PART III: THE VACATION

After Christmas, we left for Kansas City early on the 26th, and actually made it on the road by 6:30. I was impressed. Normally, we don't make it out of town until 8 or 9 in the morning. The first and last legs of the drive were smooth, and my dad drove the entire way (an important point). The only snag in the outbound trip was when we hit the outskirts of St. Louis. The snow was hitting the place hard, and it was probably the same system that later dumped the foot or so of snow on you guys (reference to Grishny & Co.) out in Boston. It hadn't built up to quite that intensity yet, but it had enough of a whollop to cause a few problems.

While we were on the St. Louis bypass, we spotted up ahead a van that was PERPENDICULAR to the flow of traffic, stopped in our lane. My dad was going about 60 MPH at the time, and we were surrounded by traffic. With no time to slow down and almost no time to signal, my dad eased his way into the next lane over. He would have hit the guy next to us had the other driver not been alert and moved at the same time. My dad figured that if he hit someone, it was better to his someone on the side moving the same direction as him than full broadside with the other car at a dead stop. Fortunately, no accidents with us occured. As soon as we passed the traffic hazard however, we spotted another car. Apparently this was the car the van had hit. We prayed for everyone in the accident as we spotted police cars and an ambulance racing towards the scene. We thanked God for his protection as well. That had the potential to be a real disaster. We made it the rest of the way without incident. And, dispite the weather, we made it in a record 9 and a half hours (a trip that normally takes anywhere from 10 1/2 to 12 hours). Remember what I said about my dad driving? There is no doubt he has a lead foot. I'm glad no policeman stopped us. Another thing to be grateful for.

Once at my father's older sister's house, we visited with all our relatives, had get-togethers, and belated Christmas gift-giving. I got a tie and a candle from my aunts, and $50 from my grandparents with which I proceeded to buy two DVDs (dare I say....how Conveeeennniant!). I now have Galaxy Quest and Star Trek II:The Wrath Of Khan added to my collection. With the remainder of the money, I bought a sharpening stone for my pocketknife. My knife was getting rather dull lately and I have needed a sharpening stone anyways. That comes from opening all those computer boxes at work.

Other than meeting with relatives, catching up on the latest family news, and seeing my older sister and my niece again (they flew in from Florida, where they had left a balmy 30 degrees to join us at -8 with a -30 wind chill), there is not much else to tell about this visit execept this: We had a party on the Saturday before we were to return (the 30th), and everyone had fixed my dad's favorite Mexican fare for his birthday (he was born in Calexico, California on January 1st many moons ago). We had Tamale Pie, Chile Rillano, Dad's Famous Spicy Cheese Dip(TM), Tortilla Soup, Tacos, and Apple Flautas with powdered sugar. The food was execellent, and afterwards, while everyone was watching the Tampa Bay Buccaneers get trounced on television (much to my older sister's dismay), I went out with my uncle and my cousin's husband (cousin-in-law?) and rode their four-wheelers about my younger aunt's 20-acre farm. We even rode on top of the pond nearby (after testing the ice and finding it 8 inches thick, of course). We bundled up for that one though. At that point the temperature was something like 18 degrees, but start going about 30-35 mph and the wind chill drops that really fast. After riding about for a while, we made a fire and stood around chit-chatting for another hour before going indoors. It was great.

The trip home on New Year's Day was uneventful, as it appears we travelled in-between the snow waves. The one to the east was a day ahead of us, and the one to the west was about 2 hours behind us (I know this because we were in mid-Indiana listening to the Rose Bowl on the radio, when the weather report said that Terre Haute was getting slammed and when we went through there the roads were clear). My mom was driving (not a lead-foot) so the 10 1/2 hour drive took 12 to go home. Yes, we stopped to eat on the way, but we build in the food stop on our travel times. We also left later in the morning, so I didn't wind up getting to my place until 9:30 or so in the evening.

So, thus ended my vacation. Quite enjoyable. But I was swamped with work as soon as I got back. Which is par for the course, as far as I can tell.

I suppose that is it. I am sure this is quite enough of my ramblings for the time being.

-The_Scots"Enjoyed his vacation, thank-you-very-much"man