The Dynamic Duo

November 28th…..or maybe the 29th
The first part of this post was actually written, longhand, in my wannabe journal whilst en route. I deciphered and enhanced to bring you the following riveting tale. I will leave it up to your discretion to decide when the plane writing ended and the sitting-at-the-computer writing began. And now, for our feature presentation…...
Heather and I are on an airplane flying over the ocean. We have been on this particular flight for nearly 8 hours and still have about 3 to go. I have to keep reminding myself that we will soon be in Japan, but I don’t think it will really sink in til I can see the island and city out the airplane window. In two days, we will be attending UltraBob and UltraGirl’s wedding.
Once Thanksgiving for twenty was over, I began thinking about my Japan trip in earnest. I completed the packing on Sunday, then rearranged and added to on Monday morning as Bob thought of a few more things he would like us to bring that can only be procured in the USA. I left in good time for the rendezvous with Heather in Twin Falls in early afternoon, and felt a twinge as I dropped off the poodle boys at their Grandma Pat’s house. Not that I’m worried she won’t take good care of them; I know she will, but I they will really miss me, as I will them. I make a quick stop by the prison to tie up some loose ends at work, and are a few more ends than I had realized there would be. Also the printer is acting up (again) and I chat with the guys a bit as they wish me well and bon voyage. When I finally leave Carlin, it’s snowing pretty hard. I make a stop at the bank to cash some checks, a stop at Albertsons to pick up some licorice, altoids, nerds, and candy corn for Ultra-You-Know-Who, and hit the road. I am very late to meet Heather and Heath, but fortunately for my stress level, they are very understanding.
Once in the mall parking lot, I quickly locate their car. Heath kisses his sweetheart goodbye, and heads back home to Pocatello. I am happy for Heather to take the wheel on the now dry roads as we head to Boise where we have a dinner engagement with John and Kelly Ryder.]
And now, attention please…..ding,ding. I have an announcement to make. My sister, Panther, UltraAuntDebi is engaged to be married on Feb 8 to John Ryder, a man she met only four months ago on a blind date that ended up lasting for six hours.
This was my chance to meet this man who calls my sister “Bandit” because she stole his heart. His agreeing to this dinner, even though Panther, our common link, would be unable to join us, made an initial good impression. Truth be told, I was expecting to be impressed, and I was not disappointed. John insisted on paying for our delicious dinner at the Wok King, and we got to know each other a bit. John and Kelly were both charming and easy to be around, and John earned further brownie points by 1) having to borrow my reading glasses to see the menu (middle-aged blindness loves company), 2) letting us follow him, after dinner, across town to my niece Nicki’s house where Heather and I were spending the night, and 3) leaving us with some yummy peppermint chocolates Kelly had procured in her day of Christmas shopping. Good pick, Panther.
Shortly after we arrived at Nicki and Chad’s, there was a television announcement about closed roads by Mountain Home. I was glad we had not been any later! Nicki, who works for Horizon Air, had assured me it would NOT be an imposition to take us to the airport at 4:30 a.m. the next morning, nearly two hours earlier than her shift started. I hadn’t seen Nicki and Chad’s house before and I was enchanted with their unusual and highly effective decorating style that highlights their love of the outdoors. Heather and I comfortably bedded down on a matt in the spare bedroom, and grabbed a couple hours of sleep before heading off with Nicki to the Airport in the wee hours of the morning. Thanks to Nicki’s invaluable help and tips, our boarding was textbook perfect, and soon enough we were on our way to Los Angeles, where we would catch the direct flight to Japan.
Landed in LA, our first order of business was to find our departing gate for the Tokyo/Narita flight. The several people I talked to gave us contradictory directions for catching the shuttle to Terminal 2 (we were in Terminal 3), but somehow Heather navigated us right where we needed to be sans shuttle. It was so much easier than I had imagined it would be that I’m afraid I was rather skeptical. But finally I had to believe the evidence of the departure board, and we had plenty of time to grab a little late breakfast and some reading material?Kudos, Heather.
Okay, I won’t bore you with the details of the 11 hour plane ride, except to say that is lasted 11 hours. We were fed two meals and several snacks and had opportunity to view 3-4 movies, including The Devil Wears Prada, which was the only one I stayed awake for. Heather sat by the window, but we were nearly over the wing, and I don’t think she could ever see very much except for clouds. I tried to limit my bathroom excursions so as to minimize disturbing the very nice Japanese man sitting on the aisle. Actually, the trip for me was largely spent dozing. Not sure whether to attribute this to the bonine I took for my possible motion sickness or to the lack of sleep for preceding days, but I sure was sleepy. Heather informs me she woke me up three times after the plane landed and passengers were preparing to disembark.
Speaking of preparing, that was something I really wished I had grilled UltraBob more about; what to do after getting off the plane. We finally figured it out; filled out embarkation document, got our luggage (nearly the last ones on the carousel) and made it to the arrival lobby, where the UltraKids had finally stopped counting the people arriving ahead of us. Seems they had a little bet going on how many people would come through the doors ahead of us and finally stopped at over 400.
So, into the roomy Nissan station wagon borrowed from UltraGirl’s brother, and off for the hour ride home to Zushi City, where I happily dozed in the backseat, much to Heather’s continuing amusement.
I got my second wind when we arrived, and was fully able to enjoy UltraGirl’s unusual and delicious chili. I’ve got to get that recipe. The UltraKids have only been in their new house for about 5 months, but more about that later. In fact, more about everything later. UltraMom’s going to get a little nap.
Sayonara,
UltraMom