It happens every time I return from vacation. I slip into a funk. I call it my “re-entry blahs.” My post vacation euphoria turns into post vacation blues. I never realized how common it was until I Googled “post vacation depression” and got over two million results!

You’d think practice would make perfect, but in my case it hasn’t.  Since 2003, when I retired and became a grandma, I have visited my granddaughters twice a month and stay for two nights. And when I come home,  the “transition” of getting back to my “regular” routine is always a challenge. It’s become so familiar now I just smile and remind myself I’ll be fine in a few days.

Those blahs can be even worse after a vacation. You forget about your daily responsibilities and focus on what’s the next fun thing to see, do, or eat. I’m just back from a five-day road trip to Southern California and I’ve got a bad case of  blues. So what better way to work through my funk than to research tips for beating the post vacation blues.

Allow the same number of days to recover as the number of days you were gone. Author and blogger Michael Breus, PhD says that jet lag is a natural process. It will take your body about one time zone per day to normalize.

Rules for Re-entry

1. Don’t feel compelled to unpack and attend to everything the first day. Do a little unpacking everyday and only what has to be done.
2. Ease back into your old routine slowly. Don’t expect to have a clear desk on your first day back – allow yourself to be behind and to catch up steadily. Thinking you have to tackle all those emails in one sitting can be daunting.
3. While you’re still on that vacation high, share it. Write a thank you note to someone you met on your trip or have lunch with a friend and share some of your favorite highlights.
4. Start planning your next outing. What did you like in your vacation? What worked? What made everyone happy and joyful? Build on the good memories. If you collected some good ideas while you were away, put them in your “vacation folder.”
5. Remind yourself what you’re grateful for as you return to your regular life. Reminisce, journal or scrapbook your memories and souvenirs. Download your photos and use your favorite as a screen saver.
6. When you feel depressed, take a deep breath and visualize one of the memorable moments of your vacation.
7. Eat simple fresh foods. You’ll probably crave some home-cooking after eating whatever you wanted on vacation.

Vacations help us regain our sense of spontaneity. Look for opportunities to carry on that vacation spontaneity when you’re back home. Give yourself time to unwind after a vacation because so much went on physically and mentally. Even though it was “fun,” it was also hard work. The body and mind need time to just relax and do nothing. Don’t panic when you see that pile of mail, mound of laundry, and empty refrigerator. If you recognize that it’s normal to feel some stress as you switch gears, you’ll have an easier time with re-entry and soon be back in your groove. I’m almost there.

Lately I’ve taken to reading the San Jose Mercury News‘ “Staycation Specials” in the travel section. [Staycation is a newly coined word for a period of time in which an individual or family stays home and relaxes or takes day trips from their home to area attractions.] Last month one of those headlines caught my eye:

The marriage deal

The longer you’ve been married, the more you’ll save on Valentine’s Day at Casa Madrona Hotel & Spa in Sausalito, CA. The “Sweetheart Deal” package offers couples a 1 percent discount off their stay for every year of their marriage. The special includes a rose, a bottle of champagne, chocolates, and a 30-minute massage in their spa.

“Wow,” I told my husband, “we’d qualify for a 42% discount and it is one of the most romantic cities in the world. Let’s celebrate our 42nd Valentine’s Day in Sausalito!” I booked a room the next day.

Sausalito is a picturesque waterfront town that resembles a Mediterranean hillside village. It’s just north of San Francisco across the Golden Gate Bridge with great restaurants and spectacular views, when it’s not socked in under a blanket of fog. The Casa Madrona is situated on the main thoroughfare, directly across the street from the ferry terminal that serves San Francisco. Originally built in 1885, it is now listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

As a teenager, I loved hanging out in Sausalito. The old Village Fair, a four-story honeycomb of open-air shops carved out of an old ferry parking garage, featured a miniature “crookedest street in the world” leading up from street level. It thrived during the 1960s through the 80s. The crooked street is now stairs and all the shops are gone. In 2000, a real estate investment firm acquired the Casa Madrona and Village Fair and expanded it to its current 71 rooms, an 85-seat restaurant and a spa.

On this sunny Valentine’s Day the fog had lifted and Sausalito was sparkling, welcoming lovers, friends, and families from all over the world. Pairs of all ages, speaking dozens of different languages, strolled along Bridgeway, arm in arm, holding hands, riding tandem bikes, perched on the waterfront rocks with their picnic lunches, or walking their dogs.

