I don’t believe in the power of positive thinking, and the less I say about “manifesting,” the better off we’ll all be.
So when Suzi and I decided that this probably wasn’t the year to go to Switzerland, neither of us were completely happy, but that was how it was going to be.
There was no reason we couldn’t go, but the requirement that airline passengers coming into America test negative for COVID within a day of departure had us worried about being stranded in Switzerland for a week if we tested positive, and we didn’t want that hanging over our vacation.
Sure, we could hope our government changed the rule, but like I said, I’m not one to think hoping and positive thoughts and “manifesting” make any kind of difference, so Switzerland went back to being “European Chicago” — the place we talk about going for years before we actually do it.
Santa Fe is another one of those places we’ve batted around going to, so we figured that would be the alternative, until out of the blue we devised a trip to Monterey out in California.
We could enjoy the scenery of the central coast before heading up to San Francisco for a couple days to see if a second chance was what the city needed.
It was a solid plan. We picked the flights, and would buy the tickets at some point.
And then, without warning …
I texted Suzi: “Does this mean Switzerland is back on?”
I couldn’t believe it.
She couldn’t believe it.
Switzerland was back on.
(At this point, I’m sure at least some of are furiously preparing to inform me that having not bought the tickets for California was, subconsciously, the universe telling us to wait, that things were about to change. While I do believe this sometimes happens, it didn’t this time.)
There was a giddiness when we sat at the dining room table to order the tickets. Suzi pulled out her Switzerland travel books and dusted off the itinerary she was developing in our head.
Zurich, Lucerne, Lausanne and Bern, we are on our way. We going to ride up an Alp, and finally see our friend in Basel. (She took the picture at the top of this post.)
They’ll all make fine vacations someday — Santa Fe and Monterey, the Canadian Rockies and Maritimes (which we also considered, since we theoretically could have found a way to cross the border over land if we tested positive).
But that’s down the road, because this year, even though we thought there was no chance, Switzerland is happening.
Stuff I read
What happens after a bout of depression ends? This is how Renata describes it.
Paul voted at his old elementary school, and realized it was no longer “his.”
Austin brings us a character who had a very interesting career plan.
“Unflushable turd” … “so dim she wouldn’t even be mood lighting” … I’m going to guess Fran is not a fan of these folks.
Lucy doesn’t use these six apps. I don’t either — and would get in huge trouble if I used the last one — but she wrote the blog post and I didn’t. I have, however, written a blog post that includes her blog post.
Jeff’s a problem-solver.
I’ve been a baseball fan my whole life, and go to games whenever I can. Yet Savannah did this weird thing where she and her husband decided to go to a game on the spur of the moment, and actually did it.
Speaking of strange concepts, Becky did a 5K … for fun.
Rosie has decided to stop playing defense — in a good way, not a “let the other guy score all the time” way.
I’m going to guess that most people don’t have middle names for which they can unspool the history the way Sally can.
Betsy crunched her toes, but was reminded why it was all worth it.
Vee had a terrible job interview, although not because of anything she did. In fact, having the chance to do something terrible probably would have been an improvement.
Tweets I liked
Raising that kid right.
If iced tea isn’t sweet enough to make your teeth fall out, it’s not for me.
Give me the time. I’ll find the value.
It wasn’t me. For one thing, I don’t play rec league softball with him. Also because … well, I don’t play rec league softball with him.
I grew up with Vienna sausages in my house. I never smelled them, much less come up with a random theory as to why a hallway smelled like them. I’m not saying Giggles has done this, but … .
I’ll have a slice … or two … or all of it.
Saying “I’ll vote for anyone who promises to put in a lane for non-coffee drinkers to get their non-coffee treats” is a risk, because there might be a truly vile person running for office who just happens to hate coffee as much as I do.
But I will give their stances on the issues at least a second look.
One I missed that last time or one that Suzi forgot to eat. Can’t let that little sucker sit there all alone, can I?
As we know, everything is better on trombone
The Formula 1 theme … on trombone? Oh yeah!
A Silly Place 
Thanks for sharing, Bill! When I went to Europe in high school, we spent the day in Lucerne, and it was probably one of my favorite parts of the trip! I hope you and Suzi have a great time ☺️
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So exciting!! I can’t wait to hear all about it
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That’s a dream vacation! Glad it’s coming true…
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You come across such interesting stuff. Love the tweets. Also, “so dim she wouldn’t even be mood lighting” is brilliant! (Ironically.) So exciting about Switzerland! Congrats! I hope it all goes well. And thanks again for the mention. 🙂
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I am absolutely stealing the reference to dimness!
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I wonder if it was stolen to begin with! 😛
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This is so exciting that you get to go to Switzerland after all! I can’t want to read all about it when you get back. And that negative Covid test is definitely a deterrent to international travel because it introduces a huge variable with a great impact that we don’t have much control over. I’m glad it’s being dropped too.
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I visited Switzerland as a teenager. It was awesome especially going up to the Alps. There is a little town halfway up. Be sure to listen to the different cow bells, that’s how the owners know which cows are theirs.
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