Ten on Tuesday: 10 Good Things About Coming Home After Vacation

No one hits the home chord for me more than John Denver.

1. Knowing the landscape. It's great to explore -- I love planning trips, reading maps, listening to directions from Garmin -- but it's great to be home and just know how to get from Point A to Point B without thinking.

2. My car. The next time I rent a car in the UK, remind me that driving on the other side of the car is enough -- adding manual transmission to the mix just makes things more difficult and stressful than they need be.

3. My own bed.

4. My own pillow. If I'm not traveling far, and even if I'm checking into a nice hotel, I bring my own pillow. It's not my own bed, but it helps!

5. My closet. Efficient packing continues to elude me... perhaps if I traveled more frequently?

6. My washer & clothesline/dryer! I really don't mind doing laundry, and I really like being able to do it when needed.

7. My kitchen! Even if we're someplace with a kitchen and I can do my own cooking, it's just not the same... and a person can only eat out so many times.

8. Mail! I love going through my mail after being away -- it's very satisfying to sort (and toss) and then catch up on the news via our twice-weekly very local newspaper.

9. Kitties! While not quite as demonstrative as their canine counterparts, our cats definitely let us know that they're happy we're home!

10. Friends and family, the coffee shop, knit night, photography group, the library -- all the places I hang out and feel "at home."