There and Back Again

Happy Thursday! Yesterday we returned to "sunny" California from tall wide Colorado. What beautiful summer weather east of the Rockies has! Warm AND green. This desert-raised mind boggles.

Let me recount to you one or a couple adventures. It all started when we got to the airport. Our gate was 44F...there was 43, and 45 was across the hall....oh, there's escalators down to 44...no. Escalator down to the street. Where a tram was waiting to take us across the tarmac to the "remote terminal" which housed gate 44.

On our way there, we stopped to let planes cross in front of us. I was afraid we'd end up like that cop car in Casino Royale that gets picked up in the engine wake.

But we made it to our proper gate. Shortly, we were walking out onto the runway towards our plane. We were flying on a commuter flight subsidiary of American Airlines. American Eagle, it was called, and aptly so; our plane was the size of one.

"Mom, I had a plane like this when I was a kid," I said, "I think it's in a drawer somewhere."

In any case, it seemed likely that once we all had boarded, someone was coming along to pick it up and throw it to Denver.

We had seats A and B, which, as we soon discovered, were across the aisle from each other. C was the far window seat. The stewardess was angry. I saw the Grand Canyon.

Right near the far side of the Rockies, we hit some awful turbulence. There was one dip significantly comparable to the first drop into the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. My Zune was playing Linkin Park's In the End, and when I noticed I was all "Eff that," and tossed on a one-two punch of Third Day's All the Heavens and Harrison's All Things Must Pass.

I had started My Sweet Lord for good measure, but then the angry stewardess made me put it away and shortly we were arrived alive.

I have four nieces: Ainsley loves dragons, Liberty loves frogs, Melody loves princesses, and Cassidy has this crazy wide-eyes stare at everything. They are 10, 8, 6, and four months.

Oh the adventures we had. Sunday we went to church and had a dedication for the lil one, then we had cake and Kevin barbecued. That was some gentle gentle cloudlike tri tip.

We hiked up a mountain and tried not to fall off of it. We went to Sonic and then saw Toy Story 3 (I fought so very hard not to cry. If I had been in less scrutinizing company I probably woulda bawled through the end).

On one day we went to a candy factory in Denver, a tea factory in Boulder, a cheese import store in Longmont, and a pirate restaurant in Lakewood.

We visited the Air Force Academy, toured the chapel(s) there. We wrapped everything up with a visit to a park that was unrecognizable to me.

It was a great time. It was summery and lovely and freewheeling and they had a cat that was obliging. Oh, and the visiting was fun too.

But alas, we had to return. So we boarded our Matchbox plane and headed for home. (Our steward was not angry--but he had to tilt his head to keep his faux-hawk from scraping the top of the cabin) This flight was ridiculously smooth compared to the first. I played much Professor Layton. On our descent we passed over downtown, and you could see the LED displays from the Nokia theater.

And then we drove home and I slept forever. The end.

I'll be on my way to the AX a week from this morning. Wish me luck.

-Steph