Why? Why must vacations end? Of course, in this case, I think it was a good thing that my brother, sister-in-law, and I all wish my visit could have been longer. I'd much rather leave now then when we all can't stand each other any more.
Before I get to that, a quick update. When I got home Thursday night, I found both of the other outstanding keys. So, that was all taken care of before I left. My co-worker started on the shower, but finished it up Friday night. It actually feels like it's working right for the first time in a year!
So, Friday morning, I got up at 3 AM to head to the airport. Got there and got checked in no problem. Well, ok, so I had trouble finding my way to the new parking garage since there is still construction going on. And I cut it about as close as I could. But I still had plenty of time to wait for loading. Then I got to Phoenix on time as well. It was there at my travel adventures started.
They were having storms in Dallas, so we sat on the run way for half an hour then circled Dallas for an hour. Didn't mind too much since it meant that I could read more Harry Potter. In fact, when we did land, I was 15 pages away from the end of the first book. Naturally, I finished it before I went to bed that night.
My brother dropped me off at Half Price Books for a couple hours while he studied for his summer school class. I bought $30 worth of books, but not as many as I would have bought had money been no object. Included in my purchases were a few Carolyn Hart books and what looks like a first American edition of Douglas Adam's first Dirk Gently book.
Friday night we just hung out, talked, and ate dinner.
Saturday, we headed out to Six Flags over Texas. And we had a blast. It was a little hotter then I would have liked, but it was also a lot less crowded then I expected. We hit all the rides we wanted to hit, several of them multiple times. And we complained about 45 minute waits, which we missed most of the time. We closed out the park, staying until 10 PM. I was impressed with the park. The themeing was better and they had a few rides I wish they'd build here in CA.
Sunday, we started the day by going to their church. I've now been to their church twice, and I have yet to hear their pastor speak. The first time, he was on vacation for Thanksgiving. This time, they brought in Josh McDowell. He gave his testimony, which was powerful. I'd heard it before, but it had been a long time. It was recorded for future use in Arab countries where he already has a good ministry going.
Then came lunch. This was the part of the weekend I was most concerned about. We met up with Lori and Leslie from the Trixie boards. Mike read the books a long time ago, and Zoe has never read them. Considering that's what I had in common with these people I had never met before, I was worried that it could flop. I should have known better. Meeting Trixie friends is always fun, and this was no exception. Yes, we did talk Trixie and the boards a little, but we also talked about plenty of other things so Mike and Zoe weren't board. We got there late because of a bad traffic jam, but we stayed for almost 3 hours.
When we left, we headed over to their new house. They get to move in in about a month, but the people they bought it from have great about showing it to a steady stream of relatives. It's a nice little house and I'm really happy for them.
The rest of the trip was nothing spectacular. We talked to our parents (always good), Mike study for a test in his class. Monday he went to class and Zoe went to work. In the afternoon, Mike and I stopped for gelato on the way to the airport. The airport is where things got interesting again.
My flight was delayed by a maintenance issue once I was on the plane. I got into Phoenix 15 minutes before my flight was to leave. I arrived at gate A24 and was leaving from gate B22. Believe me, I ran. Got enough of a workout, I decided I didn't need to go running this morning, in fact. That flight got into LAX on time, but my bag wasn't on it. See, my original flight was supposed to continue on to LAX as well and arrive about the same time. My bags just stayed on that plane. That flight was still behind schedule, so my bag arrived an hour after I did. But it got there, and I eventually made it home safe and sound.
Of course, the good news about all this is that I got that much further in my book. All Rivers to the Sea is another depressing Thoene book. The whole series has been a downer in many ways, but this one is too much like Shiloh Autumn for my taste. It's getting into the potatoe famon and is just so sad. Only 50 pages left, so I can't complain about how long it's taken me to read.
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