The Last Nine Days

I've enjoyed a truly glorious 9 days of vacation. 9 days away from the hospital. 9 days without a pager, a call room, an operating room, or a stethoscope. While there were not any exotic locations or lounging on beautiful beaches, the last 9 days have felt nearly as luxurious as any location I could imagine. Okay, that might be overdoing it just a little. Costa Rica or Italy still sound divine.

My mother-in-law came to visit us over my vacation. It was her first time to Iowa, or the Midwest for the matter. This visit was the first time we've had the chance to spend some real time with her since we moved here over two years ago. This visit also provided us the perfect opportunity to tour the local surroundings, sharing with her the things we love so much about Iowa.

These are my three favorite things in Iowa...

So instead of foreign or tropical destinations, my vacation consisted solely of places within 2 hours driving distance.

Instead of views of palm trees or European cities, my vacation consisted of views such as these...







I participated in fabulous activities, such as these...



It's been a wonderful, relaxing 9 days. You would think that I'm all ready to go back to work now, wouldn't you?

Well, you'd be wrong.

All these 9 days have done is make me long for my next vacation. Which occurs sometime in March. Hopefully, the past 9 glorious, sun-filled, overly food filled days have enough memories to last until then.