11-5-06
Our visit in San Francisco after the hike was fun, but fast-paced. It went by really fast, and before I knew it, we were at the airport. It worked out well there, too. We were able to rearrange seats so that Adam and I could sit together, mom and dad could sit next to each other, and Grandma, Debbie and Adam still had aisle seats. And it was an uneventful flight - which is good. Oh, except that we were toward the back of the plane, and the bathrooms were close, and someone on the plane made good use of them. So, it might have smelled foul, but we made it to Minneapolis safely.
My aunt, Karen, and cousin, Tiffany, picked us up and brought us back to Karen's house where our vehicles were parked. This was my first hint - a good hint that said, "Robin, you're almost home." I saw my and Adam's green Saturn Vue. It's the first car we bought together, and we both love it. It was weird to see it, and sitting in it felt pretty good. Mom, dad and grandma got into mom's car, and we followed each other toward Phillips.
When we were on our way, we got word that some of my mom's friends were going to be at the south end of town at the bowling alley. We were asked to stop in to say 'hi.' As we went on, we kept getting phone calls. "Where are you now?" "When will you get here?" So, hmmm, something's up!
When we got into town, there was a vehicle with its hazards on right by the bowling alley. It was a police car. In the middle of the road was a person instructing us to stop, and along the side of the road was a huge group of family and friends. It was our welcoming committee!
We got out, hugged, cried, and then quickly jumped in the back of the CRR1 - remember the CRR1 from Missouri and Kansas? Dick Heitkemper, one of our awesome trail angels (27 day vehicle support), painted up his truck just how he did when he was supporting us. We rode through town behind a wailing ambulance, fire truck and police car. A special escort for mom and I - too cool! The marquees in town all read, "Welcome Home Robin & Patty," and when we went by the A&W (I worked there in high school), they ran out ice cream cones for mom and me!
We ended at the north end of town at Harbor View. It was really fun - after a really cold truck ride. I kept saying the Pacific Ocean was warmer than Wisconsin - and I'm completely serious. In fact, we had an expected Wisconsin welcome - SNOW! It may have been a let-down if Wisconsin didn't order some snowflakes for our return! :)
So we're back in WI. I feel a little displaced, having a lot to do in two towns, but I'm anxious to get things sorted out. Mom and I have a lot of stuff to go through, and loose ends to tie up, so it's going to be crazy. But it'll slowly come together. More on that in the coming days...
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