Poggio’s, the Italian trattoria located at the base of the Casa Madrona, was our first stop after dropping our bags next door at the hotel. We sat at one of the sidewalk tables and enjoyed a salad with greens from their organic garden, sprinkled with slivers of sunchoke, a root vegetable also known as a Jerusalem artichoke.

After lunch, we joined the throngs of people window-shopping and took in the views of Belvedere and Tiburon, two small towns across the bay from Sausalito. The sailboats and yachts were out in full regalia, whipping about in the wind with the San Francisco skyline and Golden Gate Bridge off in the horizon. We returned to our room just in time for my complimentary massage in the spa.

Our Valentine’s Day dinner was a short block down Bridgeway to Angelino’s, popular with the locals because of  its southern Italian dishes. Two classics got high marks: linguini con vongole and my favorite Italian dessert, tiramisu, which had outstanding coffee flavor.

This morning the town was completely enshrouded in fog, creating a magical quality to the water. We caught glimpses of ghostly images of sailboats floating in the fog. We heard the Blue and Gold Ferry’s fog horn blast as it disappeared in the thick mist and headed for San Francisco. Appropriately, we had breakfast at the Lighthouse Cafe before we checked out. Owned by a Danish couple, one of their specialties is fruit pancakes. I ordered raspberry and blueberry and they were the lightest pancakes I’d ever eaten.

We took a few souvenir photos before we packed our suitcase into the car. Heading back up the windy road towards the bridge, I told my husband we are blessed to have celebrated 42 Valentine’s Days together and to continue to enjoy new adventures, even when they’re in our own backyard!

I love sharing great finds, and Cannon Beach, Oregon is a spectacular find for the whole family. I’d never heard of this charming resort town until last June.  I was browsing through the bookshelf in the Yosemite Falls gift store and picked up a copy of 1000 Places To See Before You Die. I flipped to the section on the Oregon coast. I was planning to be in Portland for my cousin’s wedding and wondered where else I could explore after her wedding. I read the descriptions of Cannon Beach, Haystack Rock, and Ecola State Park and made a note to do more research when I got home.

Now that I’ve been there I can see why they’re listed in the book. It’s a spectacular spot to enjoy many different forms of nature in close proximity. There are nine miles of walkable beaches with rock formations called “sea stacks.” Haystack Rock is the third largest of these coastal monoliths in the world. The rock is 235 feet tall and around it are tide pools that cover the length of three football fields.

The colorful tide pools are called Marine Gardens. I spent two days exploring them—one day with shoes and one day without. Barefoot was way more fun and made it easier to see the creatures up close and personal. Friends of Haystack Rock volunteers were offering tips on how to enjoy the varieties of marine life. My guide, who was from Germany, pointed out seastars, anemones, sand crabs, mussels, and something new to me—chitons. These slow-moving mollusks have eight overlapping shingled plates that look like armor. They eat the algae that clings to the rocks and floats in the water.

The volunteer also let us look through her binoculars at some of the birds nesting on the rocks. There were gulls, cormorants, and puffins to name a few. I picked up two brochures from the display on the Friends’ truck and learned that this non-profit’s mission is to provide guidance and support for the Haystack Rock Awareness Program. They also protect the area from damage so that my granddaughters and others will be able to enjoy them in the years to come.

In addition to the sea life, there’s Ecola State Park, a lush rain forest where I hiked on a trail that offered magnificent coast views of the rocks and wound down to the beach. In the picturesque town of Cannon Beach exquisite hanging flower baskets and English gardens decorate the fronts of many shops and galleries.

In town I noticed everyone was carrying pink and white striped bags. Then I came upon the pink and white striped store front and knew why: Bruce’s Candy Kitchen! They’ve been in business since 1963 and make 20 different flavors of salt water taffy. You can watch them make taffy and taste a sample. I walked out carrying my own bag of some of the best hand-made chocolates I’ve ever tasted.

And speaking of enduring food institutions…Pig ‘N Pancake restaurant, a Seaside, Oregon breakfast place started in 1961, opened one in Cannon Beach in 1997. I enjoyed the best Swedish pancakes with the best  lingonberry sauce I’ve ever eaten. I also lucked out and was there for the local farmers market.  I bought two locally grown nectarines that were so sweet I wish I’d shipped home a bushel.

Cannon Beach is truly a gem and what makes it a winner is that it’s great for all ages.