Captain’s Log- Southern Dispatch

Bringing you the Captain’s Log this morning from beautiful Las Vegas, sitting on the veranda overlooking a gorgeous swimming pool, with the sun beginning a rosy glow across the valley. 

Sisters number two and four met me Sunday morning at Dad’s for a quick visit, and then we launched our first annual sister trip, heading to Vegas, where sister number three and my mom live. We got in a nice, long visit and some of the best dinner (we all are great cooks, but number three has some weird cooking magic and is, we all agree, the best) while waiting to pick up number five from the airport. She spent most of the day flying in from North Dakota. 

Yesterday was spa day, followed by a most delicious lunch, lots of laughing, and an adorable café for sweets and fancy hot beverages. This is the first time we’ve all been in the same room at the same time in ten years, and there’s been a lot of catching up and a lot of memory lane. Everyone has settled into who they are, and we’re all so comfortable, relaxed, and glad to see everyone. 

Conversation has jumped from “getting situated,” a common phrase when we were young, and all shared a room, to wrinkles, face cream, and how often we go to the chiropractor.

Today we’re supposed to go shopping – I’d rather jam an icepick in my left eye – and then more amazing food somewhere. 

We’ve committed to more of these, and there’s some planning in the works – it’s ridiculous in this modern day of air travel to go this long and not get together, but for today, we’ll enjoy this time and squeeze out every little drop of fun we can, and head home tomorrow. I’ll be back before the newspapers on Thursday morning. 

I’m really grateful for this paper and our scrappy little team for holding down the fort so I can be here with these girls. I’m grateful for laptops, the internet, and cell phones that also make this possible. We’re living in an amazing age. 

So, while I type away in this beautiful hotel lobby and we get these three newspapers off to the printer, we’ll always be right here…

…Keeping you Posted.

Rachel