Goodbye Austin...

We had a great day in Austin, and a long trip to Sacramento. The air was hot in Texas, and not very warm in Sac when we arrived, but I suppose that's why California's weather is so appealing to me.

Mary Kathryn woke up this morning still suffering from her sinus related ear issues which had made her trips on the plane not very pleasant (for her, or for her daddy). We finally got up and moving and went to get some new medicine to try and cure that issue. Afterwards, we enjoyed the shopping around North Lamar, including seeing the original Whole Foods, their incredible independent bookstore and a few other cool shops. She pointed out Chico's sheepishly because it reminder her of Ruth, and their time shopping...

Mary Kathryn had lunch with Isabella, a friend from Duke School whose family moved to Austin a couple years ago. I think that was a treat for her -- to be "left alone" (with Izzy's mom not far away) while I went to do my speaking engagement with the Austin Association of Health Underwriters. I have a number of friends in the association and our talk on HIPAA Privacy, Security and HITECH was, I hope, mutually enjoyable.

After a hectic trip to the airport, and trying to get everything out of the car so that we could make our plane on time, I was stressed to the max. I hate it when I get like that since it keeps me from enjoying life and breathing through those stressful moments. And, of course, in the middle of it, I dropped my cell phone in my suitcase that I checked, and then freaked out because I was about to follow up on a phone call I had just had about "other business" and had no phone to do so. But, the healthiest sign so far was that I let it go. There was nothing to do about it and I was ok with that. A few hours out of contact was not something I could not survive.

My favorite part though has been the fun Mary Kathryn and I have had giving each other a hard time. We stood in the line to board the plane in LA, and picked on each other. I was trying to steal her pen, and she was holding her index finger up at me to get me to stop. We laughed, and then sat quietly beside each other on our flights, reading, doing Sudoku or watching a movie, and just breathed the same air. She is such a wonderful companion on these trips. She understood how important she is when I told her that she was one of two women I would sit in the middle seat for... That knowing gaze gets me some times...

The pair of pictures is from art that graces the walkway from the terminal to the parking deck at the Austin airport. The sun, and the moon, brightly showing the way...