I know…there is nothing routine about a bucket list trip that takes you to another continent almost 4000 miles from home.  That said, this trip made me think a lot about my daily routines at home-the things I do and don’t do-as well as the pieces of those routines that I did and didn’t maintain while away.

The oddest part of the trip, since Weber did not go with me, was having seven nights in a hotel room by myself.  I’m not sure there has ever been a time in my life where I have spent that many consecutive nights with absolutely no one else in a room with me.  I have always shared a bed with a dog (or three), a spouse, a child.  Many nights it was all of the above.  When I wasn’t sharing space with one of these, I had a roommate.  I have never lived taotally alone.  This is kind of a weird realization for someone who is nearly 58 years old.

I did think about this situation before I left home and, honestly, was kind of looking forward to it.  No snoring.  No dogs to let out in the middle of the night.  As much or as little room as I wanted or needed in the bed.  Lights and temperature exactly how I wanted them set.  With these nights of aloneness also came a sense of independence and control that I had never experienced.

One of my daily rituals is to write morning pages, a practice that comes from Julia Cameron’s Artist’s Way.  I have done this faithfully for many years, rarely missing more than a day of writing here or there.  As I thought about my mornings in Iceland, I had this picture of waking up by myself, making a cup of (probably lousy) hotel coffee and writing in the quiet of the morning light, diving deeply into my thoughts and feelings about the trip.  Confession time: I did not write morning pages one time while I was gone.  I also did not make and drink lousy hotel room coffee.  In fact, I did not even drink good coffee in the hotel dining room at breakfast.  My morning routine was totally non-existent for a week.  I’m not sure why I never wrote.  I didn’t even feel guilty about neglecting this part of my daily discipline.  That is almost more confusing to me than the not doing it.  And when I got home, I picked it right back up.

I do understand the not drinking coffee at breakfast.

We were traveling by bus during the day.  Though it had an onboard restroom, we were instructed to use it only in case of true emergencies; and, if that was necessary we were to notify the bus driver so that he could pull over as no one was to be in the lavatory while the bus was in motion.  I didn’t want to be THAT person, so I abstained from my usual 2-3 cups of coffee at breakfast.  As with the morning pages, I picked up my morning coffee routine as soon as I got home also.

Don’t think that I went seven days without any coffee!  Instead of drinking it in the mornings, I had several cups every night with dessert.  Another perk of having a hotel room to myself is that I also had the bathroom all to myself.  No sharing.  No waiting my turn. I could drink and pee to my heart’s content all night!

One thing that is not part of my nightly routine at home is setting the alarm.  Weber always does it.  I had to remember to set my phone alarm before I went to bed.  I also did not want to be the person that was either left behind or held up the group departure in the morning.

Oh…and that part about being able to set the lights and temperature in the room exactly as I wanted them…kind of a non-issue.  Since sunset was at midnight and sunrise at 3am, it was never dark.  It was never necessary to turn lights on in the room.  And the only temperature control consisted of opening the window.  It was nice to sleep with cool fresh air, though I really didn’t sleep much.

It was hard to go to bed before sunset.  And, if I awoke at any point during the night, it was light outside and my first thought was that I had overslept.  Every time I woke up, I frantically checked the time on my phone and made sure that I had set my alarm correctly.  I was going to bed at 1:30, setting my alarm to get up at 6, and waking up several times during those short 4 1/2 hours in between.  Minimal sleep happened.  I’m not sure how I survived without morning coffee!

In addition to my coffee routine being turned upside down, I also “had” to drink Pepsi Max instead of Diet Coke.  Pepsi definitely had the soft drink market in Iceland.  I had to laugh though when we stopped for a hot dog for lunch on our first full day in Reykjavik.

Though the stand has Pepsi signs all over and the fountains inside were Pepsi only, the uniform shirts of the employees had the Coca Cola logo on the sleeves.  I wish I’d had the wherewithal to photograph the server’s arm with Coke on the sleeve as she pushed the button on Pepsi Max with one hand and held a paper Pespsi cup with the other.

Though Pepsi Max was becoming less egregious as our time in Iceland went on, I am happy to be back in my Diet Coke world.  I know…it’s a bad habit, but there are lots worse habits to have!

I know that we all need vacations to help us break out of the routine of our everyday life.  Vacations give us time to contemplate our daily habits and rituals and make changes, if necessary.  I definitely needed some time away to get out of the ruts of life.  There is no question that I did that.  I was surprised by how.

Oh…and I haven’t set an alarm since I’ve been home.