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So the family took a little vacation the past couple of days. We headed back to Spokane the day after Christmas. The drive over was uneventful (although it did require attention since it was snowing pretty good), and we stopped in to visit my old Place of Employment. Most people were on vacation, but we saw a few people. From there we headed over to the Valley Mall so the girls could do a little shopping. The mall complex is, on a conservative estimate, five times larger than the downtown corridor of Sheridan. I would also guess that I could have driven from Sheridan to almost VC in the time it took us to get out of the parking lot.

We got checked into the hotel, the girls hit the pool, I took a nap, and then we ordered pizza for dinner.

We spent Thursday roaming around downtown. Spent some more time shopping. The Kid got her hair cut. Rode the gondola over the falls. Missed out on the carousel because it was down for repairs. Ate lunch at my all time favorite Spokane restaurants -- Rocky Rococo's. They've got the best salad bar anywhere; and a slice and salad special with a drink ... mmm ... perfect.

Then we met up with some friends and took in National Treasure. It wasn't too bad. I think the clues in the first movie made more sense, as this one seemed a little more . . . forced. And I still wasn't real clear on why the bad guy was a bad guy. And in the end, they left themselves blatantly wide open for a third movie.

One of the best parts of the movie: Ben and his dad go to see Ben's mom (dad's ex-wife) who is a prof at the University of Maryland. A student comes running out of mom's office yelling, "I HATE HER!!!" Dad says, "We're in the right spot."

Then it was off to dinner at another Spokane favorite -- The Onion. Back to the hotel for a dip in the pool and bed.

We needed some party supplies for an Epiphany party I'm planning for the churches so we made a quick stop at The Party Palace before leaving town. I used to officiate football with the owner, and he was in working. We talked about football and how things were going and it turns out that he used to come out to the Ruby Valley to go fishing; so that was all very cool.

Then we headed home. For the most part it was okay. 4th of July Pass was bare and wet, so no problems there, but Lookout Pass was a little dicey. I ran out of window washer fluid, so there were parts where . . . Mom, don't read this part . . .


where I was literally driving blind and hoping I knew which way the road was turning. Obviously I got it right.

And now I'm home doing those things that I normally do on Friday -- like laundry. Tomorrow is Christmas I, so we do a Christmas Lessons & Carols; which relieves me of writing a sermon. Life is good.