Last Day of Roadtrip: Coming Home

No matter where you've been or how good a time you've had, it's always nice to come home from vacation to your familiar environment. Your family, your cats, your own bed, your own shower.

However, it took me twice as long as it should have to actually arrive home.

My plane was delayed for 90 minutes due to bad weather in Dallas. Once airborne, things went fine until the pilot announced that we'd have to change the flight path and go way out of our way to avoid some bad weather. Then we flew in 300 mile diameter circles around Dallas for a while before turning around and heading to San Antonio to land, refuel, and wait out the storms in Dallas. Originally we were scheduled to arrive in Dallas at 5:30 p.m., and we didn't get there until well after 9.

To add to the fun, a few minutes after landing in San Antonio the flight attendants announced that the bathrooms were "full" and would be closed until further notice. I had just taken advantage of the facilities and so I remained comfortable until we finally deplaned in Dallas, unlike some of the unluckier cross-legged passengers.

I guess this is not really that interesting of a story, other than to say I was on a plane for 8 hours instead of the normal 4, and also that airplane food is no longer free, which I find mildly insulting considering the rather dubious quality of said food in the first place. I strongly feel that when you pay anywhere from $250 to $1000 or more for a plane ticket, the least they can do is throw in a soggy turkey sandwich and dried out carrot sticks gratis.

And do you remember when airlines would charge you to rent a set of earphones? Doc notes that their little jacks were proprietary, utilising some sort of whooshing air-based sound transmission system of a horribly tinny quality, and if you owned your own set of earphones you were out of luck because they wouldn't fit in the jacks.

Of course, that was also when in-flight entertainment was free (even if it was just nine channels of radio through the arms of your seats). Now you're charged $10 to rent a little device that plays, on a 5" screen, a select (read: crappy) set of films or television shows, chock full of advertisements.

Roadtrip Days 8 & 9: Redmond

Saturday we spent mostly with Mike. We ate breakfast at what is apparently the only bagel shop in the entirety of the Seattle area (with Mike, as usual, not eating). Then we went with Mom to an appliance shop where she is ordering her new kitchen appliances for the new house. Good thing, too, 'cause she changed her mind about all of them once she was able to see them in person and talk to a salesperson. She picked a dishwasher, stove, oven, refrigerator, range hood, and microwave oven.

Then we accompanied Mike to the liquor store for a bottle of his favorite tequila (which, I worry, serves as his dinner on many nights). Don't let it be said that my family can't drink. I'm the odd one out, it would seem, as far as alcohol habits; one or two drinks per week is more than enough for my tastes.

Mike seems to be opening up a little as the days wear on, and by that I mean he's not responding entirely in monosyllables and occasionally you can actually hear what he says. I really feel bad for him and feel like I should be a good sister and do something to help him, but I think he's still at a point where he doesn't want help and doesn't particularly even want to feel better, and I totally understand that. So I've been giving him his space, not forcing conversations, trying to make him smile on occasion, and talking with him about things that interest him (food, wine, migraine).

His house is in such disrepair it's depressing. All the renovations that he and Vanessa started (actually I think it was entirely Mike doing the work) just sit half finished. He has no motivation to complete them, and I don't think I would either in his situation.





We sat around the house in the afternoon, working on our computers or watching the TV. In the evening, Mom and I drove out to a place called Triple XXX Root Beer Drive In in Issaquah to pick up dinner (burgers, fries, root beer floats). The place was a retro-nostalgia 50s style drive in diner, with 50s music on the loudspeakers, people with their classic cars in the parking lot, and 50s memorabilia plastered over every square inch of the place. Mike asked us to bring him some insanely large super special burger that was at least 8 inches in diameter.

Last night the moon and clouds looked particularly pretty, so I took some long exposure pictures after it finally got dark enough, which was about 10:45 p.m. (the days are longer here in the summers than in Texas because of how far north it is).





