The drive home....

The view from above Clam Beach

Elk near Orick

I drove up to Washington last Friday....a pretty exhausting drive, especially when it was not really a pleasure trip. I made it there in 11 hours..not bad. I had given myself a nasty headache, after listening to my Ipod through the cars stereo...maybe I had it turned up too loud! I was tired and my head hurt, so I headed straight to Brandi's where I was staying (her house is really close to where Mason and Arrielle live and since I knew they wanted to join me for a lot of what was going on, it is easier to stay there)...within an hour of arriving, Mason came by with my lil' grandbabies...Bianca and Adelle. It was so nice to see him and hug him. He and Arrielle have been on Weight Watchers, and both have lost close to 40 pounds each...they look amazing!!

Brandi was having a candle party that night, and I was able to see some friends...Deana, Adam, Shawna and Elaine...it was nice. Saturday, after breakfast with my new daughter in law and picking up Megan and Shawn, I made my way to my dad's...he was doing good, just a little sad. We did our usual...paid some bills, talked about our common interests (we both adore old British sitcoms), made a quick trip to Safeway. It was nice, the normalcy of that day, let me forget why I was there. I left there and headed back to Mason and Arrielle's...to have dinner together. Sunday was Superbowl Sunday...my Dad's favorite day! We all gathered at his house to watch the game...like we always did. I loved it.

Monday, I took my dad's recommendation and spent the day visiting friends and with Mason and Arrielle. Tuesday was a hard day...we all met up at Uncle Bob and Aunt Myrna's...to discuss the services that were being planned. It was hard to see my family in pain...especially Lenny and Bobby (my Aunt Carole's boys), because I know what the loss of your mom feels like. It was nice to be together as a family though, and Aunt Myrna had piles of pictures for everyone...and in our were a couple pictures of my mom...I plan on scanning them for a future blog entry. That evening, I had to say "see ya later" to my dad...I hate that, especially now...because every moment with him, I just want to capture it and hold every memory inside.

I was able to take Mason to work the next morning, on my way out of town....I was crying before I even left the parking lot...thinking to myself, I got to hug Mason today....and my baby boy Elliott turns 18 today. I pretty much cried all the way home....I had the Ipod on shuffle and cried with every country song that came on. It was a long, hard, emotional ride home. I was eager to get home to my birthday boy. The drive is pretty dull...until the last 80 miles, when you are reminded how beautiful this area is....redwoods, an ocean that greets you in Crescent City, and the elk that come out in the morning and early evening. There are vista points where you can hop out of the car and see the expanse of the Pacific Ocean....it truly is amazing, and I feel blessed to live within 4 stop lights of her shores. Seeing the elk was a bonus....there are a couple places to see them on 101...they just hang out. I saw the few in the picture above..but down the road a little ways they had overtaken an RV park...there were young males practicing their fighting, mommas with babies and the older elf with their antlers looking like huge chandeliers on their heads. It was fun to take the moment in and just watch them.

I was greeted as I pulled up to our house, by Elliott and Lee...with hugs. I am not sure if the hug from Elliott was for me or for the two dozen Krispy Kreme doughnuts I bought in Tacoma that morning. It is good to be home...but my thoughts are with my family in Washington and Texas as we make our way through this cloud of sadness.