Al Gore was right!

Must be global warming.

How else can I explain the fact that we spent 4 days in Omaha over Christmas and never saw it snow? And that on Christmas Day, we received an emailed photo from our neighbor of Woodhaven covered in freshly fallen fluffy? And that this morning we woke up to more glorious white stuff gently wafting to cover our grass, poppies, driveway, and grapevines? Who wudda thought that the Portland, Oregon metro would have a white Christmas and Omaha wouldn’t? I’m resting easy knowing that Al Gore really did deserve his noble medal.

I have to admit, I was disappointed when it looked like we wouldn’t be able to return from Omaha with tales of weather disasters. Seems to be our thing. One of our all-time favorite quotes was something a dear friend said upon tales of our Kauai Weather Disaster Trip 2006: You either have a great trip or a great story. Rob and I cling to that philosophy during our travels.

The only Weather Disaster to report from Omaha Christmas 2007 was the 9 hours it took to fly home. We were supposed to travel through Denver -- and eventually did -- but we made a scenic detour to Colorado Springs first. We sat there for only a couple of hours, waiting for Denver visibility and our aircraft’s potty tanks to clear. Upon arrival in Denver, we were stunned that our delayed connecting flight was in the final stages of boarding. Somewhere in the food court between Gates A27 and A46 I came to the heartbreaking realization that no, Rob and I really couldn’t be strong competitors on “The Amazing Race.” It turns out I’m not much of a runner. Wheezing, I’m covered. Dashing through an airport at 5000ft elevation wearing the closest thing to snow boots that I own – I’m pathetic. But it was lucky that we ran and coughed and wheezed because our flight’s jetway’s doors were closed. They opened them just in time for us to get settled in for another hour wait at the gate followed by 2 hours in the de-icing line. Of course, our luggage didn’t make the transfer. Judging from the little tags and flyers, the Denver TSA killed time inspecting bags that were left behind. Gratefully, the Big Red Microwave Popcorn on the Cob souvenir that we bought for our cat sitters was not confiscated during the inspection.

Since it’s snowing this morning, Rob and I have decided it’s the perfect time to exchange our Christmas gifts to each other. A few days late, but we’ll have our White Christmas after all.