I'm with the depressed people! I am excited to tell my friends about the trip but coming back to the desert with 115 degree days after being in Ireland with cooler weather is depressing! And, grocery shopping is the worst after getting to eat out and all that fabulous food (we're also going to London and Paris!). <BR>I am really concerned about coming back this time-I have been planning this trip for almost a year and on this board every day. And, we don't have plans for Europe next summer (but I do have the Olympics to look forward to-another dream-in Feb. with tickets to Closing Ceremonies and the Women's Final Ice skating and a few other events!)but that is exciting too but who knows what may come up for next Summer-I enjoy everyone's trip reports in the meantime! I can't wait to do mine-6 more weeks! <BR>Patti

I am recently back from 2 weeks in Scotland and am still in the jet lag stages of coming back. What I find is that I am dreaming about Scotland every night and wake up from dreams where my whole family is with me on a verdant country side and we're taking turns swinging on a swing that goes around in a circle. <BR> <BR>Travel is a sensory experience and is difficult to describe in words, unless the words can paint a picture. I have come to find that after a journey, part of me is still there continuing the exploration, processing the nuances and relishing the complete beauty of the landscapes and people I have met. Just the way you carry home with you when you leave, you carry the trip back with you and can re-experience it in a million different ways. <BR> <BR>Good to be Home, <BR>Dr. Betty

NOT LONG ENOUGH!!!!

Jim, I'm with you. There's ALWAYS got to be something on the horizon. But, there is nothing better than settling in to my own bed which has the right contours and right smells and turning on my light and reaching for my stack of travel books. So I get renewed and look forward. My depression comes when I have to unpack my bags. I don't feel bad that I'm back, more that I don't want to deal with getting my home life back in order. <BR> <BR>[A comment on travel moodswings: my poor little field spaniel has a meltdown whenever he sees us pull out our black travel bags. The writing is on the wall for him and he goes into a funk. I try not to pay attention to it but it's really obvious! His depression is my only pre-travel cloud.]

Today (Monday) is my first back to work (flew home Friday). Everyone tells me they haven't seen me in such a good mood since they can't remember when. <BR> <BR>I hope it lasts a good long time. <BR> <BR>I have had very bad experiences with post-return slumps in the past. <BR> <BR>Maybe I'm just excited already about plans to go back in only four months. <BR> <BR>Best wishes, <BR> <BR>Rex <BR>

Like Jim and all the others, the only way I can get on the plane headed westward without an armed escort is to have another trip or two whirling around in my head (I scratch out sample itineraries on the blank page at the end of my crossword puzzle book). I don't unpack for a couple of days (except for the croissants and cheese - I won't make *that* mistake twice) so I have the joy of being surprised by the souvenirs I forgot I bought. Then I get my photos back - no one-hour service for me, I take the back-in-two-days service so I get another jolt after being home for a week. THEN I crash and am inconsolable...

Seems like the general consensus is that the high lasts as long as there is another trip on the horizon. I'm back to Paris in September and then who knows! (Find it hard to beat that destination) Just the planning is enough to keep me going. Love it and thanks for your thoughts!!

There is something to be said for the savouring of the trip and planning another one right away, or transitioning too soon, could detract from basking in the memories and how you might want to take those memories forward. There are general themes that each journey holds and if those themes take your feet off the ground, so much the better. Take being back in your stride and gently touch down. No crash landings. How you land and continue on is as essential as how well you've packed and prepared for your trip.

StCirq - I can't agree more about the despair I feel once in the local supermarket...just takes the wind out of my sails!

Peg: <BR>Another great question... <BR>I try and "savor" the trip as long as possible. I delay the un-packing for days...(ok, so its being post "travel-lazy"). <BR>I put the film in for developing, selecting a new photo album and scrap book...taking days to think about how to make this photo album and scrap book more interesting than the last one... <BR>I write about the trip in more depth. I journal so, this makes for easy expansion of the various travel moments... <BR>In a couple of cases we have thrown cocktail, dessert or dinner parties to "share" our trip. We only invite friends/family who share our passion for travel. This unfortunately leaves some of our favorite people out. We learned early that not everyone is happy for you and your travel experiences. I am a "travel shopper" so my travel clothes are thought out in great detail down to the matching undies (was that too much information?) so my girlfriends and some of the husbands(!) and I get carried away taking about all that too. We are also really sensitive to those who would love to travel but can not. <BR>Peg, once we have done all that, its time to go again! <BR> <BR>Happy Travels <BR>Oaktown

It sure is nice to see Dr. Betty back again. <BR>

Each trip is truly like a three course meal. Savoring the appetizer (planning) piques your senses for the next course (the trip)and sends you into the delectable dessert (the afterglow). Wow! Oh waiter, may I please order now?

