salt of the earth

Those are the kind of people that Justin is related to. They are absolutely the salt of the earth - kind, generous, warm, hospitable and did I mention kind?

We spent 4 days in Oklahoma this past weekend. I had never been there, but I didn't expect getting there to be such a long trip. We flew out of Reno with my in-laws, so our trip started on Thursday after work. We drove 3.5 hours from Pleasanton to Reno. The next morning we flew from Reno to Denver (2H 20M) and had a layover (2H) then we flew from Denver to Oklahoma City (1H 30M). Then we drove from Oklahoma City to Wilburton (3H). I was happy to stand when we finally got there! I keep wondering if there is a faster way to get there. I honestly don't think so. Well, other than flying directly from here rather than driving to Reno, but it's still a long trip either way you dice it. Oh, and on the trip back we did that whole thing in reverse (except that we flew through Phoenix, instead of Denver - adding 250 miles to our trip) and we did it all in one day, rather than two. We had about 17 hours of traveling yesterday. Yikes!

We had a blast, though. Seriously, we had more fun that I ever expected. I went 4-wheeling on their ATVs and mucho land. We ate - a lot. We visited and just had a nice, relaxing time. I don't get to do that very often, even on vacation. I am drawn to a lifestyle that doesn't demand so much from you all the time. I get tired just looking at my week here. I needed a rest more than I knew and Justin's family took me in like one of their very own. I think I adapted well to their way of life - but not the humidity.

Strangest comment: The chiggers might not like you, because you have darker skin.

1: I didn't know what a chigger was until I got there, so that was odd to me. They are small little biting bugs that come out of the long grass. They apparently can been annoying and their bites itch badly. In fact, Tip said his friend almost lost a leg to an infected chigger bite. That seems extreme, but they are not fun to get, none-the-less.

2: I have dark skin? Ok, so Oklahoma is the whitest state I have ever been to and I am of "mixed" blood, being German and Hawaiian/Puerto Rican, but dark skin? Cool, maybe all this time my mother was right - I am black.

Anyway, not everyone was happy that we got away. Padme missed us. Here is a photo of her to keep you happy all day long.