We leave Maryland tomorrow afternoon and fly down to Florida in the midst of preparations for Hurricane Dennis.

I know a guy named Dennis. He's totally nice. It's hard to get worked up over a hurricane named after a nice guy. Now, Hurricane Attilla or Hurricane Hannibal, that would have me in a tizzy. If we need a D-name, let's go with...oh maybe....Dubya?

Things here in Maryland went pretty well. Overall I've been super pleased with my daughter's ability to put up with the boring parts of the trip. I was a bit concerned when she slept in quite late the morning we were due to depart from San Francisco. I woke her up and she said, "Dad, I feel different this morning. I feel very ENERGETIC!"

"That's super, baby," I encouraged, "Now, take all that good energy and cram it deep down inside your body for the next 12 hours while you sit very still on airplanes."

I'm good with the...what do you call them?.... Words! I'm good with the words!

Anyways, wish me luck with the Hurricane. It appears that we'll be visiting the islands that it has recently destroyed. That should be fun. Rubble makes great souvenirs.