Planes, trains and automobiles
That movie was kind of funny, wasn't it? Even though it made Wichita look like podunk rural redneck-ville, which it's not, really.
So far we've learned that Daniel does well in cars and airplanes, and tomorrow we'll find out how he likes train-travel. He seems optimistic:
What's in Glasgow, you ask? Well, not much, I'm afraid. Stuart's grandparents live there, which is the reason for the trip. As his grandpa says, Glasgow isn't the end of the earth, but you can see it from there. We'll be spending our time visiting with Stuart's parents, who have driven there from Kansas, Stuart's brother and sister-in-law, who are flying from North Carolina, his grandparents, who live in a retirement home and are both over ninety years old, and his uncle, who lives on the family farm and drives a mail truck for a living. The grandparents are meeting a couple members of the family for the first time: Daniel, and my sister-in-law, who has been married to Stuart's brother for about a year.
We made this trip three years ago, and stayed for a week. Therefore, I'm the expert on Things To Do For Fun In Glasgow, right? So next time you take a vacation to northeastern Montana, you can thank me for these tips:
1. See how many people we can cram into a small one-bedroom retirement apartment. Last time the most we had in there was eight. This time we could have as many as nine adults and a baby. Some of us might be sitting on each other's laps, and I'm not just talking about Daniel. (Don't worry. We're not sleeping there.)
2. Drink authentic Italian espresso at Glasgow's one and only coffee shop. Last time, Stuart and I asked for cappuccinos, and the guy said "You mean the real Italian kind, or the kind like you get in the gas station?" Evidently, there are people who prefer the latter. This shop knows the difference and brews a pretty good cup, as I recall.
3. Get blitzed for five bucks. Seriously. We went to a bar where the three of us (Stu, me, his brother) each had a couple beers and maybe even a weak mixed drink like rum-and-coke, and with the tip it was still less than twenty dollars.
4. Watch Daniel eat/smear/spit/squish-between-his-fingers his supper. Always messy. Always entertaining.
5. Drive around the countryside checking out the farm land, and, more notably, a variety of small, old buildings in disrepair. Broken-down shacks, if you will. They are of historical significance, though, as each of these buildings was once the farmhouse of a homesteader or a one-room schoolhouse serving whole communities of children K-8 (or was is K-12?). If you plan to step foot outside, even for a moment, cover yourself with mosquito repellent. In fact, you might be better off bathing in it.
6. Visit the Fort Peck Dam. It's a dam (yuk yuk) lot of concrete. Quite an impressive structure. Stu's grandpa helped build it in the 1930s.
7. Go shopping downtown! There's a Pamida and a decent quilt shop. If neither of those is to your taste...well, too bad.
8. Walk around the snow-mobiling trail and hope nobody picked that day to try out their new 4-wheeler.
9. Go to a park with a few frisbees and pretend it's a disc golf course.
10. Eat at the supper club and put some quarters into the electronic poker machine. Keep trying long enough, and eventually you'll win something, right?
Rest assured, there is internet in Glasgow, so I'll probably try and post once or twice while we're gone. Too bad we're leaving while my garden is so productive:
Bon voyage, us!
So far we've learned that Daniel does well in cars and airplanes, and tomorrow we'll find out how he likes train-travel. He seems optimistic:
What's in Glasgow, you ask? Well, not much, I'm afraid. Stuart's grandparents live there, which is the reason for the trip. As his grandpa says, Glasgow isn't the end of the earth, but you can see it from there. We'll be spending our time visiting with Stuart's parents, who have driven there from Kansas, Stuart's brother and sister-in-law, who are flying from North Carolina, his grandparents, who live in a retirement home and are both over ninety years old, and his uncle, who lives on the family farm and drives a mail truck for a living. The grandparents are meeting a couple members of the family for the first time: Daniel, and my sister-in-law, who has been married to Stuart's brother for about a year.
We made this trip three years ago, and stayed for a week. Therefore, I'm the expert on Things To Do For Fun In Glasgow, right? So next time you take a vacation to northeastern Montana, you can thank me for these tips:
1. See how many people we can cram into a small one-bedroom retirement apartment. Last time the most we had in there was eight. This time we could have as many as nine adults and a baby. Some of us might be sitting on each other's laps, and I'm not just talking about Daniel. (Don't worry. We're not sleeping there.)
2. Drink authentic Italian espresso at Glasgow's one and only coffee shop. Last time, Stuart and I asked for cappuccinos, and the guy said "You mean the real Italian kind, or the kind like you get in the gas station?" Evidently, there are people who prefer the latter. This shop knows the difference and brews a pretty good cup, as I recall.
3. Get blitzed for five bucks. Seriously. We went to a bar where the three of us (Stu, me, his brother) each had a couple beers and maybe even a weak mixed drink like rum-and-coke, and with the tip it was still less than twenty dollars.
4. Watch Daniel eat/smear/spit/squish-between-his-fingers his supper. Always messy. Always entertaining.
5. Drive around the countryside checking out the farm land, and, more notably, a variety of small, old buildings in disrepair. Broken-down shacks, if you will. They are of historical significance, though, as each of these buildings was once the farmhouse of a homesteader or a one-room schoolhouse serving whole communities of children K-8 (or was is K-12?). If you plan to step foot outside, even for a moment, cover yourself with mosquito repellent. In fact, you might be better off bathing in it.
6. Visit the Fort Peck Dam. It's a dam (yuk yuk) lot of concrete. Quite an impressive structure. Stu's grandpa helped build it in the 1930s.
7. Go shopping downtown! There's a Pamida and a decent quilt shop. If neither of those is to your taste...well, too bad.
8. Walk around the snow-mobiling trail and hope nobody picked that day to try out their new 4-wheeler.
9. Go to a park with a few frisbees and pretend it's a disc golf course.
10. Eat at the supper club and put some quarters into the electronic poker machine. Keep trying long enough, and eventually you'll win something, right?
Rest assured, there is internet in Glasgow, so I'll probably try and post once or twice while we're gone. Too bad we're leaving while my garden is so productive:
Bon voyage, us!
Comments
Have fun, kiddo! And your boy is more beautiful each time I see him!
Yeah, he's a cutie. Mother's bias!
And the most mammals we had crammed into our 1 bedroom apartment several years ago was 9--six adults, a baby, and two cats. And all but two adults and the baby slept there.