There’s No Place like Home

“An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered;

an adventure is an inconvenience rightly considered.”

– GKC, All Things Considered, 1908

Last week I had to do a bit of traveling for work. I visited two of our plant locations to present some training for our new website. All-in-all, it was a good and productive trip but there were occasions during the time away that reminded me of just how much of a homebody I am.

While on the west coast I had a meeting with several co-workers who live out there. One is a transplant from Ohio. In fact, he still keeps his home here and comes back as often as possible. Pete and I got to talking and I was surprised to learn where he lives – less than a half mile, as the crow flies, from our house. Even funnier still, he lives in the house whose barn I’ve been coveting all these years!

I have been wanting to photograph this barn for ages. In the Spring one side is fronted by beautiful Forsythia bushes that just pop out against the dark red siding. The other side of the barn is adorned with old tools hanging on it. I found out it’s listed on the national historic register. I had to fly 2,000 miles to meet my neighbor. Next time I’m just going to ring the doorbell!

After two days in Washington we flew to Denver and that’s where the fun really began. It was cold and snowy. What the heck??? We just left sixty degree temps and back home it was supposed to be in the 70s and 80s. Snow, 40mph winds and 19 degrees is just not what I bargained for!

As I drove us north towards Cheyenne I kept seeing signs saying that the highway was closed ahead. It didn’t say where and the roads seemed fine to me. I live in northeast Ohio, I’m used to a little, even a lot, of snow. Well, they weren’t kidding. Just before the Wyoming state line there were gates and barricades across the road.

What to do now? We didn’t know how or if we could get through to our plant. We did what every self-respecting traveller would do – we pulled into the first open establishment we could find – a laundromat! It was warm, dry and they had a plug for Julie’s wireless hotspot.

We weren’t sure if we should turn around, go back to the airport and find the first flight home, hunker down for a night in a nearby hotel and try again the next day, or find other roads to just keep trekking on through.  There were a couple of people there busy with their laundry that offered us assistance. The woman told us of a phone number that we could call on our cells to get more info on road conditions and closures.

The man, though, that was there made the greater impression. He was poorly dressed, unshaven and missing a few teeth. In a different setting, his looks might have raised a few red flags. But, he had the kindest eyes and, when he heard we might want to stay in a nearby hotel, warned us which ones not to go to as they were rather seedy.  

Several phone calls later, to both our travel agent (no open flights until late the next day) and to our coworkers (an alternative route) we had a plan. We arrived several hours later than originally anticipated, but we made it safely and in one piece to the office.

And, you know what? I’m glad we did. I was greeted by some of the nicest people that I’ve worked with and we had a great and productive meeting. The next morning went just as well. 

On the drive back to Denver we got a little taste of what we had missed on the highway the day before. Drifts covered much of the road, cars were spun out here and there, and traffic came to a standstill in several locations.


After boarding a supposedly delayed flight we made it back to Ohio right on time. Got to love those tail winds! When I pulled into our drive my headlights caught the now blooming hyacinths. Such a sweet, sweet sight! And, an ever better one awaited me inside. At almost 2am, Himself and the hairy beast were awake and waiting for me.

 

There’s no place like home!

AMDG