I got in Friday night around 9:30 after having plane problems in Washington D.C. The past 5 times I've flown United, 2 of them have had major aircraft difficulties. There planes are nicer inside than Northwest, their flight attendants are friendlier, however either their maintenance crews are SO thorough that they catch stuff Northwest just lets slip by, or they really suck and should fix the stuff before it breaks. Anyways, I got in late, packed, went to bed around 12:30 AM, and we got up at 4:00 AM to get to the airport for a 7AM flight. Our flight was pretty uneventful, except for the time it took for us to de-ice in Detroit almost made us miss our connecting flight in Minneapolis. Cathie took my seat up in First Class and I sat back in coach.

We got in, checked in and headed out to Joshua Tree National Park, about 40 miles away. It was breaktaking, but cold. It was about 40 degrees out there, with a stiff wind, but the scenery was worth it. We drove around, climbed on the rocks and watched people free climbing some pretty ridiculous stuff. It's been nice just taking it easy, no kids, sleeping in and enjoying ourselves so far. We're heading over to see Cathie's cousin Jenny today, who lives about an hour from here. Cathie heads out on Tuesday morning, and I come home Thursday, after speaking at the conference on Wednesday.