Greetings from Elgin!

Midnight plane rides, bottles of wine, Handsome Furs on repeat and finally arriving in Elgin. Zombie stupor through the morning with bubble blowing bike rides and reading books to kids. Whitecastle mistakes and temporary Simpsons tattoos with a late night session with the sis and a long-awaited slumber in a foreign bed after 30 some odd hours without a wink. Saturday morning mishaps, waiting for the locksmith and standing in the rain.

Eating "cheez-lits" with the niece and finally making a train to head in the city. Grand buildings and winding winds and staring back at the vast amounts of white people. Sightseeing, getting lost, trekking for hours just to realize the destination was closer than we thought. Subways, wind tunnels, and stoney-time goodness.

"Love & marriage, love & marriage. Go together like a horse & carriage..." stuck in my head and determined to see Buckingham Fountain which apparently is drained during winter, but I still took pictures. Parks, trees, wind, wind, wind. More walking, cheap breakfasts, and chugging on the train back to Elgin for Easter egg hunts & dinner & flashlight hide and seek in the dark. Sitting awake typing this before I fall asleep to wake up in the world of oddities my brain calls dreams.

Tomorrow holds long walks, swimming (!!), and more family time. Sigh, if only it didn't have to end.

FishFace

It's soothing and stress-relieving in a way unlike any other form of exercise. It's floating weightless, it's watching people's bottoms wiggle waggle underwater. It's stroke after swift stroke, slipping in, under, over and out. It's goggles pressed tight on my face, the snap of the swim suit on my back. The notorious wedgie. It's the way I feel, a fish flapping, flipping my fins. It's 30 minutes of glorious bliss.