July 10, 2019
We were up, packed, and ready by the time the hotel
served breakfast at six a.m. Still, we were not alone in the dining room.
Apparently others wanted to get an early start, too.
We ate and finished putting everything away. With
only one carry-on bag each, plus my tote and Larry’s backpack, there wasn’t
much to check for. Since we went to France in 2014 with just this much luggage
for three weeks, we never take full-size suitcases anymore.
We checked out and put our things in the rental
car.
For this trip, we asked for a compact car (the
cheapest available) since there were just the two of us. We got a Kia Soul. It
was a nice, roomy little car, and, it reminded us of our PT Cruiser. It had
plenty of interior space and drove well.
Our flight was scheduled for 12:50 p.m., but we
still had to get back to Great Falls, MT, fill the tank on the rental car, and
drop it off. The border crossing on July fourth had taken us a long time, and we
wanted to be sure to give ourselves plenty of breathing room.
We had learned our lesson and programmed Google
Maps for the trip all the way to the airport.
Because of our early start, once we got out of
town, we encountered very little traffic on the road. In fact, when we reached
the border crossing, we were all alone. We pulled up, showed our passports, and
zipped right through.
After a stop for gas, we returned the car and then
went to the restaurant area where we got a drink and waited for our plane with
a couple of hours to spare. I pulled out my Surface tablet, plugged it in, and
answered email.
Uneventful flight to Seattle. We had a three-hour
layover at the airport, so we had a leisurely dinner at a very nice restaurant.
Then onto the plane for the short trip back to Orange County, where a friend
picked us up.
I love to travel, but I also love coming home. We
live in Paradise (Dana Point, California) and are truly blessed to be here.
EPILOGUE
DeLoss Christensen has visited Spring City to
assess our great-grandmother’s headstone. It is still in three pieces, although
it appears someone tried to glue it back together with something resembling
brown tree sap.
He’ll talk to his monument person to see what we
can do about getting it fixed or replaced. When it is finished, several of us
will try to go there to rededicate it.
I’m so grateful to have gotten to know all these
relatives in the north!
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