There are some things we are all born knowing:
Don’t spit into the wind; Don’t lick a water pump in a Minnesota winter; Don’t fix anything electric while standing in water; Don’t answer a question from a significant other that starts with ”Does this make me look ……
So, let me offer one more thing to this list: Don’t travel in the USA by air in August! While I have not seen this in writing anywhere, I’m convinced that this must be National Take Your AD/HD Kid on an Airplane Month. I have never seen so many ‘wild childs’ in an airport or on the planes before. Dulles, which is always a zoo due to its small spaces, was awash in rotten kids who were yelling, running, screaming and generally making everyone’s life miserable. Parents have all seemed to abdicate responsibility for controlling their own children and seem perfectly content to just let them ‘do their thing.’ On the plane they allow their kids to play loud games on game boys or little computers without benefit of headphones. The kids throw food and other stuff, they run up and down the aisle despite the best efforts of flight attendants to control the issue, and the parents genuinely react as though all of this is fine.
I was condemned to coach once again on my flights to and from San Francisco. The flights were full, mostly with kids and parents, and I can honestly say that they were horrible, the kids and the flights. On the way back there was a change of planes and Hannah and I couldn’t sit together and we were both placed in window seats. I was locked in for five hours and if I hadn’t had Cindy’s iPad, I would have gone mad. Not only was it very claustrophobic, but I couldn’t even have a drink to relax a bit since I had to drive home from the airport. The only flight we could get departed SFO at 5 pm and arrived at Dulles at 12:45 am. The train to take us from the terminal to baggage claim didn’t arrive until forty minutes after we landed so we didn’t get into the car to come back until about 1:40 am. As you might suspect there wasn’t a lot of traffic so we were back in Charles Town by 2:20 am. Hannah had a great time in New Zealand and she is now a very accomplished international traveler. The flight attendants from Air New Zealand were all over her like white on rice, especially since she brought them nice chocolates.
On Saturday we took a bit of a ride around the highways and byways of Maryland. We had to make a wine run to Fredrick so we just took lots of little roads and went through some gorgeous little towns. My favorite was Middletown, which is just delightful, and we’ll certainly go back there to explore more. We were close to Antietam where the bloodiest day of the Civil War took place in September 1862. It is now a lovely monument to man’s stupidity, but the views are wonderful. Soon we were crossing the Potomac into Shepherdstown WV and from there it was a quick trip home.
Cindy had some oral surgery on Tuesday and as a result can’t chew any solid food for a few weeks. I’ve been roasting a variety of fresh vegetables and then pureeing them into thick soups, hot, cold and room temperature. No fun for either of us but at least she is at the point where she can have a bit of wine between painkillers. She looks like a cute little chipmunk with bruised puffy cheeks. She gets a lot of sympathetic glances from folks while they give me the evil eye assuming that I caused the injuries.
We had a hummingbird in the garage for about three hours today. The door was wide open and the little birdbrain couldn’t figure out how to exit. The garage ceiling is about 16 feet off the floor and the bird just kept hugging the ceiling. Smart Cindy got a stepladder and placed a bright potted petunia on the top of it. Sure enough the little fella flew low enough to investigate and finally figured out how to get out. Cindy’s cheeks might be bruised but her brain is as sharp as ever.
From CC: OK, I figured it out but this was after having put my pot of petunias on the garage floor for far too long (too long for the poor little bird). He was getting awfully tired!
We finally made it to Final Cut, the fancy restaurant at the casino. Wm is right, it’s hard to believe it’s in Charles Town. The service is impeccable and the food truly delicious, starting with the fresh brioche and moving right through the appetizers and main courses. We both had wonderfully prepared fresh fish, scallops for Wm and sea bass for me. We didn’t try dessert so I guess we’ll have to go back … but our waiter gave us some complimentary shortbread cookies with pistachios that are divine and have carried us through many a morning tea break since that night.
Speaking of food, Wm has been making marvelous items that he then purées, which certainly ruins his presentation. I don’t mind - I’m just thrilled to be eating things other than cottage cheese and pudding – but I know he’s frustrated. The stitches don’t come out until Aug. 30 so I have a ways to go before I can chew again. Aargh.
Happy Sunday, Cindy and Wm.
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