Mystery Solved

I'm back! Well, mostly. Whew.

And today I will solve the mystery of my disappearance.

Back in July, Tom decided that we needed to go visit his family in the tiny mountain town where he and I met long, long ago. He said we should fly out there, then I said, after this long, humid summer, flying would push me over the proverbial edge. Splat.

That's about the time one of us suggested finally taking the train adventure we'd discussed for, oh, around thirty years. Yes! We would take the train, instead.

And I was ok with that.

So Tom began to plan online a long train ride from Buffalo, NY to Reno, NV, where we'd then rent a car and drive to visit the ol' hometown in California. He booked us one tiny roomette on the train ride there and a larger family-sized room (after acquiring a killer deal) for the ride back. He lined up the rental car and even reservations at a lovely B&B in our hometown and at the Peppermill in Reno (another deal thanks to Priceline). We were getting excited.

And then Tom got laid off from his job.

Gah. My first reaction? "Cancel the trip! Let's just stay home and clean and paint things and pretend we still have some control over our life." My, I'd never before longed so badly to organize and bake and plan, plan, plan for the future. And to use our vacation money for other things like, well, food.

But that's when God said, "Hmmm... No. I want you to take that trip. You'll have lots of time to plan things when you return home." He reminded me that some of Tom's family had experienced sicknesses and diseases this past year, Tom hadn't seen everyone in three years and I'd not visited with them in six. He also reminded me that none of us has complete control over our lives, only a type of control over our own behavior and responses to what happens to us. What matters most is that we behave in godly ways, that we love and that we trust, trust, trust.

So at half past midnight early Sunday morning, the 5th of September, Tom and I crept up the stairs of our first real train, there outside in the night sky of Buffalo. And the adventure began.

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(To be continued...)


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So why did I ask for your book recommendations? I needed suggestions for books to read on our trip. Turns out, though, that when I ride trains, I prefer to just look out the window and think. Alas. I did, though, finish reading Paula Deen's autobiography which is called something like, It Ain't All About The Cookin'. I enjoyed it, but the sad parts were indeed, sad. Oh, and no one recommended that book--I just decided I wanted to read it. :)