It has been a while since I’ve posted and many things have happened! Some have been sweet, and others a touch bittersweet.

I mentioned in a previous post that we had been watching the series Voyager from start to finish at the inspiration of a friend, Karen Kuklinski. Very appropriately, we watched the series finale, with her, at her house – sweet!

Last weekend we met Kent and Pam in Colorado Springs for our annual “Away Game” trip to watch the Boise State Football team play the Air Force Academy. The visit to the Academy was very impressive and interesting.  There is a nice visitor center and the iconic Chapel to tour.

While outside the visitor center a bus filled with Boise people stopped and out came friends Linda and Shannon Murphy, and Reed, Jean, Kristin and Jeff Nate. That was sweet!

The pomp and circumstance before the game with the cadets was very entertaining. Cadets (and the mascot) even parachuted into the stadium with the game ball.  Unfortunately the game was a disaster (for Boise State fans) and the trip turned a little bittersweet.  We just aren’t used to getting beaten handily by conference foes!

On the way home we had a connection in Seattle. Don’t you think Seattle is a nice logical stop between Colorado Springs and Boise?   While we were in the airport, the team we have watched all year, the Seattle Mariners, was preparing to play the California Angels to push for a 163^rd game to qualify for the baseball playoffs.  We had watched all season, it came down to one game, and we were in Seattle – at the airport!  Bittersweet!  Seattle won, but so did Oakland, so the Mariners are out – but it was a great year to be a fan.  We already have Spring Training plans in Arizona, with mom and dad, during March.

A nice consolation prize for having to fly out during the baseball game was that we FINALLY got to ride in the Boise State plane. Horizon/Alaska Airlines decorates many of their planes and some have university themes.  We have ridden in planes decorated for San Diego State, Montana, Montana State, Washington, Washington State, Oregon (several times), Oregon State and maybe even others, but never the Boise State plane.  After the bad loss at Air Force, we finally got to come home to Boise in our plane – bittersweet!

We came back from Colorado for me to work my last two days at the district office. Overall it was a very good experience and I am grateful for it. Last week I was able to spend a lunch “hour” at my old school and had a retirement cake. I worked with Connie, in two different schools, over many years and value her partnership greatly.

For a time we thought Randy was going to have back surgery and our departure would be delayed but the doctor thinks things have a very good chance of resolving on their own and we will embark on Thursday. We will travel first to City of Rocks State Park in eastern Idaho and then spend a couple of weeks traveling into southern Utah, then a week outside of Las Vegas, and then up California and Oregon to be in Vancouver, Washington with mom and dad for Thanksgiving.   We will be glad to give specifics if you EVER think that connecting up might work.

Leaving Boise is bittersweet.    When we left in June we knew we’d be back in a couple months.  When we left in June, we wondered whether we would find a place that we’d like better than Boise to settle down in when we eventually come off the road.   But it has been so nice to be back in Boise that I don’t think we’ll even look.  We’ve lived here for 33 years and will likely live here again at the end of this grand adventure, whenever that will be.  We are so appreciative of the time we’ve been able to spend with friends over the last seven weeks.

Leaving Archer, Natasha and Seth is not just bittersweet, it is hard. Randy especially has had lots of time with Archer and he will be so big when we see him again at Christmas!   They have asked us not to post pictures of him, but just know he is the cutest kid in the world!

Posts will be a little more frequent again as we start going places and doing things. Catch you on the blog-o-sphere!