We're back.

"Seriously," I said. "You mean to tell me your travel agent booked us on a 24 hour layover in Seattle?" It seemed kind of odd considering the town we wanted to fly into from SeaTac is only an hour and a half drive.

"Yep," my father replied. "I didn't catch it."

I texted everyone I knew in Seattle who still have ties to Bellingham from our hotel in Costa Rica. Thankfully someone responded willing to help us.

We flew in from Houston on a flight delayed by over an hour. I decided I was tired of reading so the in flight movie was in order. They showed 'Love Happens' with Jennifer Aniston and Aaron Eckhardt. Never heard of it? There's a reason for that.

I felt a nudge from my right. I took out my earphones and a sweet elderly woman told me the boy behind her has happy feet. I asked if she wanted me to say anything to the father, but the lady said no. She had chit chat on her mind and I was a captive audience.

The old woman talked about seeing her great grandkids in Houston and how their fathers are a bunch of screw ups. Her daughter was raising up a litter of her own grandchildren. Apparently there was a lot of family drama on this trip, but the matriarch really seemed to enjoy her time with family she doesn't see often. She asked me if she should go again and the two of us discussed future travel arrangements for her 82 year old self.

Her voice cracked a bit partially years of hard living. She spoke like a woman who spent most of her life trying to prove to herself how tough she is, but beyond that rough armor lied a sweet woman who wanted nothing more in life than to be around her family as much as possible.

To be continued....