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Jeff and I spent the week between Christmas and New Years in Muskegon with his family. For those of you who don’t know where Muskegon is, I’ve posted a “handy” (I’m a funny man today) homemade map below. Oh those Michiganders…they are quite clever!

Like most winter visits in the U.S. that aren’t to Florida, Hawaii, or a mountain ski town, our visit was spent mostly indoors. The weather was cold, but not freezing cold. Some rain, but nothing like we left behind in SF. And one shot of harmless overnight snow to give me some photo variety.

The weather provided us with plenty of quality time with the family–particularly Jeff’s young niece and nephews. Since we only visit Michigan every six months, the kids seem to grow up ultra-fast. But boy does Christmas feel different with kids around. (I know…I think I’m the LAST person to figure this out 🙂

Food a-plenty, of course, since Jeff’s mom loves to cook for crowded tables. Two fun additions this Christmas. My mother sent us sweet potato biscuits and country ham from Edwards of Surrey, VA. (My grandmother “discovered” these last Christmas, and they are AMAZING.) And one afternoon, while we were out, Jeff’s dad introduced me to the “G&L Greek Chili Dog”—YUM!

I did get out and walk a bit with my camera in tow. Lake Muskegon was partially frozen, so I got a few nice shots of the ice and gray-ness of it all.

We watched several movies (quality down time). We actually went to a theatre to see the Narnia flick—this was the first time Jeff and I had been in a movie theatre in two years…I think we may just stick to Netflix. On DVD, we watched Madagascar, some Ab Fab episodes, Polar Express (the youngest nephew’s favorite), and Christmas Vacation (my perennial favorite Christmas movie).

We managed to find time for a bit of culture amidst our pop culture. We visited the Hackley and Hume historic homes, which were decorated in a style typical of their era. These homes were built by two business partners around the turn of the century and are little gems. Jeff’s dad took me to see an Edward Weston photography exhibit at the Hackley Art Museum. (Look for this fantastic retrospective to come to your town…99-pictures…well worth the price of admission, which was only $4 in Muskegon.) Next door, we visited the Hackley Library (another grand historic building).

All in all, a wonderful family visit and a VERY nice Christmas.

Jeff and I are back from Michigan, so expect some catch-up entries over the next several days as we download pictures and get settled. Our travels were safe and relaxing, and I’m all set to spend the next few weeks formulating well-crafted resolutions to break. (I’ve systematically broken most of my favorites, so if you have any suggestions of good breakable resolutions, please send along.)

I wanted to report that in spite of the storms and record rainfall here in Northern California, our house is standing and dry, our garden is wind-swept but green, and the cats have not had to learn to swim. In fact, the skies cleared for us as we landed, and we actually saw sun beams for a few minutes. So, all in all, we timed that just right.

I expected nasty rain or slosh or something on our drive from Muskegon to Chicago for our flight yesterday, but it was clear sailing. The rain started right after we arrived at the airport, and delayed us a bit but nothing unusual.

Even the weather in Muskegon worked out well. Yeah, the skies were gray, but we had a couple of inches of wet snow on Wednesday or Thursday night–just enough to satisfy MY snow fix, but not enough to make the roads bad for everyone else. Perfect.

Happy New Year everyone.

This is the last of my Burbank airport blogs (promise).

To paraphrase Steve Martin in the classic Saturday Night Live Christmas sketch: “If I had just one wish this Christmas, it would be for all the children of the world to sing in peace and harmony.” Not in Burbank.

This note goes out to the woman in the Burbank airport bookstore, who wedged herself and her child in between me and the magazine rack I was perusing: “I just need to check a price.” So, the woman and her child look for a price on a miniature airplane, while I stand patiently. Well, soon they discover that there are LOTS of planes, and I discover that these two don’t make decisions easily. I stand literally less than a foot from them, staring right through them at the magazines I can’t see, while the mom describes each of the planes (“This is Air Force One…it has beds and a dining room…”)

I can be stubborn! I stood there for 3-4 LONG minutes I’m sure. No apologies. No “just one more minute”. No “we need to choose so this nice man can stop standing here staring at us”. Nope. Nothing.

So, my gift to the world…or at least the customers in the Greater Burbank Area: my wish for this woman is that she learn to teach her child about peace and harmony in 2006. Maybe she can break the cycle of people that think there is nobody else in the world.

(Written on my short flight from Burbank to SFO last night.)
The poor woman in 1B. She boarded our flight from Burbank to San Francisco as a standby passenger from a later flight that was also delayed. Rain in SF delayed everything for 2-3 hours. Needless to say everyone on this flight is tense–most are trying to connect to other flights for Christmas. So she boards–excited and hopeful–and finds nooks to store her small bags–the one downside to a bulkhead seat.

Well, the doors are closed and then reopened: “Will standby passenger X please gather your carry-ons and deplane”. The woman in 1B stands in front of a full plane, gathers her belongings, and asks politely for the reason. In an apologetic (but loud) voice, the flight attendant explains that the plane is simply overweight. I’m sure it didn’t help this poor traveler’s self esteem, since she was a bit heavyset. Talk about a string of bad luck 🙁

Well, a strong rain storm has delayed me in Burbank’s Bob Hope International Airport this afternoon. The good news is that they have added wireless internet since I was trapped here last. The bad news is that I’ve got time to dig through pictures and post them to my blog 🙂

But first, my useless fact of the day. I learned from the Channel 7 local news (which is droning on in the background) about what is going on in the stores as the Christmas shopping season draws to a close. According to the live report, “the men are better prepared this year. They are here with lists and know what they are looking for.” And we need 24×7 news why?

So, what are these men buying? Well, I humbly suggest the BEST white elephant gift I have ever drawn: the Pig Crumb Vacuum (thank you Denise). I mean, who hasn’t finished a meal only to find the table covered with food crumbs? Well, China Incorporated has sent us boatloads of these pink plastic pigs. Along with thousands of other gifts to re-gift. So, the theory is that by offshoring this stuff, we reduce prices so that we can buy more for less…but more of what?

So, to counter the crass commercialism bombarding me here in the airport, I submit three photos that remind me of holidays past.