Head East

Whether by car, or by plane, it takes the better part of a day to travel from Lubbock to...just about anywhere.

We made it to Fort Lauderdale this evening after brief visits through three other airports. The kids don't fly often, so I thought I'd take advantage of the opportunity and teach them how to navigate their way through an airport on their own (check departures, find the right gate, baggage claim, etc.). After a couple pep talks in the preceding days, I gave them their final marching orders while riding the shuttle bus from the parking lot to the airport. I also gave them their boarding passes (only for the Lubbock to Houston leg). We checked out bags, made it through security (1st try for everyone), and the kids led us to the video monitor and were able to correctly identify the right gate. So far, so good.

Right after clearing security, I told the girl to fold her boarding pass and to put it in her front pocket. She gave me the standard tween 'I know better' look and decided that she'd keep up with it in her own way. After finding out gate at the video terminal, we decided to look for Mad Libs in the airport newsstand. As soon as we emerged from the newsstand (sans Mad Libs, sadly), the girl had a look of terror on her face as she announced that she'd somehow misplaced her boarding pass (in a span of 50 feet). While we retraced our footsteps, she imagined the worst: was her vacation already over? Was she going to be denied entry onto the plane? What would she have to do while we frolicked on the beach? This was the perfect opportunity to (gently) re-emphasize that it's best to do what dad says, when he says it. Lesson learned, right?

The girl was able to reprint her boarding pass and make the flight to Houston (via DAL). We had a 3+ hour layover in Houston. After dining and window shopping (and coffee), the children led us back to the gate we were to depart from. With about 45 minutes 'til our scheduled departure, I passed out the boarding passes for the final leg of our flight. I instructed the children to fold their boarding passes and to put them in their front pockets (instant compliance, imagine).

The boy urgently announced his need to acquaint himself with the airport facilities. Since I was on laptop, the missus agreed to escort the boy as far as the door to the men's room. After awhile, the boy re-emerged and within a few minutes announced that he'd misplaced his boarding pass - at which point the missus wondered aloud, "I wonder who this lesson is for?" to which she immediately answered: "maybe you shouldn't give the kids their boarding passes 'til we're ready to board the plane." Got it...I'll remember that for the return trip.

We made it safely to Ft. Lauderdale and arrived at our hotel just after 11. We're looking forward to the morning and seeing what palm trees look like in the daytime.

Thanks for reading.

A New Adventure

The house is clean, our bags are packed, boarding passes are printed, and preparations have been made. All we have to do now is sleep.

After a few errands in the morning, we'll head to the airport. The 2010 version of the Ware Family Vacation includes air travel (and there was much rejoicing)! Those that know me, know that I travel a fair amount for work. Facing the prospect of (many) expiring Southwest Rapid Reward Awards, we decided the best use of them would be to make good on a promise we made to our daughter last summer.

You see, last year the four of us piled into the Mazda 626 and made a 6100+ mile pilgrimage to the Pacific NW and many of the national parks of the American West. When we finally made it to the beautiful beaches of the NW we were able to look, but not to swim. The girl was incredulous (what good is a beach if you can't swim?!). So we promised her that even if we had to go to the gulf (yikes) that we'd get her to a beach where she could swim and bask in the sun. Fort Lauderdale should fit the bill.

This will be the first trip to Ft. Lauderdale for 75% of our clan. I made my initial visits here while sailing on big gray ships. I told the missus that I'll take her to many of the wonderful places I saw in my time of service. This is just the first of many to come.

Thanks for reading.

A Second-Hand Update

The kids and I just returned from Albuquerque. The McCay's received as good a prognosis as they could have hoped for yesterday. It was a blessing to see them enter and exit the meeting with the team of doctors with smiles (and relief) on their faces. I'll do my best to relay the information I received from them (please bear with them and the slow updates as they don't have a laptop with them at the hospital...that, and they kind of have their hands full with other things).

