Back in Washington State

Have you seen the pictures lately? If you haven't remember to go to: http://www.flickr.com/photos/30520769@N06/ November 21st, Friday: Re-Entry, or, back in Port Angeles and things are much the same as before we left. But, that isn’t such a bad thing. We have been unloading LaFawnduh, cleaning her, and putting her cover on for her winter nap. It is incredible to think of how long we spent in her and how far she took us with nary a hiccup. 12,945 Miles in LaFawnduh, 6,560 Miles in Kip, countless miles with Uncle Lester & Cousin Jim. Con has been in touch with the girl’s teachers and Principal Hayman and the girls are now catching up on Math before re-entering school on December 1st (which happens to be the first day of the new trimester). December 1st is also the first day that Con returns to work (Mondays and Wednesdays at the Hospital). The girls are very anxious to be back with their friends. Audrey is playing her violin. Hannah is playing her piano with zeal. Now we all speak of the trip with gratitude and with a smile on our faces. Strangely, after all of our travels, and contacts with thousands of people, on the second day home Hannah came down with a fever and flu. She said, “Sure is a good thing that we’re home, I wouldn’t have wanted to be sick in the RV”. I go back to work on Tuesday, November 25th. I’m looking forward to being with my friends and colleagues but I’m not looking forward to having to get up in the middle of the night when the pager goes off. Yesterday as I was unloading LaFawnduh I had left the door open. Cocoa was her normal self being my shadow as I moved between the RV and home. She had free run of the place and I thought she would take the opportunity to be in her own comfortable bed, located in our bedroom. But, Cocoa was reluctant to leave her blanket on the couch in LaFawnduh. It had been her home for almost four months and apparently in her mind, LaFawnduh had become nothing more than Cocoa’s own, personal dog house. As I write this I haven’t even ventured away from home yet. It's nice simply to be home. Con’s done the grocery shopping, dealt with the mail, car tabs, etc., while I have enjoyed simply being at home. Since coming home I’ve smiled as I’ve watched a bald eagle, a peregrine falcon, The King (those of you who have been here will know who I’m referring to), and the Coast Guard drilling near the home (helicopter and boat), P-3’s are flying overhead, and a carrier was out in the Strait today (I couldn’t tell which one it was as I couldn’t make out the number from the roof (I was de-mossing and cleaning out the gutters at the time)). To make up for the lost time of being away from The King I gave him a can of tuna. He was appreciative but I could tell he was a little disappointed that we had abandoned him for so long. I am mostly overwhelmed with thankfulness. Thankfulness for the trip of a lifetime; for being able to experience it with my wife, and my two kids. The kids with their nine and eleven year old perspectives making it far more worthwhile than if it were only Con and I on the journey. Thankfulness for having seen many of my beloved family and friends and making new friends along the way. Thankfulness to be back in Port Angeles amongst my friends and natural beauty here. Thankfulness for those who helped us prepare for the journey. Kudos to Mobuilt RV Repair in Port Angeles, and to Eric’s in Sequim, for readying both LaFawnduh and Kip for the ‘round the country journey. Gratitude to Fleetwood, Cummins Diesel, Freightliner, and Allison Transmission for putting together such a dependable product as LaFawnduh. Thanks to our friend Brian S. at Les Schwab Tires in PA for personally mounting the new tires on LaFawnduh the week before the trip. It was incredibly reassuring to know that six new Michelins were beneath us on the hot asphalt in August, over narrow bridges, and down steep descents, not to mention the puncture resistance that they provided as we ran over all of those dead gators in Florida. I began the trip checking the air pressure daily, then weekly. Brian, the tires never lost a pound of pressure. 100 at the beginning of the trip, 100 at the end. Money well spent on the safety of Connie, Hannah, and Audrey. As we prepared for the journey we had some apprehension leaving the home for such a long time. We ultimately left the home in the caring hands of Alex V. of Port Angeles. He has a landscape business that was recommended to us by numerous people here on the Bluff; the first of which was our old friend, Hardy Hansen, many years ago. Alex looked after our properties and our home and when we came home, he had done a better job than I could have. I thought of the Andy Griffith episode where Aunt Bee leaves for a couple of weeks to visit relatives and was dismayed when she returned only to find that Andy and Opie had gotten along just fine without her. If you have any landscape needs in the Port Angeles/Sequim area call Alex at 452-7249, you couldn’t do any better. Speaking of money well spent. Folks you should begin planning a trip like this. This trip for us was FIVE years in the planning. The