Here we go…

Every year at this time, it lurks: the post-Christmas Welp. “Welp, it’s time to get out the music and get back to work.”

I baked yesterday (one new recipe was awesome, the other went in the garbage — eww for tasteless chocolate chip cookie batter), just to clear my mind and my schedule. I wanted to relish one last day of nothing to do, and it was fun! I enjoyed baking while the Thriller did his snow blowing and other stuff.

Our evening entertainment was piecing together an intinerary for Odyssey 2013 — likely the last big Odyssey we’ll be able to take, seeing as how he graduates Sem in March and will (hopefully) be gainfully employed by the fall. All vacations from that point on will be much shorter, so that, you know, we can save money for replacement windows on the main floor of the house, or for upgrading the kitchen appliances or something.

But back to the itinerary. For the final big Odyssey, here’s what we’ve got so far:

• Minneapolis/St. Paul (the Thriller was slightly less than thrilled about my fist pull-down at going to the Mall of America)
• Bismarck (so we can say we’ve been to ND — we ordered some tourist literature, which sounds kind of funny)
• Fort Peck, MT (staying at the Fort Peck Hotel, yay)
• Helena
• Spokane, Mt. St. Helens
• Seattle — the piers, Pike Place, even Redmond
• Vancouver (staying at the historic Sylvia)
• The Tillamook Dairy
• Portland
• Redwood Forest (staying at the awesome Lighthouse Inn)
• Nice, California — we just liked the name, and of course the Featherbed Railroad Bed & Breakfast
• Reno and Mt. Rushmore — we liked those places two years ago, so we’re happy to revisit
• Up to the Green Bay area to see the Thriller’s mom, then down through Milwaukee, Kenosha and north of Chicago to see other friends and family
• Back home again

While it’s going to take every cent we put back, the hotels are surprisingly affordable. The most expensive stays are in the “chain” hotels, while the mom-and-pop, specialty bed-and-breakfast type places are the cheapest, and happily, the most charming. We have several of those in the works. This trip will be about those out-of-the-way places; whimsical, nostalgic, beautiful. We’re making this last hurrah count.

And now it is time to hit the treadmill, the shower, the DMV (my temp tags are fixin’ to expire), and the Joseph score. Yaaay! Have a happy Finkday.