The type of cancer Noah has (Burkitt's lymphoma) grows very fast, but is very treatable. The primary danger in the short term is treating the cancer too quickly. As the cancer is treated, his body will will expel the tumors - and his body can only process so much at a time without unduly taxing his kidneys and liver. I heard Brent explain the prognosis 3 or 4 times to visitors, and each time it made me think of this (my own interpretation, not from the medical team): Noah's cancer is like a weed on miracle-grow...it appeared quickly, but will be easy to treat with a little roundup. After the roundup withers the weed in due time, they'll pour on the napalm to wipe it out completely (again, my own interpretation).

Noah's is stage 3 - and the doctor said it's typical not to experience any symptoms before it advances that far. He'd actually never seen a case that was only at stage 1. Noah has already begun chemo and his entire treatment plan will likely only last 6 months. The doctor indicated that more patients suffer complications from infections rather than from the cancer itself. The McCay's will have their hands full with sterilizing their car, house, and little brother :) In all seriousness, they'll have to send anyone with a cold (mom, dad, brother, sister) to stay with the grandparents when they have as much as a sniffle.

Noah's going to be spending lots of time indoors - so it's a good thing the boy likes to read (and play video games). The news it good and outlook is bright, but the family still covets prayers and support. Let us not tire of either. Once their computer situation is worked out, you can expect to see more updates here: http://noahmc.blogspot.com/

My Friend Noah

This blog has been idle for some time, but for those of you who still keep an ear out - please join with me in praying for my friend Noah. You can get the latest details on what's happening with him on his new blog: http://noahmc.blogspot.com.

Thanks

Home

6,183.6 miles later, we're finally home! No touristy stops - just gas and food driving...lots of driving.

Apparently we needed at least some adventure, so at mile 623 for the day (out of a total 643) we experienced a spectacular blowout of the driver-side rear tire (just NW of Shallowater. I remember the noise, the blur of black bits flying everywhere, and the fact that the car was no longer pointing straight down the highway. Somehow I had the presence of mind to click off the cruise control button rather than punching the brakes. The car was swerving wildly - lots of noise and screeching - I could hear the missus saying something that sounded like a prayer while intermittently (excitedly) encouraging me to "steer into it!"

Within a few short seconds we managed to avert disaster (and the ditch) and pull safely over to the shoulder. While the missus and I were feeling relieved to be alive and unharmed, the response from the munchkins in the back seat was closer to that of Dash after dad manages to 'park' the van in The Incredibles.

After catching our breath we dug through the glove compartment to find the number to roadside assistance (from the extended warranty that came with the car), only to discover that it had expired sometime last year. I got out the car with the intent of changing the tire, but quickly realized that wouldn't be feasible. Since we hadn't quite made it home yet, the car was still packed to the gills. Sure, I could have removed everything from the trunk in order to access the donut-sized spare, but there would be no way to fit the full-size tire *and* all the rest of our luggage back into the trunk.

My employer lives in Shallowater - so I called him on his mobile. He answered...from Disney World...but he encouraged me to go ahead and go by his place to change my tire and stash the blown tire. Fortunately, the tire had only shed its skin (albeit violently) and had not yet deflated - so we limped down the road with our hazard lights on at ~30 mph. We changed the flat, repacked the trunk, and headed back down the road (at 45 mph on the donut) for the final stretch. We made it home just after 9:15 (our critters were mighty glad to see us).

I want to give a special thanks to the two couples (you know who you are) who house/cat-sat for us while we were on the road - we couldn't have done it without you.

We (the entire family) also wish to sincerely express our gratitude for all of those far and near that covered our family with prayer while we were on this journey. When we think of all the places we've been (a hairpin turn on Highway 1) and all the other places the tire 'could have' blown out (rush hour traffic/road construction in a major city), we are especially grateful for the protection we received from harm.

Thank you all - and thanks for reading.

P.S. This concludes the "Summer Vacation 2009" portion of this young blog. I'll still write periodically (perhaps weekly) about the travels and travails of the Wares wherever we may roam (like maybe Muleshoe this weekend ;-).

Eastbound and Not-So-Down

Recovery is well underway.

