Technology sucks. Sheryl and I returned home only to find that my work laptop had gone south in an entirely different manner during our absence. It would display only a colorful pattern of vertical stripes on the screen. We do have an older home PC which was still operational, but on Sunday morning the connection to the internet decided to stop functioning.

The cable guy arrived later that afternoon to fix the problem, and when he inquired about the unit, Sheryl pointed in the direction of our cable modem box. He asked about the TVs we had connected to the cable, and I replied that we have no cable TV, just the high-speed internet. He blinked a few times, looked at me blankly as though I had just spoken a different language, shrugged, and turned his attention to the modem. Fortunately, he was able to promptly fix the problem.

Other than the technological difficulties, the return home has been uneventful. It is nice to arrive home from vacation on a Saturday night and be able to have Sunday to acclimate to the real world before having to go to work on Monday. Our very stationary bed here in Durham was swaying for both of us last night, and our bodies are still responding to a daylight -driven circadian rythm (up with the sun, asleep soon after it becomes dark). We caught up on laundry, restocked the fridge with food, and Sheryl got started on her photos.

Even though all here is good, the weather mild, and the leaves on the trees a beautiful kaleidoscope of fall colors, we long to be down island for an extended period of time. We want to live on a boat. Right now, five years seems like an eternity.