A couple of weeks ago my children and I reunited for a few days on the West Coast. We gathered in San Francisco.
There were five of us: me, my daughter, Katherine, her boyfriend, Brice Ulrey, and my son, Michael, and his girlfriend, Sarah Preston.
The direct flight from Raleigh was $355. The return flight took only five hours and 10 minutes. Nice tailwinds.
The peak came when Michael and Sarah announced their engagement.
Here are some observations, questions and reflections:
1. Katherine and Brice are a long way away.
2. My impaired vision made the trip a bit like a poorly spooled travelogue but provided many memorable sights.
3. The Pacific Ocean and shoreline are unforgettably beautiful.
4. Surfing looks Ike fun. Duh.
5. Could I find peace in an “Over 55” Manufactured Housing Development just down the road from the Ritz-Carlton Resort at Half Moon Bay?
6. Why does Alcatraz still scare me?
7. Dungeness crab meat is not as sweet as the meat of the Chesapeake Blue Crab, but it’ll do in a pinch.
8. The next time you have trouble getting a cab in Roanoke, ponder the problem in San Francisco, where a study concluded that the city should license 600 to 800 more cabs to meet the demand. They may be off by a couple of hundred.
9. If practice makes perfect, how come saying goodbye never gets easier?
10. The treeless range of the western mountains may reveal their every indentation, but the outstretched arms of the Blue Ridge woodlands welcome us home with unrivaled beauty.
How blessed we are.
_ Joe Kennedy