The leaves are all down now

I don't have news about life in Fort Wayne, because I bugged out for Thanksgiving. It was time to use the terrific Fort Wayne International Airport and head west. Traffic was fairly light at the first rate sky port, even on the busy travel Wednesday before Turkey Day.

A connection through O'Hare was uneventful, and gave us travelers some shopping opportunities. But alas, moving on to our connection, we found ourselves seated in the very last row of the plane. This means last service for food and beverages (which really is not a problem). The worst, of course, is we are right by the bathrooms - and the line-up queue for same. For much of the flight to Phoenix, we had people standing in the aisle right by us, leaning over us, bumping into us.

The best part was I had rented and downloaded the movie Super 8 on my IPad, and could watch it on the flight. It really is a fun movie. The child actors are outstanding. The movie captures the excitement and freshness of being a kid, the wonder and social angst it means. The story involves kids in 1979 making their own movie when something quite unexpected occurs. One breakout performance is by the lovely Elle Fanning, whose skill at the craft of acting just puts most adult actresses to shame. I think many of them could take notes from the versatile Elle.

Landing in Sky Harbor in Phoenix, I felt like a mole coming out of a tunnel. The sun is so bright, and in Fort Wayne I had not seen much of it for days. All we had for the previous week was rain, overcast skies, or fog, so the brightness of Phoenix was almost blinding. The diversity of our nation is so striking on a trip such as this, where the change of landscape is like switching countries. Dramatic pink rocks and mountains at stark ankles, desert vegetation, horizons stretching across hundreds of miles. What a wonderful nation we have. We are so lucky to live here.

Phoenix has a beautiful, clean airport, spacious and full of regional shopping. Jewelry made by native Americans, art, hand crafted items. Then on to a final connection to San Luis Obispo. This small airport in central California is nestled between hills and near the ocean, which means pilots have a lot of factors to consider - ocean fog and winds, thermals off the mountains, a short runway. We circle around for an approach from over the ocean, seeing the huge rock (one of the Seven Sisters, a volcanic formation) out in Morro Bay.

We drop in, land, and stop short - the captain really had to hit the brakes. But all is well, and here we are in yet another land. There will be a time to see the large Elephant Seals, hundreds of them along the beach at San Simeon. Also a delightful dessert at the eclectic Madonna Inn, featuring plush pink decor, ornate carpets and woodwork, and themed rooms such as a cave rock room and a jungle room. It takes a whole day to fly from Fort Wayne to California, but it's doable. Tomorrow I will do the return. California, so fair, so fragile. Come on, United States, it's time to pull together instead of pulling apart. It's time to see how lucky we have it here, put aside our egos and differences and find some common ground to work from. It's time to focus and pull it together as the great nation we are.