One week until departure, as time flies by. We’ll be in Portland for five days before ship embarkment from Vancouver and then North to Alaska. In the meantime, we’ve started the outdoor kitchen project and I’ve set-up lunches with a few of my neighbors. I was also back to my routine 3.1 mile run this morning, feeling the strain of day 5,001. Soon, I’ll be with my chiropractor for a weekly adjustment and back in front of the TV for more Sons of Anarchy or House of the Dragon.

I really lead a very boring life with the exception of these bursts of travel. Weeks away from home make me long for the comfort of my office chair, as I feel the exhaustion of life outside the routine. Although our pup Tally seems to enjoy her time at Schnauzerville, she also misses my chair. This will be the longest we’ve ever been away from her and her longest stint from home. Taking her out is the first and last duty I have every day. Our only other interaction seems to be the constant struggle for possession of the chair. 

Lunch tomorrow is with a guy that I see most every day during the course of my run. He has two dogs, Snoopy and Duke, and I learned his name at last year’s Tomahawk 5k. He’s not a regular runner but decided to do the race last year, and has signed up again this year. I will miss it because of our trip to Kauai. He sent me a note last week that he was returning home, after I wondered why we hadn’t crossed paths recently. I’ll find out more when we see each other at the Tiki Hut tomorrow noon. 

I need to find a project for my grandson and I to do on Saturday. It will be blazing hot for golf but that seems to be his only interest outside of computer games and apps. We sadly have little in common so it’s always a challenge to keep him entertained. I have to try harder to get to know him because he’s already 15 and time flies by!