We left the house at 4:30 to catch a 7 AM flight and had the roads to ourselves. C has been worried about flying ever since we told him we were going which is hard to understand in the face of a recent successful Orlando flight. After we took off and made the banking turn to the west he was happy to be on the plane and let us know that he had surpassed all personal expectations in the brave and daring department.
K and I dozed on the plane but still felt sleep deprived when the plane landed. There was an announcement that Chicago time was an hour earlier than New York so we felt we had time to burn. We accepted an invitation to stay the night with Tari Haff but I waited too long to cancel the hotel reservation and got stuck with the full tab. Thinking that we could salvage some utility from the reservation we headed to the hotel for a short nap. Once we saw the time in the room it became clear that Ft Wayne time was the same as New York and that we didn't have the extra hour we thought we had.
The GPS had us twist and turn over so many country roads that I had no idea where we were but we arrived around 3:00 without getting lost. We might have been the last ones to get there.
There were many familiar faces and many that I just drew a blank on. It really helped that Kevie had license to go up and ask, "Now, who are you?" Butch was being very stoic and such a gentleman. He greeted everyone, made smalltalk, and asked asked after Louise. More pictures are here.
Several of us took a walk to see the cottage that Al and Lucille had when we were kids. As soon as we walked over the rise I recognized it. It was easy to remember being 12 and rowing around the lake with Mike and swimming at the public beach.
We spent Saturday night with Teri and Jim at their lake cottage. Warm hospitality and good conversation.
Got on the road early and made it back to Midway with few troubles. Christopher asked when we were coming back; a sign that he had a good time.
Stopped at Harborview to see my mom as it was Mother's Day. I thought she would be brimming with questions about the wake but she wasn't. I don't know if she forgot or just got the days mixed up but we gave her the blow by blow.
2 comments:
Dear JohnO,
Hello. I really enjoyed your blog and pictures. I am going to make copies of some of your pictures, they turned out so well. This is such a neat website. I am glad you came to visit us. It was fun to meet you after so many years and to see your family. I walked with Kevie over to Yellow Creek and got to know her. She is adorable, tell her hi. I am happy you came to honor such a special Aunt. And to relive some childhood memories yourself, seeing cousins all grown up and visiting Yellow Creek again. I appreciate you coming and giving Alene this tribute. Love Kelly O'Banion (Marcia's oldest daughter). I am the one in the picture with Bob and Marcia, just so you can place a face!
DEAR JOHN,
I JUST WANTED TO THANK YOU, KEVIE, AND CHRISTOPHER FOR MAKING THE TRIP FOR ALENE`S "CELEBRATION OF LIFE" PARTY. IT MEANT MORE TO ME THAN I CAN TELL YOU. IT WAS GREAT TO SEE YOU AFTER SO MANY YEARS! I WAS TELLING MY DAUGHTER HOW ONE OF US TAUGHT THE OTHER TO SHUFFLE A DECK OF CARDS. YOU KNOW, THE IMPORTANT STUFF IN LIFE. THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO COME ALL THE WAY BACK TO INDIANA...IT WAS VERY SPECIAL AND ALENE WOULD HAVE BEEN THRILLED!
LOVE,
NOLA
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