Departure

I pulled Keiko and Amaya out of their Girls-Only Soccer Camp at Williams at noon on their last day so that we could catch a 3:00 flight from Albany, New York to Burbank, California. Unfortunately—but perhaps not surprisingly—Rachelle's new job at Childcare of the Berkshires wouldn't let her take three weeks of vacation in her first year, so she wouldn't be able to join us until a few days later. As a thoughtful sendoff that has become a tradition in our family, she packed the girls carry on bags with some secret treasures that they were able to enjoy on the flight. Very sweet.

The transcontinental airplane ride was uneventful but exhausting. We had a couple-hour layover in Las Vegas, snarfed some dinner at Wendy's, and arrived in Burbank only 30 minutes behind schedule. Fortunately, we were the only riders on the SuperShuttle and arrived at Neb's house in Valencia at about 10:00 PDT. His daughters, Lea and Sophia, were asleep when we got there, but Keiko and Amaya crashed hard next to them in their rooms. I slept in the living room and I can tell you that a pull-out couch has never felt so nice.

Before

During

After