Highlights from cross-country trip, March 2009

[tagryn]

* We both flew out to California, Donna on Sunday and me on Wednesday. Unfortunately Donna's mom passed away Saturday night before she arrived. Donna was hoping to help with cleaning and sorting her parents' house, but that didn't happen for a number of reasons I don't want to get into here. We were able to finally secure a number of family mementos that Donna wanted, including a painting done by her great-grandmother. We drove cross-country with it in the back of a rented SUV, hence the reason for driving rather than flying.

* Driving cross-country with a painting in the back, rather than two howling cats, makes a definite difference in the comfort level.

* We stopped the first night in Laughlin NV, second night in Tucson AZ, third night in Dallas TX, fourth night in Nashville TN, and finally arrived back home after midnight on Friday. We were originally planning to take a more southern route through LA, AL, and the Carolinas, but we wanted to get home before Saturday and so shortened the route.

* I think we agreed that Tucson was quite nice, and we could comfortably live there if necessary. West Texas was very, very flat (here's a video I made of the landscape) but not quite as bad as advertised. Mind, we were seeing both in winter, not in summer. We ate a good Mexican dinner at Chuys Restaurant in Van Nuys TX before continuing on to Balmorhea, TX.

* I have been wanting to see the Balmorhea state park in Texas for a long time, but never thought I'd be in West Texas to do so. As it turned out, our route went right by it. We didn't arrive until nightfall, however, so stopped at a very nice hotel in town (and as it turns out, probably the only decent hotel in a hundred miles). Balmorhea has one of the few natural cienegas (a natural desert spring wetland) in the world; the one I was first aware of, Cuatro Ciengas in Mexico, is more extensive than Balmorhea, but Balmorhea has the distinct advantage of being located in the United States. I've uploaded a series of photos from our visit here in flickr. I was actually able to swim in the spring itself; the water was remarkably warm for early March, a natural effect of the spring, and there where lots of small fish in the water, which was very different from any other swimming experience I've had including the one in EPCOT this past December. These fish were *active*, and would literally swarm while nipping at you as you went by; not painful at all, just a strange feeling. Glad I was able to get the opportunity to have the whole experience.

* After we finished with Balmorhea, we were getting quite hungry and stopped at an inconspicuous quick-stop place called Huddle House. OK, well - definitely shouldn't judge a package by the wrapping. The food was above-average Southern cooking, the staff were friendly and helpful in all three places we stopped along the way, there wasn't much we didn't like about the place. The only bad thing is that our closest one is south of Richmond in Petersburg, but perhaps that's just as well or we might become regulars, which wouldn't be good for my waistline.

* On our way through West Texas to Dallas, we stopped in Midland TX, George W. Bush's hometown. I've uploaded photos of Donna and myself in front of the George W. Bush Childhood Home. There was also a large "WELCOME HOME PRESIDENT BUSH" banner in the middle of downtown. Well, at least he's loved somewhere, that's something.

* I think we were both happy to bid California goodbye this time, thanks to all the stress and unpleasantness revolving around the visit. We both felt badly for putting all our CA friends through this, I hope we're able to visit again soon under better circumstances.

* I will say this in closing. Try and treasure the older folks in your life, they won't be here forever. They're the last ones we get to ask advice of; before long we won't have anyone older to ask anymore and it'll be up to just us to try and figure everything out. I would have given anything to have George (my father-in-law who passed away in 2006) around, not just because he was a great guy who I miss very much, but selfishly because so much of the bad stuff that happened on this trip wouldn't have happened if he were still around. I'm glad he's at peace and not at pain anymore, but...well, as Will Ackerman says in this interview, "With someone’s death, you’re not weeping for them, you are weeping for yourself." I guess that's true, at least somewhat.

Comments

Sympathies....

[(Anonymous)]

Dear Tom and Donna,

I am so sorry to read of the passing of Donna's mom.
And also for what sounds like some difficulties afterwards.
My mom passed over in Sept, and I was a bit shocked to learn how differently
folks will handle that sort of thing. Some well, some others..
well.. horridly. I could hear Mom spitting nails at some points
it seemed, but there wasn't anything to do but go with the flow
and treasure the things I did manage to get.

As they say on the show Clean House, you don't need the thing
to remember the person. Yeah.. well... but the actions of others
can stain such a time in a way that makes it ever so much more difficult
then it needs to be. But.. Time does help...
as I'm sure you learned with your dad.

Sending good thoughts to you and hope that things
are able to heal some in the future for you...

Warn hugs,
Romana
swanmyst@yahoo.com

p.s. sent you an email at aol...but not
sure if you are getting it...