California Dreamin'
So... there I was thinking about my brothers and wishing I lived closer so I could visit them more often. I was planning a visit to Utah on one of my 5 day stretches off of work when I thought to myself, "Self, why don't you see how much it would cost to fly to California?" As I went on line to check it out I was thinking how silly I was and that it would be way too expensive... WRONG! It was a great idea and it wasn't all that expensive! I coordinated with the California brothers and booked the flight. I tried to get Alan to join Eric, Mark and me in Cali but he was a no go. Oh well, maybe next time.
Waiting the next 4 weeks to take the trip was a little distracting to say the least but at last the happy day came. I worked Wednesday night, (the 14th of Nov). When I got off work Thursday morning, (the 15th), I went home, packed my bags, took a nap and then off to the airport I went. Cerra's parents (who live in Boise) graciously let me park my car at their place AND took me to the Boise airport in time to catch my flight.
I flew from Boise to Reno, about a 1 hour flight. Then I had a 1 hour lay over before my connecting flight to San Jose. The flight from Reno to San Jose was about a 30 minute flight. Not a bad itinerary all in all. However, when I got to Reno I was not thinking about the time change and I almost got on a flight to Las Vegas. What saved me was Mark reminding me of the time change when I called to check in with him and report my progress. We both got a chuckle from that near mishap.
When I arrived in San Jose Mark and Eric greeted me at the airport. How great it was to see their smiling faces :) We stopped on the way out of town and got some burgers then proceeded to have a nice visit on the 2 hour trip (or so) back to Madera. The next few days we pretty much just hung around and visited. I found it very relaxing and pleasant.
I slept at Mark and Linda's home during my visit. They had a room all fixed up for me. It was really cozy and comfortable and I quickly settled in.
Eric and Kathy had room for me at their home as well although I didn't end up using it. However, I did enjoy taking a lovely cat nap on Eric's couch on one of the several trips we took to his place, (loved it!).
We went back and forth from Mark and Linda's home to Eric and Kathy's home. On one trip to Eric's home Mark and I got out of his truck and just stood there a moment talking. As we were visiting a handsome young man walked up and stood to the side of us. He didn't say anything at first and at a glance I thought he must have been one of Mark's friends waiting to talk with him about something. I didn't give it a second thought until the handsome fellow said, "You can't tell you're related"... AND WAIT... THAT VOICE... WAS IT... IT WAS! It was DUSTIN! Dustin is a grown man. What a treat it was to see him and get to hug him. I was glad to see that he is doing good and is well.
I was also glad to see that Eric is well following his surgery. He is very lucky to have his wife, Kathy, to support him and supervise his recovery. My heart really goes out to her. It isn't enough that she has had to deal with the stress of Eric's condition and subsequent surgery, she also is the primary care giver of her elderly mother who is getting more frail by the minute. And if that isn't enough, the evening I arrived she received a call from her daughter telling her that her daughter's father had just had a heart attack and died! She then had her daughter's well being to think of in addition to all the other stuff going on. In the midst of all this we still had a chance to visit and I was glad for that.
Kathy and Eric have 3 BIG dogs that are just delightful creatures. Sadly I didn't get pictures of them. Linda and Mark have a wonderful menagerie of pets. I didn't get pictures of all of them because frankly, some of them are camera shy, (actually... people shy). They have 3 dogs... small, medium and large.
They have 6 house cats, 3 cats that live at their shop and several more cats who visit at their shop on a regular basis. Just a few are pictured here.
I guess we are all animal lovers. I think that animals help give us perspective on things that are really important in life... not the least of which is unconditional love.
Moving right along... let me tell you how lucky Mark is. Linda is the best baker EVER! She has the greatest kitchen and the greatest kitchen stuff AND she knows how to use it. I am not sure I am spelling this correctly but she made me some biscatte (twice baked cookies) and some very healthy energy bars that were to die for. Just one of Linda's many talents.
I am so glad I got to go and visit my brothers and their wives. Again I have had to reflect on how lucky we are to live in a time when travel and communication is so easy. This Thanksgiving I am thankful more than ever for the opportunities I have to share moments in time with my brothers. As different as we all are from each other there is a bond of love, respect and appreciation that binds us. Maybe next time we get together we can ALL be there... eh?