rewards will hopefully be life-long for the kiddies. For me, it has been the single best experience of my life. The memory that I hope to hold onto is that of Hannah and Audrey over the seemingly countless miles, singing with one another, carrying on conversations, and Hannah helping Audrey with her comprehension of math. . . . When Con and I were hitting a dead spot in conveying a concept, Hannah would patiently converse with her sister until Audrey said, "I get it!" The girls walked hand in hand practically everywhere we were. Audrey developed a new sense of confidence during the trip that Con is quite thankful for. Sure, I’ve got a few regrets. First, that the trip is over. Secondly, that time and circumstances kept me from spending more time with Bill & Sharon, Uncle Lester & Aunt Betty Sue, and Cousin Jim and Pat; I regret not having seen Paul & Marlene F. (Montana), Randy & Cathy D. (Illinois), Steve and Lori L. (Utah), Dan & Pat S. (Idaho), Cousin Carolyn & Tony (Colorado), or Dawn & Richard C (Idaho). My perspective on my family, friends, and country has changed drastically as a result of this trip. In spite of our many differences we are all Americans who should face the challenges of the future with confidence and optimism. What a great country! I’ve seen a great deal of it with my own eyes and I have never been more confident in making that comment, “What a great country!” We are so fortunate to be alive today and to be living in America. November 18th, 2008, A Tuesday here on the Bluff: Ten minutes before arriving home we were all more or less feeling the melancholy. The trip of a lifetime had came and went and as Audrey put it, "Everything looks just like when we left." Albeit, gas prices have come down quite a bit. We were all sad that the trip of a lifetime was over. Then we turned the corner and our home was staring at us. Our friends, the Fritschlers, had posted some unexpected WELCOME HOME signs and that brought a smile to all of our faces and a warm feeling inside. Our friend Alex had taken exemplary care of the home and our yard and folks, "it looks great!" After backing LaFawnduh into her off-load spot the girls and I ran onto the deck and there were smiles all around. Cocoa looked as if she knew she was going to get a good nights rest in a bed that she recognized. Folks, it is good to be home. LaFawnduh looks quite small sitting next to our real home. We are thankful for the opportunity to have had this trip. We are thankful for travel mercies. We are thankful to be home all healthy and happy. We are thankful to be back in PA amongst our friends. November 17th, 2008, Monday: Con knew that it was parent-teacher conference time at Roosevelt and throughout the Port Angeles schools. She was secretly hoping that as we made our way to Great Wolf Lodge that there would be fellow Port Angeles parents and kiddies here. Guess what? We ran into Scott and Brenda K., with their three girls, Chrstina, Veronica, and Angelica. Then we ran into Bart & Martina B. with their children Nick and Amber (a former classmate of Audrey). And, we ran into Sarah Methner's sister Annie and her family. They were up from Vancouver, WA on a whim. . . . . The Methner's journey is more or less over when they spend Thanksgiving with Annie and her family. . . . . . . . Folks, we are back. Our destination of Great Wolf Lodge may have been one for this weekend had we never left Port Angeles on this little trip. We normally do "something" whenever the kids have an extra day off school. Another indication of being back is the fact that we woke up to temps in the 40's and heavy fog (common this time of year). Also, the familiar faces on the local news were there (Joyce Taylor & Rich Marriott of KING 5's morning news broadcast). Con has headed down the hallway to retrieve the morning Starbucks from here at the Lodge. Audrey remarked, "Man, Dad, I'm so glad that we aren't seeing Casino commericals every fifteen minutes!" I think she was making reference to our one night in northern Nevada. Since folks there are casinos here in Washington State; albeit only on Native American tribal land as opposed to everywhere in Nevada. The Tulalip near Marysville, Seven Cedars east of Sequim, and Lucky Eagle in Rochester, just to mention a few (I've only been to Seven Cedars and that was to purchase Native American Art). In fact, this place where we are staying, The Great Wolf Lodge was largely (if not entirely) financed from Casino revenue of the Chehalis tribe. I'm not sure what that says about our society? But, I'm pretty sure there is a message there. I'll let you figure it out for yourselves. LaFawnduh has carried us from Port Angeles, Washington to Great Wolf Lodge in Grand Mound, Washington where we are giving the kids a break from school with all the other little kiddies from Port Angeles. We just got lost along the way and took the long way round. I asked the kiddies if they wanted to drive down to Mt. St. Helens today. As a reminder that they are back, and around friends from HOME they both remarked, "No way dad!" This great trip is on its last gasps. In fact, it has essentially expired.