Today we drove out to Sequim to show Mike the house and get his opinions on things that might need to be done, such as reinforcing the floors underneath the kitchen and bathroom. Mike has done a lot of renovation on his house and he does beautiful work, so Mom wanted to see if he thought that they needed to make any changes. I told him that he could get a second job as a contractor.

That drive to Sequim is LOOOOOONG. It's about 140 miles from Mike's house to there, each way. I've done it 3 times now. I think, all told, I've probably been in the car for 3500 miles in the past 9 days. I'm really tired of it, but the funny thing is, these drives back and forth to Sequim seem MUCH longer than the 650 mile days we were doing to get here in the first place.

At least on the way back we stopped by John's (about the halfway point) so Mike could try to get Mom's outgoing e-mail to work (no dice), so it was nice to have a little break. I laid under their cherry tree outside and called Doc. I can't wait to see him tomorrow.

This evening we went to a nice Italian place called Grazie's (in Factoria) for dinner. The food was nice, and I even tasted Mike's CALAMARI, if you can believe it! Not the little deep fried rubber bands that a lot of places serve as an appetizer, but a calamari steak. It had a nice taste, but the texture was a little odd and smooth. I could probably dig it if I didn't think about what it was. And for dessert: the most amazing thing in the world, a taste I had no idea existed. Flourless chocolate cake – not too sweet – and a glass of port wine. Oh. My. God.

Tomorrow I go home. My flight gets in to Dallas at 5:30. I have had a nice time but am looking forward to my cats, my own bed, and especially my Doc.

Roadtrip Day 7: All Over The Place

This morning I got up early again and went walking in Gig Harbor with Mom, Aunt Sue, and family friend Yasuko. We walked around the harbor and marina and through the downtown area, then stopped for coffee and scones. Yasuko is a bit older than Mom and Sue, and as a teenager Mom babysat her kids.

It turns out that her daughter, Christine Wada, works in Hollywood and was the costumer for one of my favorite movies, O Brother Where Art Thou. She's done costumes for a lot of movies, including a few Coen Brothers films.

We drove up to Sequim with John and Sue so Mom could meet with the plumber and get the fixtures and tub choices finalized. We walked around the property for a bit first, and it had rained earlier in the day, so everything was wet. It was cold, too! I would say between 50 and 55 degrees.

Later we ate lunch at a little cafe on the waterfront, more of a dive really. It looked like a place where old people go to sit all day and smoke cigarettes. The fish and chips were excellent, very lightly battered so not too heavy. I really and truly love malt vinegar on my fish and chips. Who needs tartar sauce?

While Mom was at the plumber's shop, the rest of us went to a few antique/junk shops to see if they might be places Mom would like to go to search for old doorknobs and other authentic house accessories. Then we got blizzards at Dairy Queen.

Note to self: Never eat fish, chips, and ice cream for the same meal. Ever. Again. You will regret it.

Traffic was awful coming back home; a bad accident had shut down the highway. We exited and tried to take back roads. John was driving mom's car and knows the ins and outs, but as it turned out, so did everyone else. It probably would have been quicker to stay on the highway.

I took a few photos at John's, of his house and the surrounding forest.









Later, we left John and Sue's as they had to pack up for their monthlong vacation at their Alaskan island cabin, and drove back to Redmond to Mike's house. I was not feeling well at all (again: fish, chips and ice cream are a bad combination) and so I pretty much laid around for the rest of the evening, reading and feeling sorry for myself.

We'll spend tomorrow with Mike. No idea what we will do.

Roadtrip Day 6: Seattle

Not a whole lot to report for today. We came out to my Uncle John's house this morning and hung out here all day, talking, having cheese and diet Pepsi on their patio, running errands. Brittney calls him "the flip off uncle" because I have a photo of me and my brothers and my mom and him on the sofa in my house on the night before my wedding, and he has a huge grin on his face and he's flipping off the camera.

