Before we left for vacation, Steve and I made an oath that we would not go into a McDonald's once. It wouldn't be a problem for the days that we stayed at my in-laws, but this trip involved days and days of driving and overnight stays in three different towns.  Could we do it? 

As it turns out, we failed. I think we went to a McDonald's on Day 2 of the never-ending drive. But then we were very good, until the last lunch before we headed back home and we just needed something to put in the kids' bellies fast. 

Avoiding Mickey D's is hard, because there are so few options along the side of the highway. If we pulled off the highway and ended up in a middle class town, there were more choices. We used TripAdvisor and our GPS to find McDonald alternatives. But we couldn't plan these things. We pulled over when people needed to pee, so decisions have to be made on the spot. 

We kept a control on costs by splitting entrees. One time, the four of us split a full rack of ribs, fresh cold slaw, beans, and corn bread for $23. That's how much a meal for four costs at McDonald's. 

Even health choices at McDonald's suck. Their grilled chicken sandwich is more tortilla than grilled meat. Salads smell stale. You're best off just getting the Big Mac and an unsweetened ice tea. 

People sure must eat a lot of Big Macs down South, because it was hard to avoid noticing the expanded waist-lines in the cotton t-shirt/capri/large purse uniform. Of course, people in my town are gym freaks, but the differences were stark. 

It's funny how you notice new things about your home when you return from a break. When we walked in the door, I noticed a weird damp smell coming from our fireplace. It must have had that smell before we left, but I never picked it up. The huge, shady oak trees that surround our house looked extra huge and extra shady. I also checked out the over-worked out women in town walking briskly to lunch and laughed. Ladies, three hours at the gym is a little loopy. 

I still have that lazy vacation feeling and so don't feel pressed to tie all the random thoughts in this essay together. That warm feeling is also keeping me immune to the news that the neighbor's stream jumped its banks and eroded two feet of our yard.