Note to self, note to all

I have returned from my vacation. Thanks to several nights and days spent variously on precarious overnight trains, cramped motel rooms, water taxis, actual taxis, and other more dubious forms of transportation at ridiculous hours, I think I have jet lag–which is quite interesting, since plane travel did not figure in this short trip.

Also, combining a move and a vacation really isn’t the greatest idea. My new place is, shall we say, a work in progress, and I’m too freaking tired to do much of anything except to stare at the entirety of it and wonder at the enormity of it. But at least my bed has been set up. I think. I guess I’ll know for sure when I fall out of bed around 3 AM tonight.

All that aside, going north was just the thing I needed, and it is truly beautiful up there. Gorgeous sunrises, air so clean it makes you sleepy because there’s almost too much available oxygen, and vast amounts of water. I mean, hello–I sailed to the mouth of James Bay, saw polar bears frolic in a man-made habitat (especially funny was the female baby bear–she’s only three–trying to dive into 85,000 gallons of water. Alas, I didn’t get a picture) and black bears fight each other for garbage at the local landfill. And when you’re travelling to the end of the line, which Moosonee is, you tend to see the same faces throughout. New friends were made, and I think I might have the genesis for a short story or two. Too early to tell, of course.

But now the fun’s over and the work begins. The blog may be back to full strength by Sunday, but chances are likelier it’ll return to form after the Labor Day weekend. So before I sign off for a long, hopefully uninterrupted bout of sleep, I have to thank Emily and Donna for being such amazing, affable guest-bloggers while I was gone. I’ve just caught up in a binge-read and wow, such wonderful stuff from the both of you.

More tomorrow.