mommy's winter getaway

I truly am fortunate to have been blessed with a kind husband...who willingly indulges his wife's whims and allows her to do some traveling on her own.

Usually when I fly somewhere by myself, it's to run a race.

This time, however, I flew to Ohio in the middle of winter to see a show!

A cooking show, to be exact!

 I swung through Phoenix on my way there...stopping only at the airport for a couple of hours before flying on to Atlanta, and then to Dayton, OH.

 Upon arriving in Dayton, this is what I saw out of the airplane window.

This is actually the airport runway.

Where's the runway, you ask?

Let's hope the pilots of the airplane have better luck deciphering the runway's location than I did.

Mitch's family was gracious enough to not only host my stay, but to drive me everywhere!!  They picked me up from the airport, drove me to the store, took me out to eat yummy food and even accompanied me to the cooking show!

First things first, though.  Me and my niece, Brielle, and her princess Barbie doll.

You can't tell but it's actually snowing here!!

And it was COLD!

Before flying to Ohio, Jolee asked me to make a snow angel and send a picture of it to her.  

So, here it is.

I lasted outside in the snow for less than 5 minutes before calling it quits and running back inside. 

Ohio in February is in the 20's.  

Very, very cold.

 And we're here!

Collette was kind enough to come along with me and join in on the fun.

Alton Brown's Edible Inevitable show was SO MUCH FUN!

There was music, comedy, cooking, and lots of fun food facts.

We both agreed it was a fantastic time and I felt like it was worth the effort to fly all the way across the Pacific Ocean and half of the country to see. :)

(okay, maybe that's an exaggeration, but I really enjoyed myself and was very glad that I got to go!)

And on my way back home, got to swing through Phoenix one more time.

However this time, I got to stay one night and enjoy some In-n-Out with Takuya and Lynn!

And early the next morning, I was back on the plane headed home to Hawaii.

As I was sitting in the plane, with a book in my hand and peace and quiet surrounding me, I realized that as much as I enjoy traveling by myself...I missed my family.

I am so blessed to have the opportunity to fly away now and again, to travel by myself to various destinations to run or visit friends/family, and to simply experience new adventures.

But always, happy to return home to Hawaii Nei...and back to Mitch and the kids.