Searching for Chick-Fil-A and other adventures

What an exciting day? I’m not sure I really wanted to tour College Station, though I have good friends there and have had some good times. But still—there we were barreling along to Tomball when we decided we were hungry and needed a restroom. The last time we made that drive we stopped at Chick-Fil-A—I know, I don’t like their LGBT stance either, but I tell myself that they do a lot of other good charitable work and their chicken is the best and scruples to the wind—I wanted a chicken sandwich. Jordan refused to take any responsibility for this and made it sound like she was doing it to please me. But then she said well darn, she was looking forward to those waffle fries.

So at three exists we saw signs for Chick-Fil-A and at each we followed the arrows and could not find our prize—McDonald’s, What-a-burger, all those all over but no Chick-Fil-A. Finally, frustrated, we drove on to Navasota, which was also a frustrating experience. In a strange town, Jordan demands, “Which way do you want me to turn?” How do I know? I’ve never been there. Finally, we landed at a funky coffee and tea shoppe with adequate restroom facilities and an enticing menu—though I wondered how it would turn out in execution. Then Jordan announced she doesn’t want to sit and eat and we really need to get going because we’re later than we said we would be. Well, surprise! It’s all those detours in College Station. So I got a delicious really wonderful peach smoothie, and she had tea.

So here we are tonight, settled in Tomball. Lisa planned a sumptuous meal—salmon, asparagus, rice, and steak for the non-salmon eaters. Another celebration of my birthday. Colin grilled the salmon, and it was perfect.

We had happy hour by the lake, which is absolutely my tranquil spot to go to. When I was a kid I had a spot in the Indiana Dunes where I could survey Lake Michigan, my dog at my side, and feel completely at peace. I’m pretty sure I’ve replaced that long-ago spot with Colin’s patio by the tiny lake—or big pond. Whatever floats your boat.

Four grandchildren: Kegan, Jacob, Ford, and Morgan

We’re here to pick up Jacob from Camp Tomball, an annual event that Aunt Lisa conducts for three boys and a girl, this year all eleven and twelve, though Morgan is about to turn thirteen. For Jacob, the big attraction is fishing, and he was even out on the water with Uncle Colin at 6:30 one morning—caught a good-sized bass but threw it back. And they all swim several times a day—in the pool, not the lake. It’s a tiny bit of country living for city kids, and we are all indebted to Colin and Lisa for doing this.

Christian is home, holding the fort, with three dogs and a lot of hot weather. We’ll head home early Friday morning. Nice to have a little break from reality.