Clouds

Last Thursday I flew down to Southern California to stay with my dad for a few days. He had to have a cardiac procedure on Friday and needed someone to take him to the hospital and stay with him for a few days afterward. Armed with Bronte's thick "Villette" and my camera, I entertained myself during the waiting periods and made myself useful the remaining time. Dad is doing just fine and the test results were better than we'd hoped. He was able to resume normal activity, including driving, by Monday. We had some much-needed rain and it was overcast when he dropped me off at the airport for my return home.
Little did I know the tremendous treat awaiting me on the plane!

Lift off...
Good-bye to Southern California.
Into the clouds.
Everything turned pure white for a few minutes...
but when I looked out the window again
we were above the clouds!

I couldn't help but think of the reflective Joni Mitchell song, "Both Sides Now."

"Rows and flows of angel hair
"And ice cream castles in the air"
"And feather canyons everywhere"
"I've looked at clouds that way.
"But now they only block the sun
they rain and snow on everyone
So many things I would have done
But clouds got in my way."

(Now this part of the song didn't fit -- as you can see the sun was in full force, and my mind kept reverting to the Beatles "Here Comes the Sun".)
"I've looked at clouds from both sides now
From up and down, and still somehow
It's cloud illusions I recall
I really don't know clouds at all."