From the road

I'm coming to you from Boise, Idaho, today, goofing off online while DW is out with her old missionary companion. I have a couple of hours alone in the motel, so I thought I'd reflect on my Western vacation thus far.

This has been a different kind of vacation for me, with a focus on people and relationships instead of on events and activities. I usually try to cram in as much outdoor activity as I can when I'm out here, but not this time. We landed in Salt Lake City on Tuesday and went from the airport to dinner with an online friend known as Working Father. It was great getting to meet in person someone I've chatted with for a couple or three years.

From there, we drove south to Mapleton, Utah, to spend the night with DW's sister and BIL. I met their children for the first time. Their 3 year old son greeted me with a cougar growl and claws, and we played hard pretty much from then until we left. It was a lot like playing with my own boys.

Then it was north to the Chuck-a-Rama restaurant in Salt Lake City for a family dinner. I got a little grumpy on the way up, and as we pulled into the driveway of the place, I muttered "fuck-a-rama" to DW. Minutes later, brother-in-law Bill came in and said, "I don't know how they stay in place with that name." Now, I realize that the f-bomb offends Bill, so either he has telepathic insight into my mind or great minds think alike. I don't know which.

On Wednesday, DW's oldest sister drove up to Logan with her daughters, one of whom has Leukemia. DW and I took the other daughter to a movie, then I fell into a fishing expedition with the ailing daughter. She was so determined that she had fashioned fishing gear from a stick, a shoelace, and a safety pin. We came very close to catching a small fish in the creek that runs behind the local golf course. It was fun, and it was nice to see that family again.

Wednesday night, brother-in-law Bill came in with his law school orientation materials. It looks like the U. of Utah does an excellent job prepping its law students. Anyhow, we--and my FIL--spoke for quite a while about law school.

Thursday morning, DW and I met another cyberfriend sometimes known as Max Doubt. Neither of us knew what the other looked like, so we sat in the coffee shop looking right at each other until I walked towards the door to go have another look outside and MD called my name.

This morning, we drove to Boise, and I discovered along the way that a rental Ford Focus does quite nicely cruising at 95 mph. There's no reason not to drive that fast on that stretch of road. We had a nice lunch with DW's missionary companion, and now I'm here.

All along, we've spent some good, quality time with the in-laws. Anyhow, by my standards, this is a pretty intense focus on people and relationships. No hikes; not even a drive up Logan Canyon. We almost did that yesterday in FIL's new Toyota Prius (I love that car!), but there was too much construction for us to bother.