The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

The hazy sky, parking meter-lined streets, and a baby pink Tesla in front of me, blinded by the sun reflecting off impeccably clean, shiny cars, with not a pick-up truck in sight. Yep, we're back in Los Angeles for our Doctors and Dentist tour. Daniel had hernia surgery, and for me, it was mammogram time (or smash & dash, as my friends call it).

We landed in Los Angeles and sat on the tarmac for forty minutes, waiting for a gate to open, then another forty-five minutes in line to pick up our rental car. On to the freeway, which as usual, was a slow-moving parking lot.

However, on the good side: It was eighty degrees, sunny, and my "any excuse for a party" friends came through. There were eighteen of us lounging around the pool and fire pit, enjoying a great potluck dinner, lots of wine (and vodka), catching up on our lives. Considering I had to warm up my car to defrost the windows before heading to the Walla Walla airport for our 6:00 a.m. flight, the SoCal warmth was a welcome treat.

I walked from our hotel to my doctor appointments and surgery center about twenty times in the heat. After melting the soles of my shoes, I did manage to find a few sushi bars along the way for replenishment.

We dined out at some beautiful new fish restaurants. In one, Daniel was recognized by one of his students working there. Sushi and fresh fish are my L.A. staples, and I will appreciate a steak dinner when we are back in the PNW.

We stayed at the Marriott, which is one of many NFL sponsors. Considering the Rams were once our hometown team, I'd hoped to see some hunky football players flying through the lobby or working out in the gym. Of course, the players were elsewhere, and my sightings were only of paunchy middle-aged guys at the bar (no gyms for them).

As we were getting ready to board the plane home, I had thoughts: "Miss the plane accidentally on purpose, so I don't have to listen to Daniel writhing in pain on our way back to Washington."

I'm not unsympathetic, but he was supposed to be icing and was prescribed pain killers. Neither of which he was using, so he was not having any fun.

We had a very long layover in Seattle, ensuring neither of us had any fun. (Was I being punished?) Thankfully, Seattle is a large airport, so if I needed it, I could find a place to hide, drink or just plug in the earphones and listen to soothing music.

We are back home, and I am grateful to be here. I have learned not to trust that spring is nearly here, but I see snowdrops blooming, tulips and daffodils popping, and daylilies are starting to sprout. Yesterday, we were back on the Waitsburg High School tennis courts. It was great to be hitting outside, even with rocks littering the court, a chain link fence net, and random school supplies scattered around the perimeter. I hope this is the beginning of many tennis Sundays.

The day before our trip, Daniel worked with our friend Eric to train our apple trees (who knew?). The trees are now staked out to spread their branches instead of reaching straight up to the sky. We finished the day with lunch on the deck! I admit I was wearing thermal underwear, a t-shirt, and a light jacket, but we were back outdoors and in the sun. It's not L.A., but happily, it's home.