The Vacation That Almost Wasn’t (Continued 2)

The plane from Dallas/Fort Worth was large with a full capacity. We were seated separately. My friend took the seat closest to the exit. We knew that the connecting flight had a short window to board and acted appropriately. She moved quickly and I followed. My friend has a disability and sometimes need me to help with luggage. We made the connecting flight with about three minutes to spare before boarding. It was another blessing.

My friend’s aunt was to pick us up. We waited for fifteen minutes before we spotted her. The aunt said she’d made several passes before we connected. We came out just after her last pass. Aunt Leah’s home was a ranch style home with tangerine, lemon, and orange trees in the back yard. What was unexpected was that she had two sequoias in the back yard and one in the front. She’d gotten them as seedlings. Now they were twenty years old.

It was Leah’s birthday. She was happy to get a card, Trump flag, a Trump shirt, and a Women for Trump cap. After BLT sandwiches, we went to bed. The next day was a slow day, shopping for food and working on a large jigsaw puzzle. The drive to Lake Tahoe was scheduled for the next day and we began to pack snacks and drinks for the trip.

The drive to Tahoe became a challenge. Many of the parks were closed due to the fire danger. One waterfall that my friend wanted to see was still open. We made our way to it and parked. The water was only a small stream. As we tried to leave the front wheels settled into the dust, backing out onto the roadway the car bottomed out. There was no cell phone reception to call AAA, but there was a fire station 1/4 mile away. We hiked there and were able to use their phone. The tow truck driver had us out quickly and we were on our way again.

Her aunt doesn’t like to drive. I have an uneasiness of heights as does my friend. The road we were on was very winding on the sides of steep ravines. We even crossed a hogback ridge. It was too late to turn around, so we pressed on and were able to stop at several places along the lake. (To be continued)