After two vacations, I might need another one next week just to settle down.

I personally didn’t take a vacation this week. I’ve been hard at work. But the combination of family and an editor taking some time off just about did me in. But I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Last Saturday, I headed up to Stockton for the O Delta Day, arriving just in time for black clouds and a sudden pouring rain over the Lower Bryant Landing. The sun then came out and everything got hot and steamy. Welcome to June in the South.

I made it home less than 30 minutes before Kathy’s daughter, son-in-law and the two grandsons arrived. They were on vacation and wanted to hit the beach among other things. Our house would be the base of operations. It was our first long-term guests since we moved into the house in February.

Since we didn’t know their daily schedules, we planned on feeding them at night. That was part of the problem. Kathy and I don’t normally have big meals. But last week, I had a hankering to cook a couple of nights. Then there were the big throwdowns Saturday, Sunday and Monday night. I felt like I needed to walk to work in Robertsdale Tuesday just to work off some of the calories. I didn’t.

Kathy and I have settled into our own secluded routine at home, just us and a large dog and a cat. Marcus adjusted to the additional houseguest pretty quickly. Of course, all Kathy has to do is mention the boys’ names and the dog’s ears perk up. He was excited to see them. And he didn’t even bark that much at the son-in-law. Hemingway on the other hand, doesn’t like crowds, commotions or new people. And with two teenage brothers in the house, commotion describes the scene a good bit of the day. So the cat decided he would camp out under our bed. He only came out late at night when things had settled down.

At times I wanted to do the same thing. But when they left Wednesday, things seemed strangely quiet.

At the same time the family was heading south from northeast Mississippi, The Islander editor John Mullen was getting ready to head south from Orange Beach. OK, actually it was more southeast -- as in a certain island 90 miles from Cuba where Papa Hemingway lived and drank.

I wasn’t looking forward to doing his paper as well. Before he left, he told me he would leave some stuff in a folder on the computer. I got tied up and never even thought about looking. As the deadline for the weekend edition neared, I was busy working on a special publication and starting to get stressed about the amount of work I was facing.

When I finally did look, he had already designed a complete front page for me and had a boatload of stuff lined up for the inside pages. John Mullen is THE MAN.

Since I’m the newest person at Gulf Coast Newspapers, I not eligible for vacation time just yet. But I will get to have a little fun this coming week. I will even get to experience a first – flying in a balloon. I have always wanted to go up in one. I hear the silence is almost deafening as you slowly float across the countryside, admiring the world for a new angle. On top of the thrill of flying, I will get to ride along with a pilot I already know. In my previous life as a sports editor, and his previous life as a basketball official, we would see each other on a regular basis.

A knee injury ended his referring career. A change in jobs pulled me off the sidelines. (And my wife does a happy dance every time she thinks about the fact I get to spend nights with her, not covering games.)

The downside is I will have to be in Foley before dawn next Friday. Balloons don’t like high winds. And the winds are at their calmest at sunrise, so that’s when they fly. So that’s when I will fly.

I will likely be back before dawn Saturday for the balloon race. If you have never seen a “Hare and Hound” race, it is hard to fathom. One balloon will get ready, inflate and take off. As soon as its basket leaves the ground, the dozens of other balloons will begin the race to get inflated and airborne. The sounds of pilots barking orders, fans blowing and burners heating the air go hand in hand with the sight of ground crews scurrying around and then the amazing sight as the sky slowly fills with a rainbow of colors as more and more balloon take flight and begin to give chase.

It is early in the morning, but it’s worth it.

William Moore is the Senior Editor at Gulf Coast Newspapers. He can be reached at wmoore@gulfcoastnewspapers