Anon, <BR>That sure was right nice of you to welcome me back like that. <BR>Thanks, <BR>Dr. Betty

*Sigh*. Unfortunately, my high only lasts for a day or so. I'm usually happy to see home again, but I'm bummed out by getting back into the everyday grind of working, cooking, laundry, caring for 3 kids, etc. (I LOVE being around my kids, but everyone who has kids knows there is also a lot work & maintenance involved!) Planning and anticipating a trip go by slowly, but seems like vacation rushes by!

I agree, there has to be the next trip on the horizon! The re-entry period is always rough for me. I hate the return but I'm always comforted by convincing myself that I WILL RETURN!! and start making a list on the plane of everything I want to see the next time that I didn't have time for this time. I also hang onto the dream by bringing as much as I can back with me. This helps with the grocery store problem mentioned earlier. I bring back items like jams, honey , cheese, wine, etc. so the memories linger on for a nice long time. I even brought back kleenex and paper towels from Paris the last time because they were different (paper towels were narrower, smaller)and the french on the tissue box and my mind instantly floats back to Paris everytime I use one. Also cooking items like seasonings and olive oil. I also still play my french language cd every now and again because I don't want to forget what I learned. As you can tell, I am desperate to hang on!! The only comfort is to instantly start planning the next trip!! <BR> <BR>There should probably be a 12 step program for this affliction but I'm really not interested in losing it. I live for the planning, the actual trip and all the memories!!

When I go, I am generally gone for 3-4 weeks. I have my own business and turn off the computer and walk out. <BR> <BR>I'm afraid I come back to a raft of faxes and lots of messages. I usually am back at work before I unpack because I work from a home office. I am so busy when I return, there is no time for the blues. <BR> <BR>I relive the report and share with others by posting trip reports on AOL and independenttraveler.com. Unfortunately, fodors posts are too limited for my trip reports. I keep a journal and, well, I end up writing a novel. It helps to relive the report--and then there are the photos. <BR> <BR>Then in September or October, I generally start fielding offers for next summer's home exchange and the planning for the next trip starts. <BR> <BR>When I get a hankering for the foods of Europe, I am fortunate to live near a bakery that has bread that can hold its own with any French bread and two terrific gourmet shops. Of course, you can't buy everything you can get in Europe, but, then, my European friends request peanut butter and Doritos. <BR> <BR>You figure.

Like Oaktown Traveler, part of the fun is sharing our experiences with our friends. Some friends enjoy hearing about our once or twice a year trips and travel vicariously through our stories and photos, as I do when they travel. But lately, I have been getting the "where are you going NOW?" question, and I have to be careful not to rant on too much about our trips because the jealousy bug emerges. That's why this site is so great - the mutual love of travel. Another high for me is seeing places we have been in movies, or on the news.

Today is Friday, May 18th --- exactly 1 week ago I was tromping along the trail from Corniglia to Manarola (Cinque Terre in Italy). Flew back home earlier this week. <BR> <BR>I'm so depressed . . . . .

Oh, RLK, I can SO commisserate. Three weeks ago today I was traveling through Dijon, France, admiring the enormous fields planted with mustard and seeing them show off their unique strident yellow-green blooms, then rushing on through Alsace and Lorraine, over the famed Marne River and on into Germany. <BR>I left Europe on May 1 and was OK (or HIGH) for about 7-10 days. But man oh man, I am DOWN now. I'm putting the finishing touchs on my trip report today and will do the album this weekend. But all those glorious days seem like so much ancient history now. <BR>I HOPE to be able to return to Germany at Christmastime, but it's not a sure thing. Darn!!!

Hi, Robin - - <BR> <BR>I've been on a great "jag" since getting back last week. Sorry to hear you're going through a "downer" return. <BR> <BR>Maybe focusing on September is just what you need. No specific new news yet - - waiting on two impending confirmations (I hope) - - which will be cause for a new round of e-mail about the trip. <BR> <BR>Best wishes, <BR> <BR>Rex <BR>