My cough and fever was in full swing as I landed in Hong Kong and I was becoming self conscious that people thought I was a smoker with emphysema. I now understand why a lot of people in Asia wear face-masks when traveling - because of people like me who sound like they are hacking up a lung. Mid-day I started to cough up blood and then deemed it was necessary to go to the doctor. It was confirmed, I had pneumonia. This put a major kink in my plans! My upcoming 20 hour flight to Portland sounded awful at best. I decided I was going to fly back to Singapore on an earlier flight so I could rest for ten hours before having to leave for my flight to the states. I cannot tell you the wonder that antibiotics, sleep and liquids will do to a girl! All doped up on meds and sleepy from all my recent travels, I slept almost the entire 20 hours!
Arriving at PDX I was so excited to see my mother. I was feeling a lot better (clearly not 100%) and was going to have a good time no matter what. She talked excitedly on the way home and told me that after I got settled sorting my things we were off to the coast. My sister, Bindu, and her boyfriend, Mookie, were traveling down from Seattle and heading straight to the beach house. My brother, Asit, was going to drive down later that afternoon after a few meetings. We had all planned on arriving in Manzanita by 2pm at the latest. This did not happen. My family is notorious for running behind and this day was no exception. My father made a last minute appointment and this set us back two hours! I felt like I was ten years old again at the mercy of my parents waiting to be driven somewhere. Seriously father, why are you doing this to me after a full day of travel?!
When we finally made it to the coast I was in better spirits. The beach house is set back a block from the ocean and pulling up I noticed that Bindu and Mookie had beaten us there. It didn't take deductive reasoning to figure out why (DAD!).
The dogs were so happy to see each other and it felt amazing to be outside in the fresh Oregon air. I threw my stuff in one of the bedrooms and hastily headed downstairs to hang out with everyone. Mom had already set out making coffee and tea for everyone and soon after Asit arrived. The pups heard his motorcycle pull up and went nuts running around trying to get outside to greet him. Ah, at last everyone was together.
Anyone that is familiar with the Oregon coast knows that it is FREEZING in the autumn months, however that day was an exception. It was sunny and in the 70's! We all decided to wander down to the beach and take a long walk. Watching the dogs play in the sand and strolling leisurely with my family was just what I needed to put me in a better state of mind. Being around my family with no stress or distractions was so refreshing.
The sun started to set and the temperature was beginning to drop so we made our way back to the house. Bindu and I set about cooking dinner while everyone else watched football. I cannot explain how great it was to be able to watch football at a regular time and not some god-awful hour! The rest of the night was pretty low key - eating, talking, and watching movies.
Friday was much of the same - watching football, cooking, and just hanging out. Asit, Bindu, Mookie and I took a trip in to town and stopped to get drinks at a pub and before we knew it a few hours had passed by.
Arriving back at the house we prepped for dinner and while everything was baking/cooking I handed out presents! Obviously I had Mom's, but I had birthday presents for Dad and Mookie as well. Asit and Bindu just got candy but were stoked since you can't get Meji candy in the states!
The weekend passed so quickly and was very relaxing. Mom and dad took the dogs and left around 10am while Mookie, Bindu and I stayed for a bit longer. We grabbed lunch in Cannon Beach and sat outside since the weather was still nice. Mid-afternoon we decided we should start the drive back to the city and stopped along the way for some normal family shenanigans :)
Once back in the city, I had one night before leaving for the east coast for 3 days of work, followed by a trip to the Adirondacks Mountains for a quick retreat!
