Slight Detour: Love Adventure, Near and Far

Four Love's in a car.

One Love on a plane.

One trip, meticulously planned.

The other, spontaneous.

One trip began around 11 a.m yesterday and ended back home around 6 p.m. last night.

One began around 1:30 p.m. and, at this writing, has yet to end.

Willie, Debbie, Bill and I drove to Montana yesterday to Willie's "happy spot," the Thompson River.

On the way, we picked up lunch at Clark Fork's Pantry and enjoyed a quick picnic on the dock along the Clark Fork River at Trout Creek, Mont.

Willie also bought a Montana fishing license at a convenience story near Bull River.

While we were savoring every bite of our Pantry sandwiches at the dock area and admiring the snow-capped mountains, Annie sent us texts with a map, indicating she'd be flying over Russia and complimentary white airline sandals.

Twas a long flight to Seoul, South Korea, so I guess Korean Airlines wanted her to be comfortable.

As can be seen below, she has made it to Seoul but, as far as I know, she has yet to land in Bangkok.

Long day for Annie.

Meanwhile, back in Montana, we drove through Thompson Falls and then turned north on the road along the Thompson River.

A normally quiet Willie transformed into a Willie with eyes aglow and stories to tell about past fishing experiences with his friend Andrew and with his dad.

"Do you want me to tell more stories?" he even asked.

"Yes," I said with my maternal longing to hear a little more this voice from this quiet son.

So, we saw places in the river where he had caught big fish, one of which seemed like a good parking spot.

Willie donned his fishing apparel, prepared his gear and headed to the river bank.

Bill said he would take a nap, as did Debbie. It was probably easier for Bill to try to doze off than to watch Willie doing exactly what he wanted to do. Maybe in a couple of weeks.

I took my camera and walked up and down the road and later along the bank while Willie cast his line.

One strike but it got away before we could have a photo shoot.

Along the shoreline I found a lure and decided to bring it home. Upon seeing it, Bill said I could use that lure and maybe catch a bass some day.

Back at the car, the snoozers reported some light sleeping.

Before we took off for a second fishing hole, I went to the BIF. It was a nice spot just off the road where someone had recently cut some wood.

A few minutes later, something that had been on my mind was literally on my head and crawling down the side of my face: a tick!

In my attempt to fling it out the window, the little bugger escaped to the car floor and just seconds later was crawling around on my hand.

I swear those ticks have velcro toes, and I was wishing Brad Paisley would show up to make sure I didn't have anymore looking for good places to suck my blood.

Debbie, who hates ticks, was most concerned. We both did a lot of checking but eventually figured that was the lone tick---thank God.

Other than a close encounter with Rocky Mountain spotted fever, the day was just about perfect.

We drove back, arrived home, and within minutes, Bill had made his way to the pickup to attend a meeting about the state of the lake.

I enjoyed a quiet evening and thought about a wonderful, pleasant day with family, even if one of us was a long, long way away. Annie was on my mind.

I hope she gets a nap once she's arrived in Thailand.

Happy Friday.