Catching Up on April & May: Family & Work Travel

The travel story for April and May was mostly about family, including some unexpected extra trips to Austin as a result of my Mom's declining health. I grabbed a one-way Southwest flight on Tuesday 4/18 and spent the rest of the week working 1/2 days at J's house, spending time with Mom, realizing the full extent of her cognitive decline, and coordinating with J to visit several potential communities for Mom to relocate. By the time I returned to Sac on Saturday 4/22, we had a sort of plan in place, but it took several more weeks to finalize everything and have J get comfortable with the decision.

(NOTE: Mr. E and I were originally booked for a Big Island trip that third weekend of April, and we cancelled just in time to avoid any resort charges. We'll find time later in the year to reschedule)

Mr. E took a trip to Chicago Wednesday 4/26-Sunday 4/30 to visit his Mom and take her up to Madison for a couple of nights for a meet-up at the School of Human Ecology (SOHE), where we've endowed a scholarship in her name. She was able to meet with SOHE leadership and students, and Mr. E took advantage of the time to regroup with some of the UW Foundation staff as part of his ongoing efforts to grow his network there with an eye to a potential future job transition.

I had a work trip Monday 5/1-Tuesday 5/2 to visit three of the community colleges that participate in the Finish Line Scholars Program (Feather River, Lassen, and Shasta). Road trip! The drive from Lassen to Shasta was particularly striking as we passed through a snowy landscape amidst a few flurries. Quite different from our typical weather in Sacto, for sure!

Then back to Austin for me Friday 5/5-Monday 5/8, a visit that included lots of purging and organizing of Mom's cottage and culminated with moving her into Silverado Barton Springs Memory Care. Luckily, we had until the end of the month to fully vacate her cottage at Solstice, so Mr. E and I both returned to Austin Friday 5/12-Monday 5/15 to complete this process.

Our final trip of the month was to Denver for the Memorial Day holiday weekend. We stayed at the Warwick Hotel downtown but were unfortunately foiled in our attempt to enjoy oysters at Manzo's nearby. However, we discovered a great new breakfast spot, Syrup, and made time to visit with my family A, R, F, and C, including a fun trip to the Denver Zoo, along with Mr. E's family D and M.

Next up: Returning to France!!!