So, we did not stay in a hotel either before or after our trip.

With the horrible blizzard-type weather and white-out conditions on the road, we needed to leave here at 1:30am. Neither of us got hardly more than three hours of sleep because, you know, our bodies and brains are not used to going to sleep at 7pm. But it was an alright journey, because although conditions were grim, there was no one else on the road at that time except for the snowplows we'd see every so often, or the odd trucker.

We made it to the airport while it was still quiet and sparsely populated. I marveled at the encampments of people sleeping on the floor; the Minneapolis airport is very sleeper friendly and even goes around distributing mats! I didn't know that. We got Dunkin' for breakfast and wandered around looking into some of the shops that were open before departing for our 7am flight, which was quiet and uneventful. I think I managed to fall asleep for an hour or so, in the middle of Parasite. (I'd seen it already anyway.)

We had a nice layover in Seattle, which we used to poke around in more shops and have a meal. There were some live performers in the Seattle airport that were nice to listen to, as well. Our second flight was a mere 38 minutes; I barely had time to knock back my complimentary boxed water.

My parents were of course thrilled to receive us in Pullman. We stopped for a meal on the way to my parents' house, where the dogs and horse were equally as thrilled to see us. Once we were settled, all we really did was sit around. I know we must have eaten dinner at some point but I have no idea when or where, whether we went back out or ate at home. I was so tired that I slept through most of whatever movie they had put on.

The following day, my step dad showed us his workshop, and then took us out and about. We hit this place that is an old warehouse hangar turned massive multi-winged antique shop, where we had a lot of fun sifting through treasures. Blair found a Norse Viking sunstone ring that she really liked, and I snuck back there and purchased it after I had let everyone else wander significantly ahead. I look forward to gifting it to her on Valentine's Day. <3

After that, we had some really awesome pizza, then visited my mom at work. She works at Hobby Lobby, and while I'm not a huge fan of the company, she does get a pretty solid discount, so we picked up a few things I'd been needing for the cake I'm going to make and decorate for Blair's birthday. When we got home, my step dad played some Poker and Blackjack with Blair and I.

That night, my mom had a bit of a breakdown over having lost her wedding ring. We looked everywhere, inside and out, until she figured she must have lost it at work, which was already closed. She had to go back with my step dad in the morning at like 5:30am, when her boss would be there, to go look for it. Luckily she found it in the break room, and all was well.

The next day we played some billiards in my step-dad's garage/workshop thing, which I am apparently slightly better at than expected. We tried to go to a cafe we liked last time, but they were closed. Instead, we had something to eat at this local breakfast stop. All four of us played some cards again, and that evening we went to go see the Rotary Lights. It was sweet. Blair has never experienced an awesome-terrible Jack-In-The-Box taco, so we had dinner there afterward before heading home. The poor dogs freaked out all evening because of the fireworks in the area, and we all kinda went to bed early. I got my midnight kiss, at least.

On New Year's Day, my step dad took us to this local bar/arcade place to play a few rounds of billiards and eat more pizza, and it was really fun. We got coffees after, and then headed home to wait for my mom to get off work. We played more cards all together, and a game called Mexican Train.

The next day, my step dad took us to that cafe we had tried to go to before, this time successfully. After, we got some lunch at Taco Time and then at Blair's request, he drove us around in the hills and valleys along the river, letting us see nature for miles. We all had dinner that night at a place called Zany's (I think) which was a nice time, and then we went for milkshakes after at a place called Sharp's.

And that was it, really. We were dropped at the airport in the early afternoon, and after two plane rides, we arrived back in Minneapolis around midnight and had to make the drive back to La Crosse, getting home around 3am-ish.

While it was a successful trip and it was nice not to have to work or do much of anything other than eat and watch tv and play with animals, I'm glad it wasn't longer. My step dad gets easily frustrated and then veers in the complete opposite direction and gets very drowsy and silly on account of all the weed he smokes for his chronic pain, and my mother is extremely overwhelming with constant anxiety and interrogations. I love my parents but they can be extremely exhausting to be around long term.

Life has returned back to normal post-holiday season. Ho-hum.

Working on finishing up my Fandom Trumps Hate fic that I was forced to ask for an extension on.