5 Memorable Moments From My Trip to Idaho

Going to Idaho to visit Mom and Dad is always an adventure.  This trip was both funny, sad and an adventure.  Here are the 5 most memorable moments from the trip!

• I TOOK A CAB FROM PORTLAND TO BOSTON!  My original flight out of Portland on Delta was overbooked. Delta was looking (desperately) for volunteers to take another flight or even fly the next day. No way Jose. Then I started thinking...I wasn't due to get into Boise until 1030pm, sooo - if Delta could get me into Boise on the same day, I'd look at options. There was a flight out of Boston and it got me into Boise at 1155pm. What the hell - I DID IT! There was also the incentive of a 400 dollar voucher. I have to admit, that was the true motivation. All I could think is that I could use that to help get to Florida for Disney. The super crazy part? To catch my flight, they sent me in a cab from Portland to Boston! Now that's insane and I did it! And it worked, I got into Boise around 1215am.  Not bad.

• I TAUGHT MY FATHER WHAT TWERKING IS. My dad asked me at one point, "What was with that girl who caused such a ruckus?" I told him I was gonna need a little more to go on. The only thing he had for me, is he thought her name was Missy - "It was a weird name." Somehow I figured out that he meant Miley Cyrus. He wanted to know what she did that caused all the media to go nuts. Sigh. There I was trying to explain what 'twerking' was to my 79 year old father. I did NOT go into detail.

• EATING WAS STILL THE MAIN EVENT. The picture above is fried eggplant with a tomato/cucumber salad. Whenever I see my folks, after breakfast, we are discussing what we will eat for lunch and in the middle of lunch we are planning dinner. This trip was a little light on the food though. Both of my parents are having appetite issues, but making the meal is still such an enjoyable event. They gave me my love of food and cooking. I will always be grateful to them for that.

• WHERE I GREW UP IS IN AN INVERSION! An inversion is something Maine has never experienced. But in the area where I grew up, it's a valley. Actually called 'Treasure Valley'. Sometimes the clouds settle into the valley and work like a lid. The area has been in an inversion going on 3 weeks. No sun, no snow, cold and depressing as hell. It was the front page news, the talk of morning shows and this highway sign told me to stop driving because I was contributing to poor air quality. I think it was making my parents a little depressed. I was only there 3 days and I was depressed.
• MY MOM'S HEALTH IS GETTING WORSE. I'm not gonna put a picture of my mom here. I don't think she's very happy with how she looks. She weighs only 95 pounds and is so frail. When I hugged her I thought I would break her.