March 2002

March will be remembered for the 50th wedding anniversary of Susan's parents. Much time and effort went into the planning of the secret party and it was all worth it. March concluded with out-of-town guests paying an Easter visit.

March 2

With my bonus check burning a hole in my pocket, Susan and I drove to Vancouver, Washington with thoughts of purchasing something we've thought about buying for years. We've all seen the infomercials and thought, "Yeah, I could do that." We've heard the stars proclamations and now it was time to see for ourselves.

Once in Vancouver, we started searching for the address of the factory. Traffic was thick due toconstruction, so we jumped off the highway and started searching the side streets. Eventually we found a street that we recognized on our MapQuest™ map which led us to the factory entrance. We walked inside and were met by a factory representative. He answered our questions and demonstrated the product for us. We were impressed and satisfied, so we decided to follow through with the purchase. The only question remaining was, "Will it fit in the Honda?" That turned out to be a non-issue because it was conveniently packed in three separate boxes. Have you figured out what it is yet? Keep reading and all will be revealed.

March 3

This day was earmarked as a construction day -- the day to build my new machine, fresh from the factory. I hauled the three boxes into the living room and gathered the necessary tools. Construction went smoothly and two hours later, I had a fully-functional BowFlex Power Pro XTL. Susan and I have been using it ever since.

With construction projects still on my mind, I moved on to the garage. In addition to the bike hooks (see January 5, 2002), my parents also bought me three shelf brackets to help organize my garage. I installed the brackets 18 inches down from the ceiling along the south wall of the garage. Then I moved all the excess lumber from the shed project -- which was previously in a pile under my Honda -- onto the brackets. With all the available space on the floor, I moved the 16 foot long siding boards -- which was previously in a pile under the Infiniti -- under the Honda. So now we are down to just one pile of wood on the garage floor.

March 7

In preparation for Susan's parent's 50'th wedding anniversary, Susan and I ordered a custom banner to help celebrate the occasion. I started by making a preliminary design on the computer. Susan searched the Internet for a sign company that makes banners. We e-mailed the design to a local sign maker and waited for the results. A few days later they e-mailed us a proof which we accepted. The resulting sign was nearly identical to what I had designed. It was made out of a thick plastic-covered paper material (Tyvek™) that is used in clean rooms and as booties for new home tours. It had ten grommets in it for ease of hanging. And it came in a cardboard tube for easy shipping. All that was left was to figure out how to carry it onto a commercial flight without it looking like a weapon.

To make our travel plans more interesting, the snow was falling heavily as we turned off the lights and went to bed.

March 8

After months of planning, it was time to fly to Richmond, Virginia. Susan and her siblings were planning a surprise 50'th wedding anniversary party for their parents. No one knew for sure whether or not Noemi & George suspected what was going on. I'm sure that they must have found some of the strange behavior of their offspring suspicious; especially all the fuss over their address book. They maintain a paper address book with all their friends and relatives. Getting a copy of this to Susan was a challenge. Susan's brother, John, paid a visit under the guise of installing a new computer component. While alone in the computer room, he scanned every page and e-mailed the scans to Susan. She printed them out and used them to call and invite friends and relatives, and to address invitations. Meanwhile, Susan's sister, Noemi Pearce, was busy making arrangements for the hall, food, and decorations.

We caught an early flight and were on our way to Richmond. Since the party was a surprise, we couldn't go directly to Susan's parents house -- they didn't know we were coming. Instead, we spent the night with Susan's friend, Kathleen.

March 9

The day of the party finally arrived. Susan and I drove from Kathleen's house to the fire hall, hoping that we wouldn't accidentally pass her parents along the highway. Wouldn't that be the pits? We arrived at noon and spent the next hour turning the ordinary hall into something worthy of 50 years of marriage. The caterers arrived and the smell of so much good food was almost too much to handle. As friends and relatives arrived, everyone pitched in to decorate the hall. The tables were lined up in three neat rows then covered and decorated with tiny gold bells and '50's. The banner was hung, along with gold chandeliers. The cake was placed as the centerpiece of the main table as the guests started to arrive.

Susan's sister, Noemi, left to "go shopping" with Susan's mother who was told the fire hall was having an indoor yard sale. Noemi said she had to wait for a friend to show up prior to going inside. Meanwhile, Susan's father, who delivered flowers on weekends, would be delivering an arrangement and corsage for a special event at the fire hall. The plan was to have them arrive roughly at the same time. To help ensure they entered the right door, Susan and I placed a large sign that said, "Please use other door" on the side entrance.

