Goin' back to Cali

Back from Pella, I had three days to get my affairs in order to leave for my rapid-fire trip to visit my parents. I say "visit my parents" because that's as much time as I had...I'd originally planned for a two-week, half-with-family half-with-Bay-pals trip. Oh, no. Perhaps I didn't heed my own schedule, sense, or anything like that. I had exactly five days, and then back to DC for a couple of big meetings and a retreat.

So off were Elly and I! I think ours was perhaps the fourth flight in the history of Independence Air to go to San Francisco...that made me nervous, but it was actually quite lovely. It was the pilot's birthday and the flight attendants made a big to-do about it, sending around paper for us to write birthday greetings, and I found that seriously endearing. Taurus solidarity! I feel as though I can't endorse them becaue I'm sure the flights are that cheap due to non-union practices**, but geez, they're cheap and good. No movies, though. Be prepared.

Mazzy graciously put us up the first night, and then Cathy Rion lent us her car for the trip up. Highlights include good food, chill time with the fams, hanging out with my dad after an ill-fated attempt to see Kung-Fu Hustle with them (have I ranted about how much I like that movie here? I *heart* it), and Elly seeing her first rural Northern California town's rodeo parade. I guess Silver Spring, Maryland doesn't have rodeo parades. Go figure.

Upon return to the SF, I had 24 hours to see people and no prep time to call. If you're reading this and thinking, "Hey, Max didn't call me, that #&*(%^*!" You're right. I'm a baad person, and I feel pretty guilty for not having called (<— not sarcasm, actually true). My consolation prize is that I'm planning a bigger trip in August, so if you'll still speak to me then, I'd love to see you. But I finally broke the cell phone lost in California trip, but didn't realize how much my parents' house (and the entire town of Sonora) is out of range. Not having had my phone up there previously, I had a heightened sense of cell-phone use grandeur that was soon dashed upon arrival.

**Not true, not true! I stand corrected. After an employee commented on my blog, there's a little CWA FAQ about them. Hurray for union cheap airlines!