night moves

I spent most of the day traveling back from Dubuque, but the trip overall was quite smooth. I woke up on time but not particularly refreshed since I had more than one glass of wine last night and didn't sleep well as a result. But it was a fun way to end the retreat, so #noregrets. It didn't stop me from being fairly efficient with my morning, and so I was showered and packed in time to leave on schedule.

Getting out of the Airbnb was easy, since  it just required throwing a bunch of stuff in the car and putting some refrigerator rings in my cooler. V and I said a fond farewell to Carolyn, and then we headed toward Cedar Rapids. We were there absurdly early for Veronica's flight, but neither of us were hungry yet, so we skipped lunch and parted ways. Then I turned up the music and entered my chill zone for the remaining three hours of driving to get home.

I did stop in Oskaloosa for McDonald's and Knoxville for some meat at fareway, but otherwise I made good time. When I got home, I unloaded my car, checked in on the day job, sat around for a bit, and talked to [censored]. Then I cleaned my grill, which was a messy but gratifying task. And then I grilled a flank steak that I had marinated as soon as I got home, as well as some burgers, so that I would have good for the next couple of days. I made Mexican rice and black beans to go with the steak, and [censored] and I quite enjoyed it - it turned out pretty close to perfect, although skirt steak would have been even better.

After that, I cleaned the kitchen, messed around online, checked in on the day job a little more, and made a list of things I have to do tomorrow. But now I need to go to bed - goodnight!