PDX to CMH

From the minute my head hit the pillow I woke every 40 minutes or so worried about over sleeping. I woke for the last time at 220am and then laid there in bed until 230am PT. I quietly rolled out of bed and started coffee and then my exercise routine. I dressed and left for a run just before 245am through downtown Vancouver. Under clear skies, the moon was out and nearly full veiled only by a few thin wispy clouds. Quite lovely. But as pretty as it was, I felt insecure running in the dark, even more so than usual. I ran to Esther Short park and back. I was back around 320am and quickly got my shower underway. Mindy was already up I noticed and grooming for a long day of travel. I was ready to go by 340am. I moved immediately to loading the Escape. Mindy came out and helped. We didn't bother waking Glenn until 355am - minutes before we planned to depart. We even entertained not waking him, but after a thinking it through, Mindy pointed out that he had asked to be woken. Glenn joined us upstairs for a quick goodbye hug before we left. At 4:00am on the nose we headed out the door. Glenn snapped a photo or two from the doorway as we backed out the drive. Off we went. The drive to Thrifty was quick and easy, thanks in part to finding it via Google maps Sunday morning before checking out of our condo. By 4:17am PT we had our rental receipt in hand and we boarded on the airport shuttle. We were at the Southwest ticket counter minutes later. The line was suspiciously long and there were no clerks at the counter. Moving closer for observation revealed a sign indicating that their counter hours were 430am to midnight. So much for being two hours early. I waited by the counter while Mindy waited in line. I didn't want to drag our lengthy ski bag through the narrow people line. The Southwest counter folks were fast and efficient once they opened. The young lady helping us was a tad bit curt when asking about our skis. She said since there were two pair in our bag that they were absolved of any liability for damage. OK. Geesh! We had to drop our skis and a separate security check point, apparently due to its extra large size. We wound our way through security and eventually to our gate without incident. It was 4:45am. I went for a Wendy's breakfast sandwich while Mindy went with for coffee. We boarded our plane at 5:40am. We found seats on the right side of the plane looking out to the west. In hindsight, we should've went for the left side towards the sunrise on the horizon. It wasn't long before were airbourne and over the southern Cascades. In between naps, I read more of my book, The Biology of Beliefs. Excellent reading. It was almost a 3 hour flight to Phoenix. It went fast. It was clear, warm and sunny in Phoenix. For the first time all winter, I felt the pangs of spring fever. Our gate was one concourse over. Once settled, I walked down to Starbucks to get both of us some coffee. I picked up a cinnamon Scone too. While sipping my caramel macchiato I did some more reading. Our plane departed Phoenix at 11am. The stated flight time to CMH was roughly 3.5 hours. After flying over the warm Arizona terrain we were eventually flying over snow cover, an all too familiar scene. I finished my book in flight and started on my second, Virus of the Mind. We landed in Columbus at 430pm to cool temps, cloudy skies, and a snowy landscape. Pretty much what we left behind just six days earlier, and pretty much what we expected. Once at baggage claim we phoned dad to make sure he was nearby in the cell phone lot. He was. We agreed to phone again once we had our bags in hand. We called again ten minutes later. Outside at passenger pick-up, traffic was heavy. We witnessed one old man cursing at another older couple, even dropping the 'F' bomb. I called him out on it suggesting that his profanity was uncalled for. He only got worse. At the same time, his young passenger arrived to load his bags. The young kid said nothing, threw his bag in the car and zoomed off. Dad pulled up a couple minutes later. Just like that, we were on our way home. We chatted briefly about the trip, me doing most of the talking. Mindy was eager to see the children. Me too. Dad helped unload our bags but didn't bother coming inside. Instead, he headed back home. Deena suggested that Tony would bring the kids home saving us the drive. He dropped them five minutes later. He didn't come in either. Geesh - do we stink? We didn't wait too long before we readied and left for Barley's - plans we made with Bella on Saturday from Mt Hood. We were seated at a table by 610pm. I sent brother Glenn a text message letting him know we were home and at Barley's. We had our morning coffee in Portland and dinner in Columbus. I ordered a Centennial IPA and a Barley burger. Jacob had Gates of Hell wings and lemonade. Bella had KC wings and lemonade. Mindy had a Brisket sandwich and water. I picked up the tab. We left for home at 710pm. I was tired and wanted a nap. There's little wonder, though, I was very short slept. I spent the next hour or so unpacking all of my gear and down loading vacation pictures. They turned out even better than expected. Oh yeah, we gave the kids their souvenirs earlier. The kids were in bed by 9pm. We stayed up just 30 minutes longer. Both Mindy & I were extremely tired.