One of my favourite things....

is going on Holiday.  Mine are usually a few days staying with a friend, but they are valuable and restful holidays none the less.  Just a change in routine is a good thing, and spending time with a dear friend is precious time, indeed.

This summer, though, James and I went to the States for six weeks.  That was both good and bad. 

The good was being "at home", introducing James to a vast number of relatives he never had any idea he had, and showing him many of the places that are very important to me.  My son, Kevin, joined us at daughter Stacy's home near Seattle for the first week and a half, then we all drove over the Cascade Mountains to Wenatchee to spend 3 weeks with my sister, Becky, in our childhood home on the ranch now owned by our brother, Greg and his wife. During this time, Becky and I travelled to Salem, Oregon, to see our sister, Joyce, and her family.

We had a Hampton family reunion in the barn our Grandfather built in the early 1920s, that our niece has renovated into a thriving Wedding and Conference centre.  80 people turned up with a banquet of homemade goodies for dinner.  It was overwhelming.  James looked around and asked in awe, "Are they ALL related to us?"  Well, they were, but I only knew a few of them.  Most were Grandchildren and Great-grandchildren of my many cousins, and, as I haven't been home for 9 years, I didn't know them, either. 
And that's only one side of my family.

The high-light of James' time on the ranch was getting to drive one of Greg's quad bikes. He was only restricted by the steeper parts of the mountain, but the restriction was from me, not Greg.  (Spoilsport Grandma!)

Kevin, James and I then spent the rest of our time at Stacy's.  It was lovely being together.  Again, James had some new and exciting experiences.  Stacy "let" him mow the lawn - twice!  He helped with hedge cutting, put together 3 large pieces of Ikea furniture, loaded Kevin's pickup bed and emptied it at the Recycle Station, absolutely hammered Kevin and Stacy on an Ice Hockey X-Box game until they wouldn't play any more.    All good times. 

Best of all, James discovered that one of his school friends was in Seattle the same day we were going into the city..  He and Alia spent a wonderful few hours at an inter-active museum for arts and music at the foot of the Space Needle while Stacy and I and Alia's Mum enjoyed ourselves, too, but at our speed, and with several breaks for tea to give our feet a rest.  Unfortunately Alia will be changing schools, so James will not see her at school when he returns.

So---that was the good, and it was great.  But---the bad.  The heat was very punishing; two days at 40 degrees, and many days at 30-35.  It made doing anything at all a chore.  And no, we didn't have airconditioning except in the cars.  Jet-Lag.  I always have it badly, and this time has seemed worse.  It wastes at least a week on both ends of the trip.

But the baddest of the bad:175 emails lurking in my In Box!!  Really, is it worth having a vacation/holiday at all? 

Well, yes.  And I am glad to be home.


With love, Linda