A Great Weekend

Sunrise over the Atlantic Coast

Lucy and I flew out to visit my folks for the weekend. It was our combined way of celebrating our anniversary from back in July and my birthday which was Friday. We bought our airfare far enough back to where they were very reasonable and my folks supplied us with a room at the local Holiday Inn as a gift.

I’m getting to be an old pro at flying, getting to do it once and sometimes even twice a year. Bonnie, my oldest daughter must be laughing right now since she gets to fly all the time with her job. I like to fly direct from Houston (IAH) into West Palm Beach (PBI) late in the afternoon on a Saturday and then return early Monday morning so that I don’t miss too much work. We had a rental car to take us the rest of the way; a nice drive going up I-95 to Vero. It makes for a short but very intense visit with little time wasted.

We talked baseball with some fellow travelers while waiting to board in Houston. They were big Cardinal Fans, sporting their team ball caps and jerseys. As a general rule of thumb, when I see someone wearing another team’s logo I try to have some fun, “So, did you lose a bet and have to wear that cap?”, or something to break the ice. You can get away with teasing a baseball fan; football fans and basketball fans tend to rile a bit. With St. Luis having such a good ball team this year I acknowledged their supremacy and probability that they were the best in the National League and we had a good time talking about the Wild Card run; something which the Astros have a chance to obtain.

About mid flight and while the cabin attendants were pushing the soda cart past my seat, I had a huge cramp in the back of my leg, the kind that has to be worked out. The poor folks sitting in the row behind me must have thought I was having a heart attack as they both started to run their fingers over their Rosary Beads, pleading that I might be alright.
The woman patted my hand and I assured her that it was only a leg cramp. Her husband had similar features to my long deceased grandfather and he was pleased that he had caused a pleasant thought to be remembered.

On Sunday we had lunch at my folk’s house, Salmon, long grain rice and “Granny Salad”. I have no way of explaining the importance of Granny Salad other than to say it has a unique flavor; having been handed down through the family, a special mix of herbs and spices blended into a tossed green salad. My children would rather have Granny Salad than just about any food item offered under the sun. Lucy was in the kitchen trying to glean the particulars of how it all goes together; grinding the Marjoram, Tarragon and Thyme into a fine powder to be added into the oil and vinegar base. This may sound strange; but, that was my special request as a birthday present, to have Granny Salad, enough to feed a party of 8. I managed to over indulge, leaving only a small portion for Dad to finish up after we’d left.

Lucy and I don’t take extended vacations and so we treasure up those moments when we can leave behind those everyday chores. We got up before the sun and walked the beach and took several shots of the sunrise over the Atlantic. Anyone who’s been near the ocean appreciates the soothing rhythms of wave after wave relentlessly pounding ashore. It has a peaceful and yet sobering reminder of how powerful the sea is compared to our frail human bodies.

It’s hard to believe that this morning I was in Vero listening to the waves crashing and now I’m here at home having put in a day’s work after all that traveling. My guess is I will have some neat dreams to work on tonight.