Travel Day

Friday, February 19

I didn't quite want to wake up, even though this was the morning. There were too many things I stayed up to do the night before... after packing and posting, I wrote out a three-page user's guide for a task at work that our new employee hasn't been trained on yet, that I had wanted to do all week, but never got around to. And when I finished that at 11:15, I remembered that I needed to take a shower still... and I was running on fumes already, so I went a little further. :)

I'm one of those who usually wakes up as soon as I get out of bed, and thankfully, that was the case today. Dad and Meg took us to the airport. It was a clear, cold morning, and we had easy sailing all the way there and an incredibly easy check-in, even though we checked bags. I paid for them when I checked in on Thursday, so all we needed to do was drop off our bags at the counter. And they had a counter for just that. The security lines were long, but moving steadily. I like watching people at airports... there are so many different kinds. There was a lady near us in line who was talking loudly in a British accent with her companion, and a guy right behind her dressed up as a monk.

Mom and I went to a new place for breakfast... I don't think the name is right, but it was Pallino? Or something like it... anyway, it was Italian, and I had an egg sandwich... scrambled egg fried with veggies and served on the lightest, softest, but crispy on the edges cibatta bread... and we shared a fruit & granola yogurt and an orange juice. It was the nicest!

By this time (7:30) the sun was all the way up and we could see every detail of the Olympic mountains out the windows to the west. It was a glorious morning. As we waited for a half-hour or so to board, I pulled out the book about Navy heritage I got in the mail the day before (wow, that was fast) and I got quickly engrossed in it. Between reading that and trying to shut my eyes for a bit, the flight went by before I knew it. The Houston airport really stretches out... and we had to ride their monorail to get to our next gate, just as we did the last time we rode Continental. We only stopped for a second to eat (I think it was the very same Mcy'D's I ate at with Natalie when we flew to Norman for the band trip) and I had Texas's own “home-style burger” which is the “Big N' Tasty” (hamburger, lettuce, tomato, onion) everywhere else, except with some special mustard on it. In fact, that is exactly what I had on that trip back in 2006... I was so surprised that McDonald's had something different on the menu somewhere else inside the US.

The next flight was on a little pea-shooter of an airplane, like normal (that's all that Asheville can handle). There were only three seats to a row; one on one side and two on the other. I read more of the Navy book for most of the way there, and the guy who sat on the other side of us asked me about it when we deplaned in Asheville. He said he was an intelligence officer for 6 years, and had just gotten out two years ago. I thought he was cute, when I saw him waiting in Houston. :)

Oh, it is good to be back! Grandpa and Grandma took us out to dinner at “J&S Cafeteria” directly. It was marvelous! I had a chicken and pasta Parmesan Alfredo with grilled onions. The place looked like a buffet, but you bought by the plate or side dish, instead of by the meal. Very nice indeed!

There is only a bit of snow on the ground... From the airplane I could see that it is only in the places where there are shadows. Grandpa said it only started really melting today! What excellent timing! All the roads are bare, and there are only little piles on the sides of the roads and in parking lots. But it is nice to see for the first time this year :) I've never been here when there was any... besides the summer, we've only been here in late March and early October. It's also very clear here. The crescent moon was brilliantly bright and I could see lots of stars when we walked out of the restaurant.
The first thing we always do when we come is sit down in the living room and talk. Just about anything under the sun... about an article in Time magazine or movies we've been getting on Netflix or about my brother, or the trip I took and the play I saw... and it's my favorite thing. Nobody does anything else but just listen and talk, and sometimes everyone is quiet and no one feels uncomfortable.

Jp