A Fariy Tale Trip

I was distracted when I sat down on the plane. Picked a window seat in the second to last row on the starboard side of the plane. Thought I'd have the whole row to myself for a while, but a Marine from Pendelton told a friend over the phone that he just made it in time, and he took the aisle seat. I always have big plans for reading books when I fly, but of course, I did not want to think about anything but home. It was a little chilly, so I covered my legs with my fleece blanket and stayed in my new Washington microfiber coat as I flipped through the Southwest airlines magazine. They had an article about Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parades of the past... with some neat old pictures too. And there was an excerpt of Jennifer Grant's new book about growing up with her father Cary, and their Thanksgiving memories. One funny anecdote... one time when they were having roast duck, and the ducks were hanging up inside, Cary tied a necktie around one, noting they should dress the place up more. :)

Okay... so I'm on the way to Las Vegas. The plane had a stop there before continuing on to Seattle. I followed Orion out my window throughout the short flight. He drifted forward, especially when we finally made the turn east after flying right over my new house! Camp Pendleton was a big black spot along the coast... and there were lots of empty spaces of blackness below as we flew over the desert. Thin stripes of highways connected the spots of light... it looked as if they were giant bridges over huge bodies of water; but once in a while a little light would give it away for what it was. I loved the thin, low, blanketing clouds over LA. It looked like snow covering the blue & orange-yellow lights. A very busy, lonely highway stretched all the way to Vegas... many people were on their way... but Vegas itself was enormous! Stretching out for miles. The famous strip of casinos was very near the airport, so even though I couldn't de-plane, I did see quite a bit of the city.

The next flight was exactly two hours... and I think I remember being awake for about 15 minutes of it. Propped my head against the side of the plane with my blanket and was fast asleep, waking up as we began our decent into my beautiful Pacific Northwest.

My bag was waiting for me, but we were almost a half-hour early. Mom, Dad & Meg were on there way, only about 15 minutes away. It was much colder than Cali... in the 30's! What a breath of fresh air! They soon got me and we got home quick. Took me a while to fall asleep though... I was so excited to be there.

Woke up between 8 and 9 both mornings. Dad cooked cheese omelets, we played a satisfying set of Backgammon games, then Meg beat me at Phase 10. One of the neatest surprises was a phone call from Zac! I haven't spoken with him since August, so it was a rare treat indeed! Then we set up the house for the big dinner, moved tables and chairs around. Then I took Spiffy for a walk around our 1/2 mile block.

Andie, Nathan, Beckie & Micah had arrived when we got back. And we helped Mom with some of the last minute food... fruit salad, Brussel sprouts, mashed potatoes. Grandma Payne, Aunt Penny and Uncle Don soon followed, as well as Tom and Bette, long-time friends of our family. Dinner was magnificent... Mom had cooked the turkey the day before (just when I had called in the morning, actually) and Dad had carved and put into the serving trays. He said Spiffy helped out too. :) We had stuffing, gravy, sweet cornbread, jellied cranberries, rolls, sweet potato pie, and other sides. It was all so good, but desert was waiting... Apple, Pumpkin, Pecan & Lemon Meringue pies.

I had a piece of pumpkin before we started the Bingo game though; couldn't wait. Bingo is a long-time tradition of ours... I hadn't done it for a long time though! It sort of went by the wayside while Meg was in Kalamazoo and Miami. Loved it though... and Beckie (7 yrs old) and Micah (5 yrs old) are just at the age now where it's getting to be a lot of fun. Mom and Meg had wrapped pieces of candy, gum, packets of nuts or beef jerky and put them in a big bag. Dad calls out the numbers, and whoever gets a Bingo, gets a wrapped prize. We keep going until the prizes are gone, and then everyone unwraps their hoard, then trades with people for the things they like best. It's wild fun while lots of people sing (or shout) out "Bingo" in choruses.

Then we had desert in earnest. I had some Apple, and a little more Pumpkin as well. People trickled away, and there was lots of chit-chat. My grandma is doing pretty well for being a few short months away from turning 98! We got to visit, and that was really nice. Later on, Meg, Dad and I played Phase 10, and although starting off ahead, Meg finished us off again. :)

When everyone had left, Mom & Dad & I watched a couple episodes of Monk, as they've been re-watching the series. They were in the last few episodes of season three. Ironically, one of them was "... Goes to Vegas". :) The opening scenes were a deja vu moment for me, as it was an aerial shot of the strip. Oh, and the other was Natalie running for school board against Harold.

