Mini-break!

This weekend D and I took The Pepper up to Ojai for one night. Ojai is just a little north of Los Angeles so it's a short 1.5 hour drive, but it's a totally different scene. It's an agricultural valley and it's all about horses and hiking and it's a wonderful change from our urban life. Even though it's just a weekend, it's recharging to leave our usual pace and do something different. I think changing scenery is good for the soul.

I'm always thinking about how to integrate travel into our lives. If you work in the US you are familiar with the usual 10 vacation-days most companies give. And if you don't live near your family, this really isn't a lot of time off. For us, it means that if D and I want to visit his family in Michigan it's hard to plan any other significant travel that same year. You throw in something like a wedding we need to travel for and any real vacation is out of the question. But getting away is so important! One thing we've therefore tried to do over the last year is take little mini-breaks. Sometimes it will mean I take a Friday off, but even if I don't just a weekend in a different location can give me a little energy surge. I think there is just the mental and emotional impact of experiencing something different, but there is also the escape from the trappings of the tediums of home life. It's nice to get away from the laundry or the house cleaning that sits over my head when I'm home. It's easier to be present on the moment if I'm taken out of my routines. While I hope we can take a longer trip this year, we're going to keep getting away whenever we can. Currently on my list of weekend trips: wine tasting in Santa Ynez.

Image from our weekend trip up to Ojai.