Summer airfares...

...are outrageous!! I've been searching for days to find a reasonable flight to Wisconsin this summer, and I've finally given up (or given in, I guess I should say). You'd think it wouldn't be that hard considering I have lots of flexibility in the days and times that I can travel, and considering I have several airport options as well (Basel, Zurich, even Frankfurt). I spent a long time on the phone with United last week trying to use miles to buy a flight, but unfortunately there were no options there. Despite it costing an arm and a leg, I am very happy that I finally booked a flight today. For 2+ weeks in early August, Kirk will be sole provider for Grady, taking him back to a role he perfected last year when I stayed in Wisconsin for 4 months. It's really strange to think that it'll be a whole year since I've been there. Even though I lived in Washington for 10 years before moving to Basel, I frequently went back to Wisconsin to see family and friends and will always consider it "home". Now I haven't been there since August and I miss it very much. No doubt it will also be a bit of an emotional trip for me knowing I no longer have parents to see Madison and that somebody else is now living in the house where I grew up. Nonetheless, I plan to spend some time there (in Madison) to visit with some of my parents' friends (along with some of my own!). I'll also spend time in suburban Milwaukee, where my sister and her family live, and in Three Lakes, a small town in northern Wisconsin where my family owns a home on a lake and where I spent all my childhood summers. Three Lakes, especially, has a very special place in my heart and I'm really looking forward to spending at least a week there!