Love to all... TTFN :)
Waiting the next 4 weeks to take the trip was a little distracting to say the least but at last the happy day came. I worked Wednesday night, (the 14th of Nov). When I got off work Thursday morning, (the 15th), I went home, packed my bags, took a nap and then off to the airport I went. Cerra's parents (who live in Boise) graciously let me park my car at their place AND took me to the Boise airport in time to catch my flight.
I flew from Boise to Reno, about a 1 hour flight. Then I had a 1 hour lay over before my connecting flight to San Jose. The flight from Reno to San Jose was about a 30 minute flight. Not a bad itinerary all in all. However, when I got to Reno I was not thinking about the time change and I almost got on a flight to Las Vegas. What saved me was Mark reminding me of the time change when I called to check in with him and report my progress. We both got a chuckle from that near mishap.
When I arrived in San Jose Mark and Eric greeted me at the airport. How great it was to see their smiling faces :) We stopped on the way out of town and got some burgers then proceeded to have a nice visit on the 2 hour trip (or so) back to Madera. The next few days we pretty much just hung around and visited. I found it very relaxing and pleasant.
I slept at Mark and Linda's home during my visit. They had a room all fixed up for me. It was really cozy and comfortable and I quickly settled in.
Eric and Kathy had room for me at their home as well although I didn't end up using it. However, I did enjoy taking a lovely cat nap on Eric's couch on one of the several trips we took to his place, (loved it!).
We went back and forth from Mark and Linda's home to Eric and Kathy's home. On one trip to Eric's home Mark and I got out of his truck and just stood there a moment talking. As we were visiting a handsome young man walked up and stood to the side of us. He didn't say anything at first and at a glance I thought he must have been one of Mark's friends waiting to talk with him about something. I didn't give it a second thought until the handsome fellow said, "You can't tell you're related"... AND WAIT... THAT VOICE... WAS IT... IT WAS! It was DUSTIN! Dustin is a grown man. What a treat it was to see him and get to hug him. I was glad to see that he is doing good and is well.
I was also glad to see that Eric is well following his surgery. He is very lucky to have his wife, Kathy, to support him and supervise his recovery. My heart really goes out to her. It isn't enough that she has had to deal with the stress of Eric's condition and subsequent surgery, she also is the primary care giver of her elderly mother who is getting more frail by the minute. And if that isn't enough, the evening I arrived she received a call from her daughter telling her that her daughter's father had just had a heart attack and died! She then had her daughter's well being to think of in addition to all the other stuff going on. In the midst of all this we still had a chance to visit and I was glad for that.
Kathy and Eric have 3 BIG dogs that are just delightful creatures. Sadly I didn't get pictures of them. Linda and Mark have a wonderful menagerie of pets. I didn't get pictures of all of them because frankly, some of them are camera shy, (actually... people shy). They have 3 dogs... small, medium and large.
They have 6 house cats, 3 cats that live at their shop and several more cats who visit at their shop on a regular basis. Just a few are pictured here.
I guess we are all animal lovers. I think that animals help give us perspective on things that are really important in life... not the least of which is unconditional love.
Moving right along... let me tell you how lucky Mark is. Linda is the best baker EVER! She has the greatest kitchen and the greatest kitchen stuff AND she knows how to use it. I am not sure I am spelling this correctly but she made me some biscatte (twice baked cookies) and some very healthy energy bars that were to die for. Just one of Linda's many talents.
I am so glad I got to go and visit my brothers and their wives. Again I have had to reflect on how lucky we are to live in a time when travel and communication is so easy. This Thanksgiving I am thankful more than ever for the opportunities I have to share moments in time with my brothers. As different as we all are from each other there is a bond of love, respect and appreciation that binds us. Maybe next time we get together we can ALL be there... eh?
Love to all... TTFN :)
posted by Kathleen Hawkins at 2:45 AM
3 Comments:
Neat pictures. I'm so glad you had a chance to go have a nice visit with everyone. Love you!
Yay! Wish we could have been there.
fun fun. too bad we couldn't have all been there. we need to plan a pismo trip together sometime don't you think? good to see the pictures of everyone. i miss my uncles. and dustin. . . wow. he looks so different. strange to see him without hair. wonder if his will grow in curly like mine? tee hee. funny, he's rocking the bald look like i had last year and now i'm rocking the curly look like eric has. we must be related.
love you. xoxoxo
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