Pam drove up from Hurst, Texas to meet Jolie and the Goobersmooch Gang, and after a wonderful Jambalaya lunch, we all hugged and said our goodbyes, and the second half of my vacation began.
You can’t really take many pictures of what Pam and I did - we went shoe shopping, saw some movies, participated in water aerobics and went out to eat - the kinds of things I love to do with my sister.
I was pleased and amazed that Pam’s dog Sergei didn’t try to bite me - not only did he act happy to see me, he even wanted me to pet him!
Sweet little Dani was the same as she always is - an unbelievably cute little fuzzball with googly eyes.
Pam took me to some of her favorite haunts, one of which was California Nails. I’d never had a pedicure, so this was a real eye-opening experience for me. When we walked in the door, a gust of chemical-laden air assailed my nostrils - I have no idea how those ladies handle breathing those fumes all day, but I imagine after a time they must just get used to it. Maybe it’s the fumes that make it so they can handle the idea of messing with peoples’ feet all day.
With a casual wave, the receptionist gestured to a wall where bottle after bottle of nail polish was neatly lined up - all kinds of colors, from a bottle of clear with big flakes of holographic film floating in it, to black. Luckily, Pam had been here, so she knew what came next - I was to choose a color for my toenails. This being my first pedicure, I figured I’d go safe, so I chose a bottle of pearlescent shell pink. Pam chose a rich, deep purple for her toes. We were then guided to our chairs - large, swiveled, naugahide affairs, with a tub at the foot. Once we clambered into our chairs, the fun began.
I think the woman doing my feet would have been much more comfortable if I’d shown less interest in what she was doing. She took a number of different implements out of a case; then she filed my feet, and started nipping away at the skin around my toenails with clippers. It was quite disconcerting, to be honest. Finally, in exasperation, she said, “You relax!” pushed me back into my chair, pulled a remote out and set the massage chair for ten minutes. I still watched her, though. It felt like a school of fish nibbling away at my cuticles. There were a couple of times when she asked if it hurt, and when I told her that it was fine, she raised her eyebrow, gave me a look, and said, “Just relax!” After the cuticle trimming came the massage portion. Frankly, the massage was little more than a rubdown - but it still felt good.
When it came time to apply the polish, my technician looked at the color I had chosen, shook her head, said, “This first time?!? You no want this. You need hot pink!” and she flounced off, shell pink bottle in hand. She returned with a neon pink bottle. I didn’t protest - after all, this was my first pedicure, and she knew what she was doing, right? And so she did. She deftly applied a clear coat of polish to each of my toenails, then a coat of bright pink, then a second coat of bright pink; and then she brought out a bottle of white and a very small paintbrush, with which she quickly painted a small flower on each of my big toenails. A dash of sparkling silver was next, and then she pulled out a box of tiny jewels. She chose green ones, and applied them with a dab of adhesive. Then came another coat of clear polish, and they were done! Bright and beautiful - my Texas Toes!
When I got back to Nebraska and took the kids out to the lake, it occurred to me that the polish on my toes was just the same color as that fish-egg fishin' bait my Dad used to get - I had Fishbait Feet! I joked with Harry that I should just find a dock and dangle my feet in the lake - for sure when I plucked my feet from the water, there would be a bluegill hanging from each toe!
Pam and I did go to one place that was filled with excellent photo opportunities, a little gem of a botanic garden. They had a very nice koi pond.
And many places to pose for portraits
All too soon, the trip was over - it was time for me to head back to Nebraska. Pam and I ate breakfast at McDonald's (that's "road food" for me), and I climbed back into the Baby Beast (Pam's name for Harry's Honda Insight), and I hit the road.
The trip home was uneventful. While at Jolie’s place, I had reset my Garmin to “Avoid Toll Roads,” so there was one very nice little jog that took me parallel to the toll road through a small town in Kansas. It reminded me a bit of the movie “Cars,” where the newly built freeways took all the business from the little towns that the roads originally went through, which eventually died - I was glad to have been routed through the town - small piece of Americana.
Star, JoLee and Harry were as happy to see me as I was to see them - it’s always nice to travel, but wonderful to be home!
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