Noemi P and Noemi arrived in the parking lot prior to George, so they "waited for a friend to arrive". George arrived and went to the emergency vehicle bay. He found out from the fire fighters that the hall was on the opposite end of the building. Rather than walking, he drove the van around to the hall's side entrance. Meanwhile, Noemi P scrambled to get Noemi out of the car and to the side door. But, George got there first.

George walked in with the bouquet of flowers in his hands. It was a bright sunny day and the hall was dimly lit, so at first he didn't suspect anything. Later, he told me that he walked in, looked around, and saw his son, Peter, and thought, "Why in the world is Peter here?" Then he saw Susan and John and realized something strange was going on. Then he realized that he knew everyone in the room.

A few moments later, Noemi was led in by Noemi P. As she entered, the kids let loose with the silly string and the party poppers. From the look on her face, I'd say she was pleasantly surprised to see everyone.

The guests of honor spent the next hour or so visiting with friends and relatives; some of whom traveled across several states to be there. Food was served and presents were opened. All in all, I'd say it came together brilliantly.

In addition to Noemi & George's children and grandchildren, we'd like to acknowledge the following folks for their contributions to the success of this celebration:

• Tony Gordon, Linda Raymond, and the entire crew of Goochland County Company 5 Fire Hall for allowing us to use your spacious meeting facility.
• Francis Childress and Julie White for the delicious food and for helping to set up and clean up afterwards.
• Ellen Perkins of Perkins Florist for the diversion to get George to the fire hall and for the beautiful flowers that he delivered.

March 11

Flying through Detroit on Northwest Airlines used to be something to be avoided, but not any longer. Recently, Northwest has moved into their new terminal building, called Concourse A, which is over a mile long and has an overhead tram running the entire length. To keep the passengers entertained, they have a fountain that does amazing things with streams of water. Somehow they make it look like the water is leaping through the air, like fish jumping from a pond.

Connecting Concourse A to B and C is a tunnel. The tunnel has moving lights and mellow music that gives the impression that you are walking under the sea. As I later described this to a friend, he asked, "Are you sure you're not talking about Disney World?" I now look forward to spending my layovers in Detroit.

March 24

To maintain currency, a private pilot must have a current medical and must be reviewed by a flight instructor every two years. Since I earned my pilot's license in September 1999, I was no longer current. Getting current involved an hour of ground discussion followed by two hours of flight. My instructor and I discussed the myriad of temporary flight restrictions in the Seattle area and the consequences of violating these restrictions. We also discussed runway incursions and how to avoid them.

Then we went flying. We did all the standard procedures and some simulated instrument flight where I flew with a hood blocking my outside view from the cockpit. I told the instructor that I had never landed at Renton's airport, so we asked air traffic control for a clearance and flew to Renton. When the talking and flying was complete, the instructor endorsed my logbook for another two years of flying.

March 28

My parents arrive for a brief stay over the long Easter weekend.

March 29

Susan, my parents and I got up this morning with one ambition -- to find the daffodils. Each year at the end of March, the daffodils bloom in the Skagit Valley, north of Everett, Washington. Our mission was to find a few fields of yellow blossoms. On a sunny day, the colors are bright enough to make you squint. Today was not one of those days. Nonetheless, the color helped brighten the gray mood of the overcast day.

After lunch, we continued north to Anacortes. Anacortes is a cozy little town on the Puget Sound. It is the gateway to the San Juan Islands and Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. We went to the Cap Sante Marina and Rotary Park. Then we drove up to the top of the hill overlooking Anacortes and Padilla Bay.

After frolicking in Anacortes we headed along the coast to Deception Pass. We crossed the bridge to the west side, parked the Honda and hiked down to the beach. We saw several Bald Eagles and adventurous kayakers. To my dismay, my camera's battery decided to call it quits just moments before the most gorgeous sunset ever.

March 31

For Easter this year, I decided to bake homemade dinner rolls. Not the kind you can buy at the grocery store. I made mine from scratch. It all started innocently enough. I added the ingredients to the bread maker and let it knead into a nice ball. Then I rolled it out and made twelve separate dough balls for the twelve rolls. This is the point where thing started to go bad. I place the balls in the tray and snipped the tops with my scissors, just like the instructions said. Then I buttered the tops and placed the tray in the oven. What came out was three tiny rolls, six monster rolls, and three somewhere in between.

With rolls in hand, we packed into the Honda and drove to Tom & Lanna's for dinner. Lanna's parents were there when we arrived. The women buzzed around in the kitchen while the men sat and shot the breeze. I stood around and took pictures.