Everyone is here. She made it!

Whew! We had to go to the airport to pick up Claire this morning. We had a moment of worry when she called to say they were stuck on the tarmac waiting for PDX to find more de-icing solution. But minutes later she called to say they were on their way. Departure: 8:30am, arrival scheduled for 10:30.

We were nervous about the road conditions, so we left a 9am just in case.

The ice on the windows was super thick - we even broke the scraper.





















Vermont hill... no sledders, but plenty of walkers. 30th Street was closed going downhill to Beaverton Hillsdale Hwy.























A little more traffic accumulated as we neared the airport. When we arrived, we found that most flights in and out were cancelled. There were people asleep everywhere, dejected travelers staring at the tv screens, some just learning that they had no way out or no connection.























We chatted with some lovely people from West Linn who were waiting for their son to return from a semester aproad in Seville. Their house has been on the market for 19 months and we talked strategy. We suggested a cute girl we know who goes to his college. We watched as soldiers arrived to sobbing mothers. Finally, at 10:40 her flight arrived, and Claire walked through, carrying a very wiggly duffel bag. Lucy was so happy to be freed!




















The hills were so icy it looked as though everything was photographed in black and white. There was more traffic on the roads, but we made it home safely by 1pm.






















Let the holidays begin! I can hear Home Alone playing in the next room!