Side note

Yes, this is the third of four consecutive posts this evening. You could say I'm procrastinating. You could also say I'm a bit aimless. That's because Ryan's out of town.

I was thinking. Check this out:

1. Ryan is currently on the second of three field trips out to his old stomping grounds in Eastern Oregon. If you didn't know, he is an expert in all things paleontology-related. This trip is with a group of eleven year olds. The way I understand it, the boys were planning on riding in his van and the girls were going to ride in the female teacher's van. Makes sense. He already new ahead of time which trouble-maker was going to sit up front with him, and he and the other instructor made plans to stop several hours into the drive out there to shuffle misbehaviors around if necessary. If you're still with me, thank you, and how about this? On his last trip out a few weeks ago with college students, they were just getting going on I-84 when the hood of his van spontaneously popped open. They safely pulled over and eventually made it to a gas station, where some folks got out to stretch. Back on the road a few minutes later he noticed they were one man short in his van. Isn't that funny?

2. I have been to Idaho once this summer, am heading up to Mt. Rainier tomorrow, and will be down in Sequoia/Kings Canyon next week for work.

3. We were at the coast last weekend and have an extended camping trip planned in the Olympic National Forest coming up.

4. Ryan has booked a trip to Maine for a MONTH and I'll be joining the family back east for a week.

My point here is that this has unintentionally become a very busy summer of travel. Some for fun, most for work. Time is flying by.