San Juan Family Trip / Pandemic Taking A Toll / Approaching 40
The big event this August was taking a trip to Washington state's San Juan islands north of Seattle with Nicole's family. For an entire week, we enjoyed specifically Orcas Island from the comfort of a beach rental with a fantastic view. The drive to get there involved a ferry trip (Which was a fun experience in and of itself) then an hour-long drive across the entire island to get to the rental. Overall, it was a blast and a wonderful opportunity to connect with people again after so long. Every day we were on the island, we did something: From hiking several parks to kayaking to even a day on the water with a tour group searching for orca whales. Unfortunately we didn't see any, but the journey alone and the time spent on the water going around the San Juans was a treat. The time went fast and it was full and before we knew it, it was already the end of the week and time to come home. Nicole has said she hasn't slept this good in a while and it makes me want to continue to take more trips. The only real downside was that we had to board Chip for the whole week and he was returned to us in tired, ragged shape. He's simply not really a dog that does well in boarding but we don't have a choice and the business did say he had a blast and thrived so fine whatever...
Part of the reason we don't have a choice in what we can do with Chip if we need a week is that we have fewer people than ever in our lives thanks entirely to the Coronavirus and resulting pandemic. After eighteen unrelenting months of the constant social distancing and everyone getting used to simply not going anywhere or visiting each other, it's really taken a toll on Nicole and me. People stop talking to each other even with the wonder that is the Internet. And after such a wonderful social trip with Nicole's family, it's more clear than ever how alone we are coming back to our lonely house in Oregon: My family is either too far away to visit or doesn't want a visit, my friends are afraid of close contact even though they're vaccinated, there are new restrictions being forced upon everyone all the time, and we're having trouble making new friends in this strange new city we live in. It's never fun to come home from any vacation but this one really sucks. No one wants to be together anymore (Even with pandemic precautions) and it's just depressing.
It's gotten us so down that we're questioning whether or not we made the best decision by buying this house when instead we could have joined some friends in Montana a year ago and made a go of it in the gorgeous wild wilderness. We want to end up there anyway so why not just do it while nothing really keeps us tied to Oregon? We've done some hard difficult soul-searching lately (As if we're not stressed out enough) and it's possible we'll be making strides in that direction relatively soon. Who knows; by the time I turn 41 a year from now, I could be writing that birthday journal entry from our new residence in Montana where have new friend groups and opportunities waiting for us. It's scary and could be the riskiest thing I've ever done in my life but as long as Nicole and I remain solid teammates and partners, we can do it.
Speaking of birthdays, it's only a few weeks away from my 40th birthday. The big four-ohh. This'll most likely be my last journal entry of my 30s as my next entry will most likely be all about turning 40. The trip to visit my brother in Ohio fell through (Another casualty of the Coronavirus) so we're thinking about options to still make it a memorable milestone birthday. Without being able to hang out with people, that'll be a tall order. Even though the Internet allows us all to connect virtually, we're getting tired of that and it's just not the same. So yea, apparently this--the last journal entry of my 30s--is kind of a downer and I'm complaining quite a bit about things that are outside of everyone's control, but I'm confident things will get better. I may not know what that "better" will look like, but it'll come.
Part of the reason we don't have a choice in what we can do with Chip if we need a week is that we have fewer people than ever in our lives thanks entirely to the Coronavirus and resulting pandemic. After eighteen unrelenting months of the constant social distancing and everyone getting used to simply not going anywhere or visiting each other, it's really taken a toll on Nicole and me. People stop talking to each other even with the wonder that is the Internet. And after such a wonderful social trip with Nicole's family, it's more clear than ever how alone we are coming back to our lonely house in Oregon: My family is either too far away to visit or doesn't want a visit, my friends are afraid of close contact even though they're vaccinated, there are new restrictions being forced upon everyone all the time, and we're having trouble making new friends in this strange new city we live in. It's never fun to come home from any vacation but this one really sucks. No one wants to be together anymore (Even with pandemic precautions) and it's just depressing.
It's gotten us so down that we're questioning whether or not we made the best decision by buying this house when instead we could have joined some friends in Montana a year ago and made a go of it in the gorgeous wild wilderness. We want to end up there anyway so why not just do it while nothing really keeps us tied to Oregon? We've done some hard difficult soul-searching lately (As if we're not stressed out enough) and it's possible we'll be making strides in that direction relatively soon. Who knows; by the time I turn 41 a year from now, I could be writing that birthday journal entry from our new residence in Montana where have new friend groups and opportunities waiting for us. It's scary and could be the riskiest thing I've ever done in my life but as long as Nicole and I remain solid teammates and partners, we can do it.
Speaking of birthdays, it's only a few weeks away from my 40th birthday. The big four-ohh. This'll most likely be my last journal entry of my 30s as my next entry will most likely be all about turning 40. The trip to visit my brother in Ohio fell through (Another casualty of the Coronavirus) so we're thinking about options to still make it a memorable milestone birthday. Without being able to hang out with people, that'll be a tall order. Even though the Internet allows us all to connect virtually, we're getting tired of that and it's just not the same. So yea, apparently this--the last journal entry of my 30s--is kind of a downer and I'm complaining quite a bit about things that are outside of everyone's control, but I'm confident things will get better. I may not know what that "better" will look like, but it'll come.