I’ve had a wonderful 4 weeks of paid vacation. With just a week until the end of my Sabbatical, I’m feeling kind of blue. There’s no reason for this. It just is what it is. I mean not too many folks can get this kind of a break from work, so I shouldn’t complain. I needed the break but I’m not ready to get back to the job.  How crazy is that?

The first week went by almost like a blur.  I played three baseball games, worked out, went to a couple of Hillsboro Hops games, and finalized all of the details of our Mexico City trip.

We spent the next two remarkable weeks in the capital city of Mexico.  We did so much visiting all of the top sites including:  the Templo Mayor ruins, Zocalo, the Metropolitan Cathedral, the Palacio Nacional, including the death bed of Benito Juarez and murals of Diego Rivera depicting the history of Mexico, Museo Nacional de Antropologia, La Casa Azul, Leon Trotsky Museum, NIKE Store, Teotihuacan, Pyramids of the Sun and Moon, Bosque de Chapultepec, Diablos Rojos Mexican League baseball game, Museo Mural of Diego Rivera, Museo de Tequila y Mezcal, the city of Coyoacan, including Frida Kahlo Park, the Museo Tamayo, Museo de Arte Moderno and saw original works by Diego and Frida, Monumento a los Ninos Heroes, the Palacio de Bellas Artes and got caught in a downpour, the La Merced Mercado, the towns of Cholula and Puebla and drove by the historic battlefield memorial, the remarkable Museo Dolores Olmedo and Museo Casa Estudio Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo.  We were disappointed in the Mercado San Angel but toured the El Carmen Convent, and our last day was topped off by a visit to the Soumaya Museum.  Oh, the street tacos, spicy corn on the cob, and churros is the food I’ll miss the most.  We survived a 2.9 earthquake and the subsequent move from the 19th to the 7th floor.  And the concierge desk help of Montserrat and Julian survived us.  They both were great help with local restaurant suggestions and booking the tours to the pyramids, La Casa Azul, and to Puebla.

Week 4 was back home to California with a first stop in the Bay Area for a couple of days and then a romantic 4 days in Napa.  We witnessed one of the greatest comebacks in San Francisco Giants history with a 13-inning walk off HR by none other than Pablo Sandoval.  Panda who burned a bridge when he left the team for Boston in 2015.  Disgraced after a dismal, 2.5 years in a Red Sox uniform, the Giants picked him up in 2017 midway through the season and he’s been a super sub ever since.  Always a beloved Giant because he plays the game like a kid.  We were so excited, I bought tickets for the game the next day.  Alas, lightning doesn’t strike twice as we lost to the Cubs but still won 2 out of 3 from Chicago.  We preceded the 2nd Giants game with a tour of Coit Tower.  What an incredible view of the Golden Gate and Bay Bridges and of Alcatraz Island and the Pyramid building and Chinatown.  Gosh, San Francisco is a special place with so many fond memories for both Bon and me.  I proposed at The Top of the Mark.  That 2nd night in the City let us get to El Granada for dinner with my brother Tom and his 1st born son, Marc, and Marc’s wife Kara.  It was a great opportunity to re-connect though these times with family are always too short.

By Thursday, we were ready to travel to Napa and drink great wine at some of our favorite wineries like Silver Oak, Hall, Titus, Mumm, Stag’s Leap, and Darioush.  So, good.  We ate hamburgers and ice cream cones at Gott’s and devoured the ‘free’ breakfast at Rancho Caymus Inn.  They’d redone the place since we were last there and the owners spared no expense.  They thought of everything from the free bottle of wine to welcome us, to the iron and tissue box.  DirecTV and wide screen TV.  The bed was incredible.  

Well, perhaps after retelling the tale of where we’ve been the last 4 weeks, I guess I can see now why I’m feeling down.  I don’t want the fun to end.  I don’t think this is how retirement will be but, gosh, what if it were?  I’d never be blue again!  

With a week to go, I must not check work e-mail.  Must not check work e-mail.  Must not check work e-mail.  I’ll survive without working.  In fact, if nothing else this fantastic break has convinced me I have so much more to do than work at NIKE.

I will finish off my career probably after my next Sabbatical in 5 years. It will be my last one and something very well deserved. I thought the end of working would never come but the sight of retirement is on the horizon and the ultimate sabbatical!