A Trip to Montana

It's official: we have not one, but two adventure girls. On October 28th, we left for a 10-day trip to western Montana, where I participated in two book festivals. My mom also came over from the eastern part of the state. What an entourage - ranging in age from 81 years to 7 months! And everyone was a good traveler, including our doll-baby!


There was some suspense. Even before we had departed from Cincinnati, we knew that weather-related delays might cause us to miss our flight from Minneapolis to Missoula. There were no more flights from MSP to Missoula that night and my presentation was the next morning.

When we arrived as MSP, we knew the countdown had begun. Ultimately, we had to abandon our stroller - we waited in the jetway for it as long as we could - then sprinted through the airport toward our next gate. When I heard on the PA system, "Passengers McDonald, this is your final boarding call..." I shrieked, yes shrieked, "We need a cart!" And miraculously, there was a cart. By this point, Carlyn was in tears from the sheer stress of it all. I'm sure we looked like a mess as we came down the aisle of that plane.

The fabulous flight attendant took an immediate shine to Carlyn and let her examine the demo oxygen mask and...get this...invited her to visit the cockpit after the flight. Keep in mind that we're talking about a little girl who is obsessed with aircraft and was planning to be a Cathay Pacific pilot for Halloween.

Upon our arrival in Missoula, she did indeed get to visit the cockpit, to push buttons, try on Captain Spencer's jacket, and - drum roll, please - shut down the plane for the night. She described it as the high point of her trip.

And Miss Maryn did beautifully. She enjoyed meeting Grandma, great aunt and uncle, and a few cousins. And she was a very cute calf for Halloween!

Who would've thought 10 more days in a hotel, just six weeks after our return from China, would go so well. We are truly blessed.