The run-up to our trip went roughly like you'd expect. I got time off very early and easily, and it happens, it came at a time we were dealing with a really nasty, probably configuration-related problem at work that caused a particular system to work when we ran it locally but not on the Development or the QA servers. I hoped that being away for seven working days would let someone else find and fix the problem, and was wrong. But, I do think I've figured out what the problem is, it's just a very annoying thing to deal with.
Meanwhile bunnyhugger's annoyances were more about schedule pressure. Getting the presentation she'd need ready meant getting a paper written which meant getting a certain amount of writing done every day and if it was past midnight and the writing wasn't near done? She was stuck staying up until it was done, producing a nasty cycle of very late nights leading to waking very late in the day leading to not having time to write at a reasonable hour and there we go.
And if that weren't enough somehow our May had gotten overbooked. Some of it was stuff we knew would come, like the Finals for pinball league and the Zen Tournament which would be the Tuesday before we left. Some was stuff we vaguely knew about but that didn't register as obligations until they came up, like the Celebration of Life for ERR. There was the pizza party gettogether at PCL's place. bunnyhugger had two retirement parties for workmates to attend. Also she had to get spring plants bought and planted; she got fewer than usual, and had just enough daylight to get them all in. Happily they seem not to have been eaten by squirrels. For Mother's Day I just supposed we would be visiting
bunnyhugger's mother and that knocked that day out. And then there were things like the kitchen light repair to throw even the normal days off.
About a week before we left there was a massive windstorm rolling through, with tornadoes that touched down in the county. We counted ourselves lucky to have avoided any serious damage from this, only to discover a couple days before we left that a huge tree branch from a tree between our back fence and the opposite neighbor's back fence --- so good luck guessing who might own that --- had fallen down and broken part of our fence. bunnyhugger found someone willing to cut the very long branch down, and even cut it up into fireplace-ready log segments, and while that means a potential problem was dealt with that was even more time eaten up by things.
And meanwhile, hey, I did some stuff too. Particularly, while going to Staples to get a power adaptor, I found they had a sale on suitcases. My old suitcase, from Singapore, broke one too many pieces a couple trips ago and I've been making do on bunnyhugger's or just loading up on duffel bags. But here, mm, some good-size ones at like fifty bucks off. After a fair bit of dithering I picked up a hard-shell one that was somehow lighter and rolled better than my old Singapore-purchased suitcase. The material on it said it was enough space for 7-14 days, and since we were figuring to be out about eight days that seemed good.
Turns out I ended up half-filling the suitcase, so, I guess the 7-14 days promise is accurate. I would end up using this space to stuff my duffel bag carry-on in-between flights, reducing the encumbrance of walking from place to place or the fuss of getting stuff on trains. bunnyhugger was determined to pack just enough that she could do the whole thing with carry-on luggage and she did succeed at that, so, maybe I could have bought a smaller suitcase. But I feel good about this one.
Important thing is we were ready, and bunnyhugger even discovered an unexpected bonus that we would make part of our first, very long, day. As the kids say, everything was coming up Milhouse.
Going now to look more at stuff besides the photo exhibits at the Jackson County Fair's exhibition hall. You coming with?

That 'creek' through the building is nicely flower-lined. I don't know how many of these are there only for the week of the fair and removed afterward.

Besides having a few 'storefronts' the exhibition hall has 'street names' for walkways. Facing us is Waterloo.

Getting down to look at the creek and the flowers here.

And then here's a cherub planted near the south end of the hall.

This collection of Fourth and Fifth Place ribbons from past Jackson County Fairs won a Third Place.

I hope somebody kept track of which of these ribbons where exhibits and which were the awards.
Trivia: Theodore Newton Vail --- general manager for Bell Telephone Company from 1878 to 1887, and founding president of AT&T from 1885, and probably the businessman most important to that company's domination of American telephony --- had as first-cousin-once-removed Alfred Vail, the telegraphy pioneer to whom Samuel Morse sent his ``What Hath God Wrought' message in 1844. Source: Telephone: The First Hundred Years, John Brooks.
Currently Reading: American Scientist, May - June 2024, Editor Fenella Saunders.