What I've been Doing All this Time...

I've been harassed for not blogging; truth be known, I've been spending much of my writing time working on a new book. Remember my Valentine's resolutions this year were to write a new book of fiction and a cookbook. Both, as of Hemingway Weekend are going well. I must admit, however, that the cookbook is far more challenging than I anticipated.

For those wondering, the book of fiction is a sequel to the first, and I am excited to say that I have fully completed 6 chapters of "The View Askew" plus several others outlined. I suspect that book will be easier than the cookbook.

This last weekend found me traveling back to Cheboygan, MI for my dad's birthday party, which turned out to be a well attended pig roast. I did bring myself to try the pork... it was quite tasty, but I still preferred my fat free turkey hot dogs. For this trip, I flew into the Pellston, MI Airport, which also doubles as a bar/restaurant to the locals. Pellston is a very tiny dot on the map of Northern Michigan (lower peninsula) with 4 flights in and out a day from Detroit (and Minneapolis on Saturdays). TSA agents allow you to pass through the gates 20 minutes before boarding starts and close the gates shortly after boarding commences... so if you are like me and screw up the time of the flight and end up at the airport two hours early, well, they do have cable Internet connections.

The Pellston Airport however, was a fascinating contrast to the larger airports I'm accustomed to... there are wood engraved signs over the gates and baggage claim... not to mention stuffed bears and deer highlighting the decor. It is very homey, without the typical airport chairs. It's quite nice. We actually parked right next to the door to the airport.

One other quirk going through security...

The TSA agent was doing the usual spiel on removing jackets, shoes, laptops, etc. and then caught my attention with... "And if you have any fudge, please remove it from your carry on." Yes, that's right. Apparently, fudge does not xray well and causes problems. For those unaware, the Northern Lower Penisula of Michigan is famous for its fudge, and (somewhat) affectionately refers to tourists as "fudgies." The fudge is wrecking havoc with TSA as it looks like a bad substance and is the cause, even after forewarning folks, for bag searches. Though I was not in possession of the chocolaty substance, I could not keep quiet, asking if rice krispy treats were also to be removed. Fortunately, the agents had a sense of humor... I mean, if you are screening for confections, you almost have to.

Tomorrow is back to work for me, with my vacation time coming to a screeching halt -- at least for the moment. Two days to work before the weekend is just enough time to catch up on the email.