My vacation was a mixed bag, to say the least.

The day after I got there I came down with stomach flu. I was still able to do everything I wanted to get done while I was there as far as eating out at different places and shopping but 2 days of the trip were wasted on that stupid stomach bug. I was there for almost 10 days though so I still had time to do things.

Then, the night before I flew home, I get the call from my mom that my dog is in bad shape and she and dad are taking him to have him put down as he has been in bad health and but I thought he would be ok for awhile longer. Then the next day, I flew home and I got home Tuesday. Walking in the door was really rough.

I always try to highlight the good parts with the bad. I got to eat at a lot of cool places and I also went to the Apple Store and got an Apple Watch (luckily I did that earlier in the day because later that night is when my bug kicked in). I went to the beach once also, which was nice. I tried to enjoy myself. I'm thankful that the news about my dog was at the very end of my trip, as I would have had a harder time enjoying myself during the trip. Again, trying to stay mildly positive.

I've had better vacations to be sure, but both bad things I had no control over. I have to appreciate the good parts of the trip. And now I get to turn around tomorrow and head up to the Quad Cities for the REO, Styx, and Don Felder concert I've had tickets to for a long time now. I probably won't be in the best of moods, but music can have great effects on you and I'm hoping for a good night.