It has been a busy August. We traveled to Upper Michigan to see my parents for a week. Getting there was an adventure, and not of the good kind.

There were thunderstorms south of Chicago so incoming flights were delayed. our flight was scheduled to leave at 6:50 pm and we boarded the plane at about 10:15pm. We sat for quite a while. They finally closed the doors, but then informed us that there was a mechanical issue with the cargo door. We then learned that that final delay pushed the crew beyond their maximum working hours under FAA regulations. So we all got off the plane.

The airline booked us into a hotel in Skokie. We finally got to the room (smoking, not non-smoking and it reaked of tobacco) at 1:15 am. We were up early and at the airport around 9am. Our flight finally left after noon. It was delayed 19 hours. It took longer to fly from Los Angeles to Marquette than is does to fly from Los Angeles to Mumbai.

The visit with my parents was good. Pleasant weather, many cousins around, good fun for all.

After catching up at work, I am off next week to take my older daughter to college. She is attending Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. We are planning a nice, scenic drive up US-395. Our first night will be in Alturas, California and the next day we make it to Spokane.

I had planned to return on a slightly more eastern route through Nevada. Thankfully, I was told about the Burning Man festival being held at Black Rock City through Labor Day weekend. Apparently, the traffic from the end of the festival turned a seven hour drive from Reno to Los Angeles into a 10 hour drive. I have now planned a different route.

On the return, I’ll leave Spokane mid-day and drive to Bend, Oregon. From Bend, I’ll head south on US 97, joining I-5 at Weed, California. Then a long day driving south on I-5 to Los Angeles.