I'm late getting started again this morning. My wife and I are sort of on vacation and we took the opportunity to "sleep in." Well, I did. We have a Golden Retriever who is about as predictable as any dog can be. She has her schedule and she doesn't want anyone messing around with it. It is real vacation time for my wife, but I think I'm on vacation all year long.
Four days a week, usually including Wednesday, her "mommy" needs to get up in the 4:30 range so she can get ready for her part time job. She's on vacation and even stayed up later Tuesday night thinking she could sleep in. We also get up early the other two days so I can go to my exercise routine at a physical therapy/gym place. We all take off Sundays and the pup even lets us sleep later, at least to six o'clock.
The Golden doesn't understand vacations so she believes her job is to get us up early. Besides, she's learned to have her breakfast at 5 AM. Yep! About 4:45 the dog began to fulfill what she believes is her job. So much for sleeping in during vacation week.
Speaking of vacation, we, all three of us, went for a ride Tuesday, our first just plain "ride" in a very long time. With gas prices edging back up, we decided that we deserved at least a couple of hours away from the house. All we had to do was hint at that word "ride" and the dog began to go foolish. She loves to be included when we leave the house.
It really was a nice time away but we sure did learn again what I think we've known for years. Summer isn't the best time of year to tackle Maine's roads. It is difficult to find a highway that isn't undergoing at least some form of construction activity. Of course we had no destination in mind and weren't on a time schedule, so those slowdowns and single lane passes didn't bother us too much.
Speaking of road construction, have you yet experienced a ride through Portland? Just about any ride through the city? For us Tuesday, it really wasn't difficult, just slow with the diverted traffic. I don't have to use it on a daily, or even a weekly basis, but I'm impressed with the smooth, slow movement of traffic on I-295 through Portland. (Our daughter would disagree. She commutes on that road and normally would use Exit 8.) Before the exit was closed to Interstate traffic, I frequently used Exit 8 onto Washington Avenue. I use that exit whenever I visit our daughter or my dentist.
Washington Avenue is also state route 26, a heavily travelled one for traffic heading toward Lewiston/Auburn. We weren't travelling in commuter time Tuesday, but I found getting off at 6B and following the detour signs was rather easy. The state might have found a better route than Ocean Avenue to head back to Rt. 26, though. I'm not sure which it would be. I do know the next time I need to go over that way, I'll try either Forest/Allen avenues or Baxter Boulevard.
This has been a rather productive vacation for us so far. We've had our driveway fixed and resealed. A couple of Grand Canyon cracks had developed. That, of course, might be a slight exaggeration, but for us they were pretty big. A paving guy came and dug them and surrounding areas out and repaved the voids. After that new tar had set, the sealcoating guy came and completed the improvement. For you wondering why I don't do it myself...my driveway is more than 300 feel long and I have a big parking area near the house. With my mobility issues, I wouldn't be around here long enough to complete the big project.
Last week, over the Fourth weekend specifically, we began enjoying the fruits of our vegetable gardens. And Friday of this week we'll get delivery of next winter's wood. Once we get that stacked, we will be able to say this was a very productive vacation couple of weeks even if we didn't get to take an annual trip. We have, however, already begun the process of planning one for next year, especially if prices improve then.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, part of our annual vacation period includes my wife's birthday. So on this Wednesday as I put these words down, I'd like to offer a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my bride of almost 50 years as she crossed into her next decade this morning.
And, lest I forget it, I believe later this month my FF (Fearless Friend) and Mrs. FF do reach that 50 year of marriage milestone. So an early Happy Anniversary goes out to them, too.
Gator
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