. We picked up In 'n' Out on the way home as our kind of anticlimactic adventure came to an end.

THURSDAY

A lazy day by the water is a great way to spend a vacation day. The water was the kiddie pool I bought, but it was perfect on a hot day. I ready my book and did logic puzzles while listening to baseball off the MLB At Bat app. I might pull out the pool again this weekend as temperatures near 100 again.

FRIDAY

We didn't do much for Ben on his birthday, so I let him pick a place to take a couple friends. Instead of going tubing or to an inflatable waterpark or even just a pool slides/diving, he chose Cowabunga Bay ... which he had been to in July.

He and his friends still had a blast, and I enjoyed the day, too. The park was mostly socially distanced, and there's no way to go into the main structure without getting soaked with chlorinated, cold water, so I wasn't concerned about the coronavirus. The kids mostly preferred the lazy river; my favorite thing was getting drenched by the giant buckets -- at least 10 times. But the water outside the lazy river was cold, and the park is always breezy; my extremities were a little frosty, and I was thoroughly exhausted when we left. 

We picked up In 'n' Out again for dinner. I watched the entire "Chernobyl" miniseries on DVD before it needed to go back the library -- it was really good.

SATURDAY

The first half of the day was mostly lazy, though I did go to a couple unproductive yard sales. In the afternoon, Michael, Ben and I went hunting for used video games, going to several stores. I found Super Return of the Jedi for the Super Nintendo and Wizard of Wor, Galaxian, and Commando Raid for the Atari 2600. Upon returning home, I grilled flank steak and Lori made delicious potatoes for dinner.

SUNDAY

I ran in the morning for the first time in more than a week, but I cut it short when the heat started beating down and the wireless headphones I was using conked out. The rest of the day was generally lazy. Popcorn got her staples removed, and I took her for a walk beyond our block in the evening. Lori and I went to Trader Joe's, and I later went to Walmart. For dinner, I attempted grilled watermelon burgers -- they weren't bad but I'm not sure if I'll make them again.

MONDAY

For the last day of staycation, I wanted to do something fun, and Ben agreed to golf. We went to Mick Riley, and he shot a 63 on the par 3 course and I shot a 41. He didn't do too badly -- he just needs to work on his short game, which killed him more than anything. I had one bad hole and lost my ball on a second; I should have shot a 36 rather than a 41 but was happy with the round.

Popcorn and I got out for a little longer walk as she starts to get her stamina back. I'm sitting on the front porch wrapping up this post and will go to bed soon.

The staycation has been great and much needed, though I'm disappointed I didn't write more. I think I was just tired; hopefully, I'm re-energized the next few weeks to write non-work stuff beyond this blog.

Every summer, I return from vacation sad that it ended but ready to re-attack work, establish some sort of routine, and get on with our crazy life that is the school year. Even though we didn't travel anyplace, I'm feeling the same way this year. The boys will be back in school next week (two days in the building, three days from home), and I'm thinking about writing and running and working and recreating. 

Plus, the summer isn't over, and my staycation bucket list is still in progress, despite vacation ending. There's plenty of time to make more memories.