MicroblogMondays: It’s Good to Get Away Despite the Bugs

After some crazy few days, this vacation feels very well deserved.  It seems like a perfect time to get away after major car trouble and broken hot water heater.  And I am grateful that we did arrange for a get away.  We are at a coast town right next to the Pacific Ocean.  We are always drawn to the ocean.  A majority of our road trips are along the coast.  The water just calms both of us down.  This is our first time coming to this town.  I in fact had never heard of it until some of our best friends came here last year.  When I called the hotel where they had stayed and found that there was still one room left for the days that we wanted, I jumped at the opportunity.  We have not been disappointed.  The room is nice with a king bed, nice decor, and a full kitchen.  The bathroom is on the smaller side but I knew that from reading the reviews and I didn’t mind it.

 

The room has a view of the ocean far far away. It is still a view nonetheless. It just gives you a sense of peace peeking out the window seeing the water in the midst of sunset.

The best kind of vacation is to be staying somewhere you can walk to shops and restaurants. We just parked the car and go everywhere on foot. To Bob, this is like heaven because he can have a drink without worrying about driving. We had some very yummy food.  Being unpregnant means time for wine and beer.

 

  
  

The experience that stands out the most was not the view or the food or any other attraction. It was being attacked and what felt like being eaten alive by gnats.  At breakfast yesterday, we chose a restaurant with great reviews. A table outdoor was available immediately. Since it was sunny and crisp outside, we didn’t mind the cold weather. We sat down and were ready to enjoy a nice breakfast. The longer we sat, the more uncomfortable we felt. These tiny little fly-like bugs were gathering around us. The more we waved them away, the more they came.  A wait staff person brought a bucket with s candle inside in order to fight off these gnats. They only increased in number. Moving to another table away from the flower pots didn’t help at all. The owner came by, apologized, and told us that only certain people attract gnats. We are apparently those people. We discovered that it was more Bob than me. When Bob walked away to stand in the parking lot, I noticed that the gnats weren’t as interested in me. All I could see was poor Bob taking off his jacket and sweatshirt and shaking them like crazy. His whole body including his head and all over his back was covered up with little gray dots. It was quite disgusting. He returned when the food arrived. More and more gnats were floating in our water glasses. It was just simply too hard to put food in your mouth when you are afraid of eating extra proteins from the bugs.  At that point, we just looked at each other and laughed hysterically.  What else can you do but to laugh? I am just glad that we still have a sense of humor about the situation.  We were at that point waiting for a table inside the restaurant.  If nothing turned up in the next couple of minutes, we were just going to pack up the food and go.  Fortunately, a table opened up.  We finally moved inside and ate in peace.  Even after we left the restaurant, we discovered that Bob was the magnet for these gnats.  As long as we were outdoors, we were attacked.  The owner of a hat store where we escaped into told us that the key is to walk briskly.  We took the advice and walked super fast.  Once we walked away from the water, the gnat situation improved tremendously.  We could walk peacefully in the sun.

We saw quite a few babies and little children on this trip. Despite being disappointed in our recent loss, Bob is as curious and drawn to the little ones as always. He doesn’t shy away from them or avoid them. He looks at them,  smiles, and wonders aloud if he will wear his baby or put him/her in the stroller in the future. I admire his resilience and hopefulness. It’s inspiring and encouraging to look to the future. 

This afternoon we will enjoy a massage for the both of us.  Hopefully this will be another highlight of our trip.  Despite the crazy gnat incident, we are still enjoying a very quiet, peaceful, calm, and relaxing vacation with each other.  Hopefully this will be our last end-of-the-year trip that we will be spending just by ourselves.  Next year, we hope to have to bring a little person along anywhere we go.