Cathy in the Wright

Weathering Heights

Remember the Lil Abner cartoon character, Joe Blfsplk, who walked around under a black cloud discharging rain and lighting? Joe had nothing on us during a two-and-a-half-week road trip from which the Green Goddess and I just returned. Rain, wind and overcast skies followed us from Minneapolis to Palm Desert, California, by way of Phoenix and Flagstaff, Arizona. Palm Desert received half a year’s rainfall during the three days we were there, and we missed the most serious storms. We even experienced snowfall in the higher elevations of Joshua Tree National Park. En route home, we sat out an ice storm that turned Independence, Missouri, into a skating rink when we arrived for a family visit. Perhaps the weather prepared us for the task now at hand. We’ll soon assume custody of The Governor and The Senator from Nana and Buppa for the duration of the parents' Hawaii trip. As for our trip, it was a lot better than the weather. We saw lots of interesting things and had several good meals. I had especially tasty shrimp at a local restaurant in a tiny Texas town—can’t remember the names—but I’ll never forget the special on that day's menu, “All the mountain oysters you can eat for $15.95."