Late afternoon I took Tilly and went running up and down the HUGE hill on the main road near their house. We didn't go very far, partly because there was not much of a shoulder to the road and I was afraid she would get into the street, but mostly because I don't do 20% grades very well. Texas is FLAT and that's what I'm used to!

This evening my cousin John Evan and his wife and kids came for dinner, along with family friend Yasuko, whose kids my mom used to babysit for in the early 1960s. The Richardson kids seemed to get all the energy in the family while the McCormack kids are much calmer. It took a lot out of me, to be "on" for that long. John seems a lot calmer than he used to; not as much angry energy. I think being a dad has helped him a lot.

Tomorrow we go back to the property in Sequim for Mom to meet with the plumber. She was hoping that would happen today but he needed to meet tomorrow instead. Hopefully we will also be able to take Tilly to the beach to play in the water.

I know I've only been gone six days, but I feel a little homesick for Doc and the cats and my own bed. Actually I am VERY homesick for Doc... it's really hard to not be with him for this long. I've loved spending a lot of time with my mom but I really wish he was here too.

Roadtrip Day 4: Washington State

We made it to our final destination! I cannot believe we drove 2500 miles in 3-1/2 days, especially with a dog and cat along for the ride.

Mom and I are now staying with my brother Mike in Redmond, just outside of Seattle.

Too tired to type now. Will recap in the morning.

Okay, I am now a bit more refreshed than I was when I started this post yesterday.

We had breakfast in Couer d'Alene, Idaho, with Doc's mom this morning. We ate at a lovely ritzy resort restaurant on the lake. Not that the restaurant was that ritzy, but the resort sure was. It was really great to see her, and now that she's moving to Derby, Kansas, we'll be able to visit more often.



Our drive was mainly uneventful. Eastern Washington is surprisingly plain and flat.



The Columbia Valley Gorge is somewhere in the middle, and it is quite beautiful.



Western Washington, however, is much more interesting.



We got to Mike's house in the early evening and sat out on his back porch for a little while until he got home from work. Then he took me for a ride on his new motorcycle. I cannot believe I got on the back of a bike! The last time I was on one, I was an infant in a cardboard box on the back of my dad's motorcycle in the early 1970s.



My brother's girlfriend of four years recently left him and it's like all the life has gone out of him. He won't eat, he barely responds when you talk to him, and doesn't smile. I know he'll pull through it eventually but he's in a bad place right now, and it makes me really sad that there's nothing I can do.

Tomorrow Mom and I will go to Sequim to see her new house in progress.

Roadtrip Day 3: Montana & Idaho

We are making seriously good time on this roadtrip. I think we are a full day ahead of schedule! We have driven about 650 miles each day since Friday, and are now in Couer d'Alene, Idaho.

Today's route:

90 from Sheridan, Wyoming straight on through to Couer d'Alene, Idaho. One road, 650 miles!

Montana is much more picturesque than Wyoming. It is named Big Sky Country for a good reason. It seems to be rather sparsely populated and everyone has a view of verdant hills teeming with evergreens or snow-capped mountains. The skies are enormous and blue and filled with puffy white and gray clouds.





Here is a photo of our hotel from last night, which used to be a flour mill:



I can't believe I've been getting up at 5:45 every morning since Friday. It's actually not as hard to do when you go to bed by 9:30 p.m.! First thing after waking up, I put on my shorts and hoodie and running shoes and take Tilly outside for a short jog. We've been going about a mile or so, which is not very far for someone who's supposed to be training for a marathon, but I'm on limited time and I've got a dog who probably can't go as far as I need to. Anyway, I think I'm doing good to be getting any exercise at ALL on a cross country roadtrip.

This morning I let Tilly off-leash in the hotel parking lot (it's fenced on 3 sides from the street with a nice grassy area at the back), and ran her from one side to the other at top speed for a few minutes. She can outrun me, easily, even when I sprint. She has this awesome bounding run and she'll cross diagonally in front of me as if to trip me up, and then she'll stop at the end of the parking lot and look back at me like she's laughing.



