Archives - Weekly Update

There is something about starting a vacation as the tail of Charley came through the Outer Banks that immediately makes a trip memorable. We checked in On Saturday at noon, and the first signal that this was going to be an adventure was that the house was ready since the people in the house the week before us had hastened out of town on Friday with word of the storm coming. We were advised to hit the grocery store fast in case they closed and then get home and batten down the hatches. As we were at the store my older son informed us that they were closing aluminum blinds over the store's front windows. Let's just say that that will get you hustling.

On the road again...today we leave for a week of vacation on the Outer Banks. I am hoping Hurricane Charley does not get in the way of our plans. For those of you who are in his path, we hold thoughts that the storm makes a mad dash out to sea. This is the third weekend in a row that I have packed a suitcase. Last weekend when we got back my older son said, "I have an idea. We don't even need to pack again. Just pull out the books we read and put new ones in." I think that shows incredible foresight about priorities! Of course, being a mom, I did opt to do a couple of loads of laundry as well.

Typically when a flight gets delayed I go crazy. Last week I flew back from Dallas via Chicago and got caught in a thunderstorm delay leaving Midway that slowed everything down. (Of course, I knew in advance that the flight I was booked on was only on time 30% of the time, which was just oh so cheery news.) Thanks to Nelson DeMille, instead of tapping my toe, I turned pages. I had an advanced reader copy of his new one, NIGHT FALL. It has a great plot, killer pacing and a return of John Corey who readers will remember from PLUM ISLAND and THE GOLD COAST. The story opens on July 17, 1996, the night Flight 800 went down and explores some theories of what caused this crash. Mark your calendars now: NIGHT FALL hits stores on November 16th. Hope you find a good book to escape with the next time you get delayed.