The Best Part About Leaving...

Before I checked out of the hotel this morning I went for a run from the zombies and was outpaced by some guy wearing jeans who looked older than I was. And no, his legs weren't longer than mine. Clearly I am going to be zombie food when they break free.
Lunch at Dennys in Coalinga (aka, Coaling Station A): I talked to my waitress only once, when she asked if everything was okay halfway through the meal. The guy who seated me took my order and brought the food and silverware. I've noticed a pattern over the years -- the week between Christmas and New Year's is a little iffy at that restaurant. The often don't have half the menu, and the waitstaff seems to be hiding from the customers (probably because they don't have any food). And yet I still eat there because every time I've tried someplace else it's been worse. Maybe next year I'll just grab a big bag of chips at the gas station and call it good.

Anyhow, I made it back in pretty good time and the cats and the birds were happy to see me. The dog gets another two days at camp, but I'm sure she'll be happy to see me as well. She's pretty easy to please.

Here's one last picture for the year. Obviously I haven't quite fixed the whole lighting problem, but I promise there's a cat in this picture. And possibly a panda. I don't know.

Textures

I'm pretty style-deficient. The woman designing my remodel would definitely agree. So I find it interesting that all of these different textures and patterns can be successfully combined in one room. I wish that part of my brain worked better...

The Things She Carried

Vacation essentials in modern times...

Survival Gear

After three days around my family...

It Wasn't Me

I swear the step was like this before I got here. The cookies I ate had nothing to do with it...

Look Up!

Some random things near or on the ceiling in my room...

Sure, it looks like an electrical socket that they put a cover over... Maybe because they realized that it was three inches from the ceiling. Probably really convenient for the tall freaks people, but not ADA compliant.

And then there's this thing next to one of the sprinklers. How many smoke alarms have they installed and removed in this room?

Finally, we have the current smoke alarm.I know it's active not because I've set it off (yet), but because there's a bright green light that flashes twice about once every five seconds. Not really something you notice during the day, but if it's dark, like say... you're trying to sleep or something...

So there you have it. Random things on or near the ceiling. And for the record, trying to update the blog from an iPad is pretty annoying. So if all you get each day for the rest of the month is one picture with no text, you now know why.

Challenges

This is why it's so hard to pack...