the vacation fairy....

....has pointed her magic travelling wand at me and kazaaaam! Just like that I'm going to Harbin Hot Springs in August.

It had to be magic. A friend who has just moved there called the other night and waxed eloquent about how far out it all is, how I should move there and teach in the massage school, and by the way, Taza, there's a full-time opening in the health food store in the deli, right now! Well, says I, I'm not moving there this week, but I'll put it on the back burner and we'll see. "We'll see" is, as every parent knows, code for "Probably not, but I don't want to say 'No'."

Two days later, another friend called to say how disappointed she was that the trip she had planned to Harbin Hot Springs in August had to be cancelled as her travelling companion couldn't afford to go. He had told her 2 days prior and she was having a hard time letting go of it as she really, really wanted to go.

Et Voy Lee, just like that, the fairy saw her opportunity and whacked me a good one. Well, says I, I was just talking to Mindy about Harbin and she's there and I know she'd love to see some Tucson friends. Maybe I could go with you instead.

Ya think? says Nikki.

Well, why not? says I.

So that's how it happened. Mindy's going to try to score some passes for us, and in a month she will most likely have some sort of housing trip arranged, and if not then camping is perfectly fine with me. Gas will be about a hundred bucks each. Camping will be free or at least pretty cheap.

California, here I come!