I dropped Judd at the Portland airport early Thursday morning. He weighed 210 lbs with his boots and clothes on.  The pack weighed 29 lbs but without 8 lbs off food and water.  Why is lbs the abbreviation for pounds again?  If I ever knew that, I've forgotten.  Oh, here it is from mental floss.com: It's from the Latin libra pondo, a Roman unit of measure which meant "a pound by weight."

Anyway, I kissed Judd good bye and waited til he was through security. It looked like it took a disturbingly long time for them to xray and pat him down. He had checked his backpack and was just carrying a Hannaford grocery bag as his carry on. He had agonized a bit over whether to put his toothpaste in a clear plastic bag.  I told him is was not a liquid or a gel but I don't think he believed me. 

This week my empty nest has Kelcy and Ryley, home from college, Velcro the cat and dog Daisy and her step-sister, Juno, while Malindi is on a road trip.  Next week it will just be Daisy and Velcro and me. With all the alone time, I should get the Melanieblog back going with details our our Scotland trip.. .....and I'll be posting all the Judd communiques.

So far, this is what he's texted, "I made it."