It's not as if I don't enjoy them. I did, after all, take the preceding photos for myself as well as all y'all, and it's impossible not to feel pretty damn good when looking at some of the views you've been seeing here.
There were more, of course, but not as nice as those posted or perhaps somewhat repetitious...
Still, the fact remains that all is not as it may seem.
For starters, these trips are excruciatingly short. Montana lasted three days, some 11 hours of which were taken up by flights, sitting in airports, etc. Another 10 or so hours were consumed by "dead" time in the hotel, waiting for things to happen. Add sleep and you can see that time spent doing things was a smaller percentage of the total than it should/could have been.
In fact, all of the photos were taken within a 14-hour period.
The fact that I get there at all is precious, I admit. Even if the budget allowed me to zoom off to Whitefish Lake -- or other neat places I've been -- at will, it definitely would not accommodate the class of lodgings and other amenities I'm used to experiencing on these "business" excursions.
What grinds on me is that I want to revisit those places in a more leisurely manner. At least two -- this corner of Montana and Mallorca -- are places I could see myself living if the Lottery Fairy waved her wand over me.
Each breathtaking scene has behind it the subconscious knowledge that in a moment I will have to beat feet to the next scheduled stop. Some of my colleagues have become blasé about this stuff. I haven't, and won't. Not ever.
I'll say it's better to have seen them briefly than to have stayed home looking at other peoples' pictures and imagining what it would be like to experience them.
But I will also say that for a big kid who is eternally curious about people and the places they live in (or near), and who can be moved by the sight of mountains reflecting in a serene lake, these trips still border on torture in that single specific way.
There is another factor, a sense of semi-derangement brought on specifically by this last trip and someone I met at our lodgings. But I'm not going there; no need to announce publicly -- at least to the handful of people who read this -- that I'm even more of a wacked-out wimp than you think I am.
Overall, I'd rate this trip as a 9.2, very high considering I can only think of maybe three that approached the 10.0 score.
But the better the trip, the more frustration and unhappiness caused by the transitory nature of my visits....
13 comments:
You truly have mastered the act of the half empty glass. I cannot understand why women are not attracted to such unending negativity.
AmberOne -- I try to be honest about myself, and can't help it if the "negativity" is what you feel compelled to comment about.
If you want non-stop self-aggrandizement and false everything-is-wonderful stuff, there are literally millions of journals you will find more to your liking.
And I will say that a woman who is honest about herself, good and bad -- if and when I find one -- will wipe out much of the "negativity" I feel and write about these days.
Your journal is your place to write what you feel. You write about whatever you want. I'm glad your trip went pretty well, despite the shortness of it.
Gill
Thanks, Gill. I always hated it when Disneyland closed for the night, too....
Amen, Amen and Amen..this is your journal. You write about whatever you want to write about. I'm glad your trip went so well and love the pictures!
There's a price or down side to everything. Sometimes the true humanitarians say things... Fortunately flights did not get all snafu'd so you got as much time as you were going to there in a cool place. Resisting that blase thing some people affect is good. That house looks like it needs only my car parked out front. And maybe some other stuff going on inside.
This series of pictures was excellent--gave a nice feel for the location.
John -- if I was there for a week, it'd take me at least two weeks to post all the photos!
The old barn I showed yesterday was across the dirt road from this house. We could be neighbors!
I totally understand your desire to just stay awhile and soak it all in, while not being expected to work.
When was the last time you had an actual vacation anyway? Maybe it's time to do some planning...
If woofy sees these great barn pictues he will be heading out to Montana next.
I'd love to see Montana. Great pic!
Kathy -- heck, it's just down the road from you a piece, no?
Joan -- His 'naners would freeze!
You don't say?????
When I was growing up, EVERYONE took road trips to Montana but I didn't get the chance. Now I hate long drives, so I'll have to wait until I can fly down there.
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