Johnson Creek, Wisconsin -- Our flight to Milwaukee was as good as a flight can be. The Wife and I were sat next to each other, and the flight took off on time. We flew over most of the interesting sights in California, Nevada, and Utah before cloud cover took the views away from us -- the lakes and reservoirs in Southern California's mountains, our new home in the Antelope Valley, the massive urban sprawl that is Las Vegas, Zion Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Lake Powell, the Canyonlands, and the mesas of the painted desert. The food on the flight was good, too -- yes, we had to pay for it, but it was good. I had a turkey, cranberry sauce, and brie cheese sandwich on freshly-baked wheat bread with a fresh romaine salad; The Wife got a "fun box" with various kinds of cheeses, bread sticks, chips and salsa, and chocolate treats. Personnel on the flight were friendly and did not make frequent interruptions to our conversations and activities. The flight landed early and our bags arrived along with us. Midwest Express even served fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies. This is basically everything you could ask for in modern air travel. Hopefully our flight back Monday is as good.
I've fewer nice things to say about today's family reunion. My in-laws worked very hard to make it happen; they put in a lot of effort and care into it. They enlisted The Wife and I to cook and we cleaned and put stuff away. They got a whole pig roast taken in, and made many, many trips to get everything they needed to throw the party. And many of the relatives who showed up were quite nice and pleasant -- some drove from as far away as Iowa to be at the event. Others seemed to take the event less seriously and the less I say about them, the better.
Wisconsin is very humid, very green, and very different from California. I'm too mentally worn out from today's -- festivities is as good a word for it as anything else -- to comment further about that. Anyway, it was a big day, draining for a lot of us. Tomorrow, we'll go back to Milwaukee for my aunt's birthday party and to visit with my grandmother before our return flight early Monday morning.
Family parties and reunions do require an amazing amount of preparation and work. I am sure your in-laws appreciated the time and effort and enthusiasm you brought to bear. You certainly appreciated their time effort and expense, and that may have to be enough. Enjoy the rest of your trip, your grandmother, mother, and aunt are all waiting to see both of you. Have fun.
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