My rainy day craft box

A little over a week ago, M. and I took our first ever vacation together. We did so by not leaving our city and by having people visit us. "Staycation" really is a deceptive word though, sort of implying that you're sitting at home doing nothing. Instead, we felt like we had traveled to a faraway place and come back pleasantly worn out.

I actually started the vacation a day early and finished it a day late by going to a pair of concerts. The first one was Fear Factory/Hate Eternal/Kobra and the Lotus and the second one was Suffocation/Exhumed/Jungle Rot/Rings of Saturn/Adimirion the concerts deserve their own post but for now I'll just say they were epic and amazing, even if they both took place at a Kansas City bar that I love to hate.

Our vacation centered around our friends Katrina and Jason coming from Oregon to stay with us for several days. During their stay we introduced them to our favorite forms of local cuisine, and took them to the "must see" sights of Kansas City: Union Station, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, City Market, and the Kansas City Zoo. These are places that we actually don't ever go to because we're too busy living here, so for us it was an exploration of our own home and a chance to view it through the eyes of friends.

Katrina and Jason have been our online friends for many years but this was the first chance for all of us to meet in person. We all got along with each other very well and it seemed really natural just having us all together. On Saturday we were joined by another out-of-town friend, Pearl from Oklahoma. It was our first time meeting her face-to-face as well and Pearl fit in seamlessly with our group. On Saturday night we threw a party which several other friends showed up for. Having bought tons of fresh produce at City Market, Katrina barbecued them along with a variety of meats, and we all had a good time eating, drinking, watching funny Youtube videos, and going on tours of our haunted basement. Pearl stayed the night with us and on Sunday the five of us hit the zoo.

I can never get over how vast the Kansas City Zoo is and we were all dog tired by the end of it. I got a pretty impressive sunburn on my balding head. Pearl left for home and we had planned on having other guests that evening, but one by one they bailed so we cancelled Sunday night's gathering. This turned out o be good because I laid down intending to take an hour's nap, only to pass out until 2am.

By Monday it was time for our friends to return home. We bid them farewell at the airport and M. and I came home where I grilled some more meat and veggies before heading off to that night's Suffocation concert. We both agreed at the end of our vacation that it had felt like we had gone away and come back, so many new and interesting things had happened. It was a great time and we can't wait to return the favor and visit our friends in Oregon.

The only bad part was that I got sick halfway through and have been sick ever since. The cold and sore throat didn't really slow me down during the vacation itself, but in the last few days it's developed into a vicious cough and persistent runny nose. Yuck. Needless to say, this hasn't made my reacclimating to work any easier. But I do feel better for the time away and am getting back to life with a renewed sense of motivation and purpose.

Vacation has ended. Arrived back home just a few hours ago. Drove from sunshine in the South to snow here at home. But still good to be here just the same.