A Vacation From Our Vacation

Before I regale you all with tales from our Alpine adventures, I thought I should let you know--I've been writing--but not much--because all four of us have conveniently succumbed, at the tail end of our trip, to a draining summer cold.  John said on the way home that he needed a vacation from our vacation...and we all got one. 

We've spent the past 24 hours lounging (I use the term loosely) around the apartment in our jammies, watching movies, blowing our noses and drinking noxious tinctures to support our immune systems.  It hasn't been a trip to the beach, but it's a break, so we're thankful for the forced rest and the time spent snuggling together. 

In the mean time, here is a picture of how much stuff a family of four traveling by train must lug with them to survive a trip to the mountains.  I termed this 'traveling light', but really, it was just a test to see how much stuff I could fit in three bags.  "Light" had nothing to do with it. 

And yes, I made my big four-year-old lug her own gear.  It builds character.