I ended up having another trip just a few days after getting back from Norway. I had waffled on whether to accompany Louie to another conference, but I decided to because 1) it’s summer and I am self-employed and 2) I found pretty inexpensive tickets to go for a few days. So we headed out to Austin on Sunday, and now I’m back, and I already taught a 6 1/2 hour day yesterday after flying home in the morning and have another one today. I figured the best of both worlds: get some travel in, get some teaching in as well.
I won’t go into many details at this time and instead will leave you with the vague promise of more details later.
Things I have learned though, from back to back trips plus COVID: I get more tired than I think I will, and the heat in Austin is no joke. I ended up needed to come back to the room by mid afternoon to rest. Was that the heat, was it getting old, getting over COVID still (I feel fully recovered, but who knows), or even the remnants of jet lag, or do I just overestimate my ability to sight-see and be out and about? Who knows! It was a nice relaxing trip, with great food, some good relaxation, time with old friends, and some cultural stuff too.
I am still feeling so incredibly lucky to have spent 2 1/2 weeks in Norway, and I miss it. It’s always lovely to be home after vacation, and the cats are especially feeling our absences, but it is nice to get away and see the world, and realize that not everywhere is the same, even though more things are the same than you think.
I hope I can follow Louie to more conferences in the future: he is finishing up his degree this summer and who knows what the future will hold. I had a great time sightseeing on my own and enjoying the downtime, and would enjoy it again in the future. It’s also nice to be able to meet up with him for dinner: it’s much like our regular lives in that sense, except I get to sightsee during the day rather than teach and play violin. It also told me that I would definitely consider doing solo vacations in the future as well.