Roadside Picnic

I'm on a days-long vacation, as is my custom for some time around my birthday. Instead of being comfortably ensconced in my grandfather's old-but-ridiculously-comfortable recliner in my parents' living room, I'm in a comfortable bed in a hotel in Charleston, West Virginia. For, and stop me if you've heard this already, a funeral.

What I'm going to write isn't all that pleasant. I'm not here to honor the dead, or offer comfort to the immediate family. I'm here solely so shore up my father. The deceased is or was an aunt, and almost definitely the most broken and unpleasant person I've ever known. I've never seen her without at least one cigarette in hand, and often double-fisting the things, ash dropping into whatever lies below, her cognitive functions burned down by an industrial-grade cocktail of antipsychotic and antidepressant medications. To be honest, the only consistent emotion I've ever felt for this woman has been pity. Even as a child, and before I could put this into words, she never was anything I could call a complete person. She's always been, in my universe, this pear-shaped lump of flesh, watery-eyed and with a voice that was either a hoarse and entreating whisper or a demanding gravelly bellow in either setting existing only to call out for a drink or food or a cigarette, reeking of tobacco smoke and uncleanliness.

Upon arrival at the hotel, I was able to download the files that I'll be expanding and rewriting for the Spycraft 2.0 closeout book. There's a lot to review, and this work is going to be take up most of my time away from the office. This was the plan, by the way, and a huge part of my reason to spend my vacation time in a familiar-but-not-my-place environment. Once we get back to Liberty, tomorrow evening, I'll have the better part of four days to do nothing but work on this project. Dad's going to be on the road, and Mom will be at work for about 10 hours a day, and I'll have nothing to do but review the precursor work, peruse the notes and other material, and crank out wordcount. This is going to be good for me. Healthy

As my birthday is approaching, I took some time off from work and arranged to hit the road. By lucky coincidence and schedule-wrangling on her part, D was able to come along, and I think maybe she needed the vacation more than me.

We left Louisville Wednesday morning and wound our way to Chattanooga, for a stop at the Tennessee Aquarium. Several new exhibits since the last time I'd visited, such as a whole lotta jellyfish. I did not know that there was a species of jellies that lives upside-down, resting on the seafloor and getting its nutrients from symbiotic algae. It is a strange world we live in.

Weather started worsening on our way from Chattanooga to Tybee Island. We checked in to our hotel on around noon on Thursday and went exploring. Spent a few hours at Fort Pulaski National Monument. Beachcombing for shells that evening - very nice, but the storm front was coming in, and it was very cool. Earlier that day, we found a Starbuck's with stained-glass windows, and D was very taken with it.

We woke up to rain on Friday, but decided to roam around anyway. Visited the Eighth Air Force Museum, which had a terrific exhibit on WACS pilots. Dinner was at The Distillery in Savannah, where there were great sweet potato fries and we may or may not have split a deep-fried Moon Pie. Back to the hotel to watch the Winter Olympics opening ceremonies, where I made D promise to hit me in the face if I ever sport a neck beard like the Canadian Slam Poet unless I've spent a week camping or something.

The storm hit that night, and it was something to see. 3-4" of snow in Savannah, and quite a bit more to the north, but South Carolina can choke on it. Big waves crashing on the beach below our room, and the wind made for horizontal rain. Seriously, I go to the beach and snow comes along. Next time, a cruise, so I can make the ocean go away or something.

Saturday morning was more beachcombing, then heading for home. D bought a couple of large hermit crabs on our way off of the island, but my search for Tybee Island Bomb Squad stuff came up empty again. We detoured to Little Five Points when passing through Atlanta, stopping at The Vortex for a late lunch. The wings were very good, but I wish I'd followed D's lead and had a cheeseburger instead. We marveled at the fireworks-based economy along I-24 in Tennessee, and stopped for the night in Bowling Green.

More snow between Elizabethtown and Louisville. And I drove through plenty of it on my way back to Lexington. So, I'm home now, and something like 6" of snow is in the offing for the next 24 hours. Heck with it, though. I don't go back to the office until Wednesday, and tomorrow is, of course, the Imperial Holiday, so everyone, please, take the day off and celebrate. I'll be playing with ideas for a Traveller one-off and a few-months-long Blue Planet game.

The trip was good. I'm relaxed, the Element ran and rode very very well, and I had some terrific company. Next getaway is likely to be in April, for Conglomeration.

Up way too late, and not especially happy at the moment.  See, I've got Monday and Tuesday off from work - and on Friday afternoon, a sore throat started making its presence known.  I do not at all want to be sick on these days off, as I have plans to get away for a little while.

The D6 Star Wars game got off to a very good start, and next weekend, I may be joining a Saga Edition game.  This may accelerate the looming burnout, though.

Going to bed now.