It's been an exhausting week, so it feels especially good to sit still. For the first time in a long time, the 3 of us "vegged" on the couch - no TV - and did little else besides flip through a book or 2 and just hang out. Amazing, considering how antsy my 2 year old gets.
Working backwards, we spent a long weekend in Tahoe to watch the Tour of California. Turned out it was canceled due to weather. Organizers must have been beside themselves. There was at least 6 inches of snow on the ground - in mid-May! We made the best of it and spent a good bit of time in it sledding and throwing snowballs. Jacob loved the "ice-cold snow" and probably ate more snowballs than he threw.
I had flown into Reno/Tahoe on Saturday morning from Arkansas. I went for my grandmother's funeral. She grandmother passed away on Monday. Logistics were pure hell, and therefore deserve a play-by-play recounting:
Thursday: SFO - Houston
About an hour before we were supposed to land, the captain announces that there is a big thunderstorm brewing on the west side of the airport. He said that we would approach from the opposite side, thus adding an hour (?) to the original flight plan. At this point, I know that I'm going to miss my flight to Little Rock because I only had a 30-minute layover...
About a half hour later, captain announces that we in fact will not be landing in Houston right away because the airport has been SHUT DOWN due to bad weather. Instead, we will be landing in AUSTIN to re-fuel. Then, we would see if the weather clears up enough to complete our trip to Houston. So we land in Austin (I've always wanted to go - too bad I only got as far as the tarmac), two hours later we're re-fueled and heading back to Houston - into one of the scarier storms I have ever flown in. Oh, and I was sitting next to a nervous flyer, with whom I shared my favorite mantra when flying through turbulence: "the planes don't mind it, but the people do."
A flight from SFO to Houston normally takes 3 & a half hours - this one took almost eight. When I landed, I found out that my flight to Little Rock had been canceled due to bad weather. And guess what - they don't put you up in a hotel if weather is the reason for cancellation! I tried to jump on a later flight - that one was canceled too. After getting a boarding pass for a 6:00AM flight the next day, I finally gave up and checked in to a La Quinta Inn down the road.
Friday: Houston - Little Rock
In spite of being exhausted, I might have gotten merely 4 hours' sleep at La Quinta - sound insulation was non-existent, and my brain was on high alert knowing that I had to make a 6am flight. Still, it definitely beat camping out at the airport. There's a Peets coffee kiosk, which might be the only redeeming feature of this airport. Word of warning - the coffee is fine, but skip the pastries. I literally spat out my cranberry muffin and threw the rest away, it was so disgusting. There was a slight delay that morning from the sheer volume of people trying to get the f*ck out of Houston, but it was otherwise - thank god - smooth sailing into Little Rock.
9:00AM - I met my brother at Little Rock airport and we drove down to Warren for my grandmother's funeral. It was sad, we all miss her, but it was probably well past her time to pass on. It was good to re-connect with my cousins and extended family, whom I do not see often enough. We spent a few hours together looking at old pictures and keepsakes which were recovered from Nana's old house, then said goodbyes and made promises to see each other as soon as possible.
My family & I drove back to Little Rock, had a late dinner, and stayed up too late talking. I bowed out at 11:00PM to get some sleep before my (you guessed it) 6:00AM flight to Reno.
Saturday, 3:45AM: Little Rock - Dallas - Reno
I woke up to an emergency siren and a taped message blaring from the loudspeaker: "This is not a drill. Please evacuate the hotel immediately. Do not use the elevators." The smell of gas was very strong as I came out the door, and looking down into the hotel's atrium, I could see people milling about and firemen directing everyone to go outside. Still in my pajamas, I obediently left the building with my brother and we piled into the rental car parked outside - at least we didn't have to wait out in the cold. I guess there was no fire, because they allowed us back in about an hour later. If I had been smarter - or less sleep-deprived, or both - I would have gotten ready to go to the airport upon hearing those damn sirens, because I had maybe 10 minutes to get dressed, packed and leave for the airport once we were let back in.
Flights to Dallas and Reno were uneventful, thank god. Once I arrived in Reno, I grabbed myself a great, big Peets coffee to get me through the rest of the morning until I could finally collapse for an afternoon nap. The boys and I spent the rest of the weekend in North Lake Tahoe, where it SNOWED at least 6 inches - we're talking white-out conditions, don't want to be driving in this stuff kinda weather. Perfect for hibernation. It took me 2 days to feel like a human being again - not quite as bad as coming back from Japan, but almost.
I really do want to see my extended family more often - it gets a little embarrassing when we're only getting together for funerals and the occasional wedding. After this trip, though, I'm thinking that we should rendezvous in a place where everyone can either drive comfortably or get a direct flight!