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Friday! It was the *perfect* fall day... 45 degrees, sunny & crisp. Shared a breakfast of oatmeal with Mom & Dad & Jason (Meg was out shopping with her other family). But first, Dad & I had worked at taking down the extra tables and starting the dishes. It was a leisurely meal, and just what I wanted the day to be like. Took the dog for a long walk after all was settled. We cut through the park to the right, came back around on the street, then cut through the park again to the left, and then continued on the sidewalk to home. He was a worn out little boy after he got his walk cookie. :)

Meg and I wanted to do Half Price Books and Tree Top Toys in downtown Redmond together, just like old times. We did, and it turned out to be a 4 or 5 hour adventure! I found a present for someone at the toy store, as well as some new releases of Carnegie Dinosaurs... :) Sold my John Paul Jones book back at Half Price (which I had listened to on audio from the library in SD) and found the whole set of BBC Narnia on DVD for $15! Yay! I have my own copy now! Then we decided to check out Value Village down the street, and there I found three totally unrelated items: a finely painted duck decoy for decor... a pair of Vietnam-era green dungarees that match my green coat... and a beautiful, padded, light brown vinyl office chair that I'd like to have in my home someday. So I got them all. And Mom can now use it at her desk until I am able to drag such a thing along with me somewhere. We even returned to Tree Top because they called to tell Meg they actually did have more Breyer stablemates in stock, and she ended up getting a few.

Played Phase 10 again when we got home, but interrupted it for a lovely dinner prepared by Mom & Dad. Rainbow trout fried in olive oil, gourmet mac'n cheese, leftover Brussels sprouts and cranberries, cucumbers, and potatoes. Watched two more Monks while we had pie and milk... season 3 finale & season 4 premiere. Finished the game after that... I was 3 phases ahead and only had 5 points, compared to her 300! One out of three, as they say... but I went out big!

Then to cap off this wonderful holiday, I played with current members of the Husky Band for their last rally of the season... the Naked Rally (lots of people with only boxers, briefs & bras - not me) before tonight's Apple Cup against Washington State. Dan was a rookie my 3rd year in the band... and this year, he returned for a 6th season! How nice to play with somebody I know! I didn't know how much I'd remember, but even "Bow Down to Washington" (fight song) came out pretty well. Louie Louie, Tequila, Walk This Way, Everybody's Everything, Johnny Q, You Can Call Me Al, FBG, Johnny's Mambo, Africano and even Polynesian Paralysis came back. Oh, and Free Ride, where we make a sideways W with our horns while playing... It all came back in an instant. There were three new tunes, but they are all hits on the radio now... so since I'm familiar with them from duty driving, I followed along pretty easily. With over an hour of playing, my chops were pretty tired by the time we got back to Red Square (center of campus is all brick) so I just called Mike and let him listen along for a song or two. It had been over a year-and-a-half since I had last played with the band. What fun!

Mom & Dad dropped me off at the regular meeting place on campus, then continued on to SeaTac to pick up our renter Christina from the airport. They did make a special trip to come pick me up at 10:30ish, so that was really nice of them. While I waited for the band to show up at 8:45 (arrived at 8:25) the father of a kid in band who was coming invited me to sit in his minivan to stay warm. What a nice guy!

Got home, and crashed in bed. Finished reading Song of Solomon with my own Lover over the phone. Through this book we each read our own parts, and while I was at home I used Andie's old 1984 large print NIV from when she was a kid. The new testament falls out, it was so loved.

Perfect, perfect, perfect! It was worth much more than I paid to share these precious two days with my family. Got up at 4:30 this morning, had a hot egg and toast waiting for me on the table after I finished getting ready. Parting was easier this time, since I'll be back in a mere 3 weeks time. Hugged and waved goodbye, went right through to my gate, started this post, and promptly fell asleep on the plane. Had the row to myself, so I angled myself comfortably with my blanket for a pillow. The flight from Sacramento to San Diego, however, was crowded. Got an exit row seat and worked on this post for practically the entire hour. Got a taxi right away, and was sitting in my room exactly 30 minutes after touchdown. Only $15 total, so that was alright too.

Thank the Lord for this blessing!
Jw