Home is where the rain is

I have returned from nearly two weeks away from home, and the cats are glad. I am, too.

The drive home from greater Palm Springs was largely uneventful and, frankly, pretty dull. I opted for the most direct route for a change, anxious to get back and not dally, but I tell you, it makes a big difference in how much I enjoy the trip. Sticking entirely to the Interstates (or CA 99 for a stretch, which is basically just like an Interstate) might make for better speed, but it's monotonous and more stressful. The less-trafficked roads are a whole different experience, and worth the extra few hours' travel time.

I drove most of it at night, as that's oddly when I'm most awake. I thought maybe it being dark would make the choice of route less of a factor, but no. Even at night I-10 to I-5 and straight on through (with a switch to 99 from about Bakersfield to Sacramento because of fuel availability/cost) is a lousy choice. Live and learn. The entirety of the trip from around Mt. Shasta on to the end was done in the rain, too, which felt oddly nice. Welcome, traveler, you are now reentering the home region, where fall = wet. Enjoy.

It did make it faster, though, and I was glad to be back and discover the various messes three bored cats make over the course of many days. There might have been more that my neighbor took care of when she came into feed them, but hey, you go away without permission and things are gonna get knocked around and hairballs gonna get spit up in odd places. Standard cat/guardian dynamics.

I slept most of today, as the drive was long and tiring and I didn't sleep terribly well the whole time I was gone. I may have grown up in a desert environment, but it's been a long time since I was used to arid conditions. Plus, despite the dry air there are always lots of mosquitos at my dad's place and I am apparently very tasty. And maybe lack of cats on the bed made it hard to drift off, I don't know.

Anyway, I'm back, the cats are making it clear they'd rather I not skip out without permission again—there was slight panic when I went out for groceries a couple hours ago, but they'll adjust to normalcy soon—and I'm content to stick around for a good while yet.