Scenes From An International Getaway

I had every intention of visiting my third-born this summer. 

When she committed to teaching English to children in Danang, Vietnam, I promised to come visit her every year. And I am definitely a mom of my word. 

And two of my other daughters planned to travel with me. Cool. Definitely looking forward to the trip 

I was thinking oh going for two weeks in July. Possibly June. 

But while I was across the planet in Hyderabad, reading Go, Dog. Go! and making puzzles with the Indian princesses, my daughters figured out that the Vietnam trip needed to happen sooner. 

My second-born bought our tickets and applied for our visas. 

My third-born reserved our hotel room and scrounged us up some motorbikes. 

My fourth-born? Well, she took her finals and packed up her dorm room. 

And that's how I found myself on a plane bound for Asia just five days after flying home from India.  

^ Mount Ranier's handsome face wishes us safe travels on a cloudy Seattle morning. 

^ While passing through customs at LAX on my way into the country last week, I'd noticed a fascinating web of colored string overhead as I marched along a corridor. I wanted to stop for a photo, but since the surrounding crowds would have surely trampled me underfoot, I relented. 

Imagine my surprise when I saw the very same colorful installation from a different vantage point just a few days later. While awaiting our big flight across the Pacific, I looked up and saw the ceiling of that incoming passageway directly above my outgoing gate. 

This time, I didn't skip a beat before snapping off some photos. 

^ A caviar and champagne bar at the airport? Umm, no thanks, Los Angeles. That's a bit excessive for me. But my eyeballs drank up those copper spheres and delicate chaniliers against that turquoise paneled wall. Yum. 

This installation featured a changing display of panels that worked together to create a single moving image. Each overall effect featured a different international destination: my mind has lost track of the first two inspirations, but that jungle motif represented my very own Kuala Lumpur so, you know, that was pretty cool. 

^ No, this was not my plane. I flew Singapore Airlines. But my Airbus 380 was jus as breath-taking as this magnificent beast and I never tire of such a sight. 

^ McDonalds in Singapore. These cute little private booths provided a bit more privacy than Asia typically affords and I was fascinated by their design. 

^ Well, the equipment for the final leg of our journey was humble. And since only maybe 25% of this this tiny plane's seats were filled, I was reminded once again that Danang, Vietnan is not exactly a trendy ecotourist destination. 

But for now, it is the home of my very own third-born and I could not have been more excited to board that tiny plane.