Last night was wonderful. For my final evening in California, I drove Way North and, after a few embarrassing wrong turns (including one drastic wrong turn that gave me a spectacular view as I accidentally crossed the Bay Bridge (whoops)), I found my way to simplykimberly's house. Her little boy was on his bike outside the driveway to greet me, and it was great seeing them both again. Her house was full of cats which were eager to ease my cat-deprivation symptoms.

Her kitchen smelled delicious as I walked in, filled with home-cooking smells. She is a fabulous cook! Everything was delicious, and I highly recommend her creme caramel. I even got to have leftover cheesecake for breakfast this morning...yummy. Dinner was great, especially since the kid and I worked up quite an appetite on the trampoline beforehand. That was pretty cool: I'm not sure how long it's been since I've played on a tramp, but it's been several years I'm sure. I still remembered my basic tricks, doing some handsprings, even landing a few front flips!

We also played with Legos. I built one of the kind with little motors, a drawbridge, and they showed me the programmable robot they are working on. Way nifty. Now I want to program Legos; it looks like fun.

Unfortunately her husband didn't get home 'til late, but it was nice to chat with him too. I don't know him nearly as well as Kim, but I like him too. I also enjoyed watching the three interact as a family. I like how happy and comfortable they each seem. Theirs is nowhere near the "traditional family", but they've each created for themselves a place in it that fits. It kind of reminded me of the movie Lilo and Stitch, where they built their own family out of broken pieces. At the end of the movie, I think it's Stitch who says, "This is my family. I found it, all on my own. It's little, and broken, but still good. Yeah, still good."

This morning I got up dreadfully early to drive back to the airport. In my normal directionless way, I managed to miss the exit for the airport. This time I didn't cross any toll bridges at least, so I was able to right myself fairly easily. Made my flight on time, if a little close, then I was in the air. When we landed in DTW, a guy in front of me helped me pull my bag out of the overhead. As we waited for the line to move, he asked conversationally, "Do you have a connection to catch now?"

We both looked a bit rumpled, dirty, and over-traveled. "No," I told him through a tired smile. "I'm home." It was a good feeling.