Gone again

Ten days ago I wrote that I was in my fifth hotel in eleven days.

And on Sunday night I began a week that will have three more hotels before I’m home again.

Sunday night was in Lee’s Summit. I leave this morning for San Diego, where I’m with nephew Joseph in a Hilton property for three nights before sending him home and moving to a Marriott property for a NATS workshop.

The trip across Missouri was faster than expected. I had planned on Amtrak, but the Lincoln Service/Missouri River Runner was running way behind, so I drove instead, and then changed my return flight to land at MCI rather than STL. If I don’t stop, I make the Saint Louis to Lee’s Summit trip in 3.25 hours, running about 76 mph on the sections listed as 70.

But Sunday the trip took and extra 15 minutes, as I needed to stretch and wake up, sixty miles east of Kansas City.

On the way west, somewhere in the Chesterfield Bottoms, Mariele the Volvo turned over 30K miles. She’s my first car to do this in the past 14 years.

I was initially frustrated when I saw the Amtrak delays, but then I thought to myself a) first-world problems, b) get over it, since this is leisure travel, c) I have options and means, and d) I’m blessed. Be content and happy in all things, DC!

Meanwhile, Mistress Maisie is with Eliot, and looking a bit worse for the weather as she has explored the wet garden over and over the last two days. Of course she had to cover as much of the bed as possible after I changed the sheets Sunday.

She really wanted to come along with me.

Oh, and nature always wins. Witness:

In the exposed roots of a tree in front of my house.