The car is pointed toward Lubbock and all is well. We passed the both the 5000 and 5500 mile marks on our nearly 600-mile drive today. Today was not about stopping and seeing the sites; it was about brief pit stops and getting back on the road. We didn't eat a proper meal (aside from breakfast) 'til we arrived in Flagstaff this evening. Though the kids weren't terribly hungry, mom and dad had a wonderful dining experience at the Tinderbox Kitchen. That's probably the 4th or 5th time that Urban Spoon has really come through for us on this trip.

I think I've got the missus convinced that we have time for a brief stop tomorrow at the Petrified Forest, but other than that - we'll be driving like mad 'til we roll into the Hub City.

[real-time side note]

I'm writing this (and the prior 3 posts) poolside while the kids are swimming in an outdoor pool. Since the weather's a bit cooler here in Flagstaff, I expected the kids to be spending more time in the hot tub than the pool. However, I overheard the children's voices in the pool longer than I expected: they'd made a new friend. My first clue was to hear the boy talk excitedly about his friends and toys in a way that made it clear his sister was his audience. When I looked up I saw another boy that was closer to my daughter's age than my son's. I could tell by the length of the conversation, and the fact that they never moved from the spot they'd been wading in the pool, that it was the older of my children that undoubtedly the older of my children that held this new boy's attention. Upon this revelation I set this blog aside for closer observation of 'the situation'. Rest assured that they never got closer than six to eight feet apart in the water. I began to think as I watched, "what [lies] will this boy tell his friends upon his return home?" After a subsequent conversation with the girl ("dad, did you see that cute boy I was talking to?"), I wondered about similar conversations she'd have with her friends. Do young girls boast of tall tales to their friends as young boys do?

Thanks for reading.

Work Day? (aka 'Gloom, Despair, and Agony on Me')

Ummm...not today. Ever heard of taking a sick day on vacation?

After a sleepless night, I called into the office early and let them know that I'd be canceling my appointment for the day and doing my best to recuperate. Even though 'the storm' had passed, I only managed to 'nap' until 9:00 a.m. The missus had mentioned during the drive down the coast the day prior (also pre-puke-fest) that having already had such a memorable, fun-filled vacation, she'd be just as happy to point the car toward Lubbock after our stop in San Francisco. This idea held even more appeal to us now as I lay in misery.

We decided to cut our losses and shorten our planned 3-day stay in SF to 'time served'. We slowly got our things together (carefully putting the 'hats' and other soiled items in a large plastic bag) and called for the bellhop. We settled our tab and headed South (instead of East) in hopes of finding a beach.

You see, the girl had been patiently waiting as we'd only been able to tip our toes into the frigid water at the beaches along the coast of the Pacific Northwest. We reckoned that once we got to the lower half of California that we'd find a spot warm enough to take a swim. We were wrong. We made it all the way down to Morro Bay and could tell right away (by the people wearing coats on the boardwalk) that to think that we'd find a warm Pacific beach at this time of year is folly.

I should mention that the drive (there was no way I could ask the missus to drive on California freeways) was awful. I would much rather have laid in bed all day, but it was an impractical option. Nevertheless, I was operating far below my typical level of energy. The boy and I didn't even bother entering the restaurant we stopped at for lunch. Instead, we opted to take a nap in the car. Honestly, I don't think I could have continued without that brief respite.

After the girl's tears of disappointment dried, we decided that the farthest I could continue on for the day was Paso Robles. Immediately after checking into the hotel, the kids were in the pool (it's not the ocean, but it will do). After a couple hours, we decided to go to dinner. I still didn't have an appetite, but I knew that my energy was unlikely to return 'til after I had some sustenance. I did feel considerably better after dinner; the missus (who had luckily dodged the stomach bug) felt much better after we'd stopped at the chocolate shop on the way back to the hotel.

We had intended to stay with the family of friends while in Paso
Robles, but with the upheaval of the night before, we thought it best to spare our hosts the risk. Having said that, I'd love to come back here again for a visit; Paso Robles is a warm, inviting burg in the heart of wine country.

Thanks for reading.

P.S. It was strange to be in California today. We heard of Farah Fawcett's death before we left the hotel in San Francisco and we heard of Michael Jackson's death while we were in a gift shop at Morrow Bay. I'm glad we'll be on the road for the next few days and avoid the media circus that is sure to follow.