Fall Family Weekend

What is it about car trips that makes Cheetos and diet Coke look delicious? Even if you've been on a low-carb/whole-carb eating plan, and you KNOW better? My digestive system is reaping the harvest of my Cheeto-eating, Coke-drinking, road-tripping behavior.

Do you want to know a little fact about Coke and other "brown" sodas? Here is what I learned on the hematology-oncology unit: if your patient has a NG tube, and gets a clog in it, that is what the nurses use to clear the clog! That's right: those corrosive, carbonated beverages clear clogs from tiny tubes ("alot of alliteration from anxious anchormen placed in powerful posts" - can you name that movie?*). I myself have stayed up in the wee hours, working on my sleeping daughter's NG tube, trying to clear a clog so that she did not have to have her tube replaced. I have pumped whatever brown soda pop was available into and out of her tube, and succeeded in clearing it. It was a triumph - the alternative was that they were going to pull it out, and replace it. If you have ever seen an NG tube placement, you know that it's an experience you want to avoid.

So back to the road trip: Gregg and I promised David that we would sell him my car (really cheaply) as his graduation gift. The only stipulation was that we had to find a replacement car for me, before we handed my car over to him. I drive a 2002 Mercury Mountaineer, which has AWD and is very good in snow, mountain passes, has heated seats, room for golf clubs, skis, friends, etc. During the past year, David used it much more than I did, and he likes it very much.

It's taken time to find the right vehicle, with the right features, at the right price, for me. We are lucky to have a kind, honest, calm and knowledgeable brother-in-law who owns a no-pressure, high-quality, service-oriented used-car dealership called Auto Connections East. Stu has been helping us to find the right car. (Stu & Deb's dog, Rusty, helps out with PR at the dealership. He's the greeter, and has his own door into Stu's office.)

Gregg & I are not "car people." Cars are transportation, for us. As we get older, however, a few comforts have become more important: for example, for a menopausal woman, regulating hot and cold is an important comfort. For a menopausal woman married to a "Viking," temperature control becomes even more difficult - and an issue. Gregg and I are rarely comfortable at the same temperature. Having heated seats had to be part of the deal. Since our son is living 5+ hours away from us (most of the year), over a mountain pass and across a lot of farmland and tumbleweed-strewn prairie, all-wheel drive is important. My husband is the only full-time wage-earner in our household, so price was important, as was low mileage and dependability.

EUREKA! Stu found the car for us. He had it serviced and detailed, and loaned it to us last weekend, so that we could test-drive it. We loved it. So we let David drive my car on his way back to school from his visit home last weekend. We returned the new car so that Stu could have a one thing "tweaked" - and in the meantime, he loaned us this baby:

...which was Gregg's dream car, for years. It has a surprising amount of "giddyup," and after I got used to being so low to the ground, it was fun! We drove that for a few days, and then returned it, in order to purchase the "new" car (a gently-used 2003)...

...and to embark on a trip over the mountains to attend Fall Family Weekend at Gonzaga University.

Did you know that there really is a town in the State of Washington named "George?"

...and that in that town, there is a place called "The Martha Inn Cafe?" We Washingtonians have a sense of humor!

It was great to see our young man in his new "home." We took him out to dinner at the restaurant of his choosing, and he spent the night at our hotel with us. After breakfast, we took a drive to Lake Coeur d'Alene (in Idaho), but it was raining...

...so we went to see a movie: the new "Wall Street" film. It was awesome!
We returned to campus and walked around with David, seeing his favorite places through his eyes.

Then we met our cousin, Kim, his wife, Mary and son, Karl for dinner.

Mary (the waiter cropped your head when he took this, Mary!), Gregg, me, David, Karl and Kim...

...David, Karl and Kim. Karl is in college about a half-hour's drive from David.

After dinner, we drove to Kim & Mary's house, and Mary's sister (our neighbor from home), Theresa, and Theresa's lovely daughters joined us. Theresa's older daughter is a student at G.U., and her younger daughter has been a friend of Katie's since birth. We had a great time chatting and watching football until almost midnight. Then we headed back to the hotel for some zzzzzz.

Sunday, after breakfast, we went for a walk in beautiful Manito Park.

The Japanese garden is lovely. The fall colors were vibrant.

This sunken garden is gorgeous, and peaceful. Imagine what it's like when it's full of colorful flowers!

This reminded me of one of Monet's much-painted scenes (minus us, of course).

I love the name of this rose, and the raindrops "kissing" it.

We took two of David's friends out to eat lunch at an Irish Pub. Then we drove them back to campus, and headed home. The temperature in Snoqualmie pass was 36 degrees, and it was raining buckets. Thank goodness for heated seats and all-wheel drive!

 I hope you had a good weekend, too.

* the quote is from the movie, "Broadcast News."