I do apologize to all my readers (all 20 of you or so), as the holiday happenings kept me hopping with events leading up to our trip to Minnesota. Now I am in the post-holiday hibernation where one seems to watch more movie, read books, and generally stay inside, thanks in part to some unusually cool weather.
We spent the last few days prior to the trip, hitting store after store for the necessary gift cards that were critical since we were flying and had to bring the appropriate clothes for our arctic expedition. Fortunately only a few minor delays happened to befall us on our flight. We did have to do a bit of jogging in the busiest airport in the world, we wound up with less than 25 minutes from the time we left the first plane till the time we were stepping on to the second one, which was actually held for us and one other person. Thankfully!!! Then we waved good-bye to the temps in the 40's, to the patchy grass in our yard, the kudzu, even the mason-dixon line, heading to the great white North. I have to admit that as we taxied toward the terminal the sight of that much snow and obviously cold temps has become a bit foreign and I couldn't help but joke to myself 'maybe this was the plane to Iceland' It was snowing nearly sideways with the winds howling and the misery of the airports grounds crew obvious.
At this point we were nearly back to being ontime, but luggage has away of becoming its own baggage. Numerous previous flights were re-routed and the baggage claim area was a labyrinth of hundreds of suitcases stacked in various places. The delivery of our bags was hampered by the fact the train trolley drove more like a slinky on a staircase, but a mere hour or so after we landed our bags were ours again and we were on our way.
(The harsh realities of winter)
The ride home was fine although a bit precarious due to the near blizzard conditions we had the pleasure of reacquainting with. But as many of our jealous southern friends would remind us "Must be nice to get a White Christmas" to which I laugh and reminisce about shoveling and trudging through slushy sidewalks everywhere you go.
Moon Boots... gloves with an elastic leash, frozen extremities due to too much time in your snow fort, throwing snowballs at the neighbor kids in their snow fort...sledding down the big hill next to my old house (which I know realize was only about 9 feet high). Well it has its good and bad points.
Obviously by the photos we chose to enjoy the weather as much as possible.
But while inside we played a wide variety of card games. Rook, Phase-10,Wizard, etc.
I even had the fortune to play in my father-in-laws poker club, which was a bit of an awakening. Having played quite a bit of Texas Hold'em due to its recent popularity. I was a bit overwhelmed since they didn't play that game. I was lost, a fish out of water...up a creek without a paddle.... drunk as a bicycle (for my southern peeps). The guys have played cards for several years and had over a dozen different card games to try and rattle my rookie mind. I was grateful for their patience since I was the new kid on the block or in the immortal words of one, Freddie Krugger " How Sweet, Fresh meat!" By some mysterious force, I actually one a few hands on the evening, keeping the losses to the equivalent of a steak dinner at Appleby's, instead of the four star surf and turf which is where the night was headed earlier in the game. The guys were all very cordial and fun, it was another nice glimpse into what retirement is supposed to be like. But that can wait for a few decades.
(A hair dryer... well atleast I can pre warm my head before shoveling snow)
( Sheila, can I use this GPS thing to track your father at the mall? )
Christmas Eve and Day were exactly what they were supposed to be Family, Food, and Fun...... and presents otherwise it would be a picnic. Watching our nephews, Colin and Griffin, or kids in general for that matter always makes me reflect on childhood and the youthful exhuberance that we are fortunate to get to experience. Sheila and I are very fortunate to always be able to have family around at the holidays, especially considering the wide variety of states that we all live in.
The day after Christmas my mother was able to make the 6 hour trek. We continued with more fun, mostly in the way of playing cards, occassionally interrupted by the need to eat. The time together is the most valued part of any of our holiday trips since they are only a few times a year.
(what a time for a plane wash.... last time they had to de-ice three times before liftoff)
Our flight back to the land of sorghum and peanuts was considerably less problematic. We were greated with nice low 50's , which isn't to bad for 11pm. Night time flying is such a treat, to see the cities and towns floating away from the plane like a large version of a childs Lightbright.
(small town lights from the plane)
The ground reflecting light patterns similar to the celestial skies above. Reminds me of a few songs (Defying Gravity) by my favorite musician JB.Which just makes me look even more forward to our next journey. Another trip is history and we have already begun thinking about the next one, Spring Break on the Gulf side of Florida in a mere two months.
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