As we drove through these beautiful hills and valleys today, I wanted to stop on the roadside and let her out to just run up and down the hillsides. Too bad most of them had fences a few dozen yards back from the highway. I guess somebody owns every square inch of America.

We stopped to pee in a cute little town called Livingston, where I overheard the woman behind the store counter at the Exxon station tell a local customer "And she actually asked me, 'How safe are your hotels?' And I told her 'Honey, I'm at work and my house is unlocked, that's what kind of town this is!' And she sniffed and walked out without a word!"

We ate lunch at a Quizno's in Butte, where Tilly charmed everyone who walked past our patio table. And later in the afternoon we stopped for gas in Wallace, Idaho, a tiny town nestled along a river in a valley, that is very well kept up and apparently just held some sort of weekend festival. There were far more cars parked in the antiquey looking downtown area than could possibly belong to just the residents.



And now we're at the La Quinta in Couer d'Alene. We got a bottle of wine and had cheese, fruit, snap peas and crackers in the room for dinner.

Tomorrow morning we are having breakfast with Doc's mom, who is driving down from Sandpoint about 40 miles north of here. I'm looking forward to seeing her.

Roadtrip Day 1: Texas & New Mexico

Mom and I began our Crazy Summer Roadtrip A La Thelma And Louise But Without The Murders and Driving Off Cliffs this morning.

(I've posted my photos on Flickr.)

It's funny how your perception of how long you're spending in the car (or, I suppose, any mode of transportation) is relative to your total travel time. For instance, the 4-1/2 hour drive to Houston from Dallas seems to take absolutely forever, yet the eleven hours we spent in the car today seemed to go by fairly quickly, and I think that it's because I know we have another three or four full days still to drive. So does 1/4 of a journey always feel like 1/4 of a journey, no matter how long that journey is?

At any rate, we spent most of today in Texas. I've lived here my whole life (sigh) and I still marvel at the fact that one can drive literally all day and still be in this same damn state.

That being said, West Texas skies are amazing. So big.



Here is the route for today:

635 to 35 in Dallas.
35 to 380 in Denton.
380 to 287 in Decatur.
287 to 40 in Amarillo.
40 to 385 in Vega.
385 to 87 in Dalhart.
87 to 25 in Raton, NM.
And 25 to Trinidad, CO, which is where we are right now.

Just outside of Amarillo, we stopped at Cadillac Ranch. I have wanted to see Cadillac Ranch ever since I first heard of it years ago, and now I am very happy that I can cross this one off my Must Do Before I Die list. It seems a little less "larger than life" than I was expecting (Cadillacs 20 feet tall? Not so much), but it was still pretty cool.




Normally I really like New Mexico, but today it completely sucked. The little northeast corner that we drove through had road construction literally the entire way, and the speed limit averaged 45.

Tilly and Tigger (mom's black lab puppy and stripey cat) did amazingly well in the car. Tigger spent most of the time curled up in her litterbox on the floor behind the driver's seat, and Tilly slept on her fuzzy sheepskin dog bed on top of the luggage in the backseat. We made a lot of puppy pee stops (although Tilly was much more interested in chasing grasshoppers), and it was really nice to stop frequently just to get out and stretch.

In fact, I really like travelling without a set schedule. We don't have to be in Seattle on a particular day and we don't have motel reservations anywhere along the way. It is so much more relaxing this way.

So now we are in a motel in Trinidad, which is just inside the Colorado border. We found a nice place that has free wi-fi (woot!) and takes dogs and cats, but the tradeoff is that we are in a smoking room that smells really awfully strongly of tobacco. We were just too tired to drive any further to look for another place, though.

Sprint tells me that I have full coverage in Trinidad, but it lies. I am on stupid Roaming, which I do not use, so I cannot call anyone. Not that I particularly enjoy talking on the phone, but I did get two calls that I couldn't answer so as not to rack up hideous roaming charges.