12 Oakdale

364 days since our last flight. While the airport is not crowded, there are lots of people flying. Certainly different from when we flew through Dallas on the way back from Okinawa last year, with all the stores closed and the waiting areas empty. Although everything seems open, evidently Starbucks hasn’t gotten up to speed because it took Grant almost a half an hour to get us coffee with only 5 people in front of him.  I forgot what a pain flying is now, because I wore pants with lots of zippers which set off the alarms. Plus I wore sandals so I had to walk through the TSA inspection in bare feet. Grant didn’t have to take his shoes off since he’s over 75. A perk of old age. We have to wear masks except when we are eating or drinking. Even though our flight boards at 5:10, there is no meal service. I could have ordered dinners ahead of time, but missed the deadline. Grant said he’d looked at the menu and wasn’t impressed with the offerings, mostly packaged cheese and fruit. We bro...

My plan to rent a small cargo trailer went awry at the UHaul store when I realized there was no way to wire the trailer’s brake lights to my car. The salesperson had never heard of lightbulbs with attached wires to put in taillights. I called a NAPA Autostore, and the salesperson there told me to get them at a UHaul store. He was amazed as I was that they were no longer available. I’d used them on several Suburbans back in the day. Progress? The hitch installer would be back in the morning, but we want to be on the road as early as possible, plus didn’t want to spend $150 for this one time. With no trailer, packing was tight. Major problem was 3 bikes. Mine got folded and laid inside; Clara’s and Grant’s went on the rack. Everything else got stuffed in the car, except for the cabana and swim noodle which I bungied to the bikes. Why, oh why, did I buy a car without roof racks? Thursday the cold front came right after dinner, so we ran to the pavilion with the chocolate cake Stephanie ha...

I thought the rustling in the back of the truck was Grant, but when I turned my flashlight towards it, there was a big raccoon helping itself to our marshmallows and graham crackers left from making s’mores.  Spring Break for Clara. I was able to reserve a few days at Anastasia State Park at the beginning and a few days at Fort Desoto County Park at the end. Nothing in the middle of the week because I started looking too late. We decided these trips would be a good chance to try different solutions to our Ford Escape being too small to carry three people and all our gear. Spaulding says we should bring less stuff. I respond that I’m too old to just have a backpack and a pup tent.  To that end, I rented a Toyota Tacoma through Turo.com, a company that brokers car rentals between owners and users. Let’s just say that this truck is a warhorse with 200,000+ mikes on it and plenty of dings and dents. I don’t have to worry about a little beach sand. It does have a turtle cover on th...

My first professional  hair cut in over a year. I told OJ to cut it as short as the shortest hairs left from my last home attempt with our clippers. She was skeptical but game. It always grows back. I think my one-inch buzz is the same haircut as my father wore when I was young. His was browner; mine is grayer. Having OJ wash my hair and massage my scalp was delightful. In Naples, there was a Polynesian woman who came into a local salon once a week just to have her magnificent long black hair washed. Now I know what a pleasure that is. Little by little, we seem to be returning to pre-Covid practices. Steph has been called back to her office full time at the end of March, so Clara returned to face school. Governors of several states are relaxing mask mandates. People are congregating. Yet, the numbers are still terrible. Even though they are dropping, they are above last summer’s highest. I think we have fatigue from the pandemic. It may not be over, but people are done with co...