va-cay.

I had a week of vacation and it was good. Kind of like what these guys think of the grass – good.

The main event was a few days in Colorado with my mother, visiting my older brother who recently moved to Fort Collins. This mini-break was sandwiched between nights in the Cities with college friends and Stillwater friends. Wonderful.

My mom and I met up at MSP (She flew in from Madison.) and then enjoyed the wonders of the airport with our three hour waiting game/delay. Board the plane, get off the plane. Here’s a meal voucher, just kidding, time to get on the plane. We stayed in Fort Collins with my brother at his apartment and gave it a feminine touch; we rearranged furniture, cleaned, and shopped for necessary household goods. We spent time in Old Towne, a great touristy, mill-about part of town with restaurants and shops. My brother booked us a tour at the New Belgium Brewery which was, if I do say so, a highlight of the trip. I don’t normally drink beer but the tour was a ton of fun, complete with a slide and costumes! We took a day and drove to Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park. I’d never before been to the mountains so the drive into 12,000 feet above sea level was quite the sight (and cold). Good trip.

I spent time with Amanda (my college roommate) and drank coffee with Joe (her husband). Along with college friends Kara and Julia, I went to the sculpture gardens in Minneapolis, played Bananagrams, and sat by the pool. Stillwater Sara and I laughed our butts off to The Big Bang Theory on dvd, sampled olive oil, and went to drive-in church. I saw and hugged many former coworkers in Stillwater and learned that a second of the Gieseke clan might be joining me on campus at Luther in the fall. (Between Karen and Adam being possible classmates and most certainly lunch dates, I think God is showing me that moving back to St.Paul won’t be so bad.)

It was a needed and splendid week away from Dawson but I was happy to return. I had a ton of fun but was ready to not live out of a laundry basket or airplane carry-on anymore. I was ready to sleep in a bed and not on a couch. I was ready to … go back to work? There. I said it.