To and Fro

Well, we made it.


Those ridiculous storms in and around the Seattle area were the bane of many itineraries, including those of myself and Erin and Macy. This is how it felt, just so you know:

When we loaded up and flew from Bethel to Anchorage on the night flight on the 20th, everybody on the plane was so excited. Just about everybody on that bird worked either for LKSD or else YKHC, and we were all on cloud number 9 thinking about the vacations lying ahead.

Once we'd all de-planed at Ted Stevens Int'l and had a chance to eat at Chilis and then look at the boards, only to see that our late night connections into Seattle were cancelled, we all were deflated. I think a few times I actually saw people look at the board and heard the audible sound of a balloon being let go.

When we waited in the customer service line for an hour, only to find out that the soonest our flight could be rescheduled would be on the 25th....well that was kind of like being slapped upside the head with a cold dead carp. THWACK!!

Throw in some personal problems, and add to that the fact that my friend Macy (Erin's dog) was puking constantly, all night long, and you get a couple of haggard and emotionally drained travelers in Erin and I.

Luckily we made the decision early on to try and make the best of it. So, we got a free flight back to square one, Bethel. From there we were able to have fun with friends, do some skiing and snow machining and eat some nice meals and enjoy not having to work.

Take 2 of Return to Wisconsin went quite well, everything was on time or else early. We got to Madison around 8:30 pm on the 25th and everybody slept like a stone at the Rendall house. The next day, the 26th, we headed to Racine and I un-stored the pickup. What a feeling it was and is to be able to drive my pickup after it sat for all those months. I think the Chevy was really happy to see me too.

From Racine, Erin, Macy and I headed up to Kaukauna to Mary & Jerry Kavanaugh's home. We went out for some terrific fish, and the next day I stayed for part of the Kavanaugh family christmas fun as I waited for the fog to improve. (which it did not) The Kavanaughs really made me feel at home with their fun, hospitality and conversations. There were a couple of exciting moments, but overall everyone had a nice time, and I was thankful to have been a part of it all.

Today my family and I finally got to celebrate our Christmas. We had more delicious food, fun, racket and chaos. Also, a couple of exciting moments. I always have kind of thought that my family was nuts. And we may be that. But this holiday I've sort of come more to realize that any family worthy of membership would and should appear a little crazy to an outsider, and totally nutso to a sane person. So I'd suppose mine qualifies and I'm glad for it. Traveling 4,000 miles with travel hiccups was completely worth its reward.

Hopefully it was for the rest of you weary travelers out there too.