Getting back into a routine is going to be more difficult than I thought when I yanked myself out of it a week or so ago. I'll have to face my responsibilities to my job tomorrow, but for tonight I'm going to continue my vacation by slacking off for just a bit longer. It's going to take some time to get caught up with the things I try to keep up with, and I won't be getting much of a start just yet.

My back gave me no trouble after the first day or two, and I was able to do more than I anticipated. Travel entries will be up soon, and they'll be linked from the index page, and from current entries, and from messages to the notify list. I took 115 photographs, some of which will eventually find their way into these pages.

Everyone had a great time. We enjoyed each other's company and got reacquainted with the Iowa side of the family. Any fears I had that relationships might be strained were washed away almost from the start. I'm so happy we were able to spend these wonderful few days together.

I understand I missed some miserably hot weather here in the Bay Area. We couldn't have had better luck with weather almost everywhere we went, especially during the five days we were in Colorado.

News? The only outside news I know is the news that's been news in Colorado for the last week, and that's the forest fires, one of which was only a few miles away from where we stayed in Estes Park. In fact, we drove through the town of Drake last Monday morning, just hours before the Bobcat fire started in the mountains above.

As we were settling into our vacation home, we saw the pillar of smoke that got blacker and heavier as time went on. It didn't really affect any of the plans we had made, except that it gave us a conversation starter with the local people. I'm happy to see that things seem to be getting under control since we left.

This morning we left our last stop, a home in the California mountain town of Graeagle that we rented for the night. John took us on a tour of the area, where he's been working on a construction job for several weeks. He'll be away for most of the next couple of months, which made this week that he took to spend with us that much more precious. After we left him at his job site, Suzanne drove us the rest of the way home. We arrived back in Santa Rosa, weary and worn but with unforgettable memories, early this evening.

And now I'm faced with a task I've already proven that I'm unsuited for: unpacking. I have no choice, though, since I can't go to bed until I get things put away. That's the kind of incentive I'm going to need all week, if I hope to get everything done.