The Linguist and the Call of the Classroom

As the kids headed out for Newport Beach, California with their dad, Patrick and I started our drive to Monterey Bay, California. This was a bittersweet trip as I would be coming home alone. Patrick was off to Linguist school to learn Spanish. This will be a six to ten month separation depending on follow-on military schools. We weren't able to leave until later in the evening so we only made it Battle Mountain, NV. By it's name it sounds like it must have some interesting history, but no. We left early the next morning and drove to Lake Tahoe. It was nice just walking around the town with Patrick. We rode up the ski lift at Heavenly. It was a beautiful view, unfortunately for Patrick it was accompanied by food poisoning and some sort of allergic reaction from lunch. We were glad that the 60 bucks it costs to go up did in part go toward bathroom maintenance...or it would have really been miserable. Later that evening Patrick was free of Hivo, headaches and stomachaches so we headed to a lakeside restaurant for dinner. The atmosphere was lovely. There was serene live music and a beautiful sunset. Other then Patrick's raw steak and bitter dessert, it was wonderful. I think I was feeling a little upset already about the upcoming separation but still composed. The next morning we were on our way to finish our drive. We arrived in Monterey that afternoon. We had a nice dinner at a Thai place (my favorite kind of food!) and after walking around town a little it was time for bed. The next day was CHILLY compared to Utah. Luckily we bought coats to wear in Tahoe. We went to the amazing Monterey Bay Aquarium and had a fabulous time. With our recent Salt Water Reef Tank Hobby it made the trip even more interesting. This was our last evening together. The next morning it was up and off to the airport. After a quick goodbye I was off to Utah and back in my classroom at work by five. The teacher's work is never done.... I may be ready in 2040 for this school year to start. Luckily kids and work will help keep my mind off of missing Patrick.