The joys of air travel.

Jeez. A guy goes on a west coast vacation, doesn't really keep up with the day-in-day-out Minnesota sports news...and all hell breaks loose. Sidney Rice is out for at least half the year. The Twins are only 3.5 games up in the Central. The Vikings need WR help and might have just traded for something called Greg Camarillo. Whew. Where to start?

Let's start with the vacation. It was great. Nothing like 13 days in California, half of which was spent sitting in an enormous ocean house a little less than a 3-wood away from the Pacific. It was perfect.Guess what wasn't perfect? The 5-hour delay at the MSP airport on the way to California.

The delay was a pain. Actually - no - it was more than that. It was awful. You know those endurance competitions on Big Brother? All of them are easier than spending 6 hours in an airport with a 2-year-old and a 5-month-old. And, these kids -- my kids -- are perfect kids. They are angels.

But wow, if you want your parenting skills challenged, just go out to the airport with your kids and sit there for a day. Spend 6 hours carrying around the baby and chase after your preschooler who won't stop sprinting up and down the concourse saying "Run Dada. RUN!" Walk the fine line of making sure they have enough to eat and drink, but not too much so they don't pee too much or God forbid poop in their diaper. That happens and you have no choice but to change them in the disgusting bathroom. Strike up uncomfortable conversations with total strangers about the pain of air travel. Try not to laugh when your oldest points out a huge 2-year-old by calling him a "giant" and the giant's parents are sitting right next to you. Do all of that and then add in the extra misery of actually having to get on a plane for a 3 1/2 hour flight. It's insane.

Anyway. We finally got to LA. Had a great time there and in Cambria. Couldn't have asked for a better trip home -- everything from checking in at the airport, security, waiting at the gate, the plane - it was all great. I would like to think it was payback for all the abuse and torture we suffered on the way out there. But the gal was probably right - it was a full moon last night and crazy things happen during a full moon. Meaning we had smooth sailing - smooth sailing is a crazy thing for us.

As far as the Twins and Vikings are concerned? Missing Sidney Rice could be a big deal. But think back to last year at this time. How excited were we that Brett Favre was coming? Did we really even count on anything from Sidney Rice last August? I don't think we did. Adding Javon Walker and Greg Camarillo gives the team more depth but Percy Harvin, Visanthe Shianco, and Bernard Berrian will have to make plays for the team to win. And oh yeah. We still have Adrian Peterson. So...yeah. Not too worried.

The Twins make me nervous. The pitching staff is still unpredictable and the hitting has been inconsistent. Many of us have high hopes for some playoff success this year. Getting there is going to be tough and winning a series is not likely.

For now, I am hoping to just hunker down at the Cold Omaha headquarters for awhile and try to get my wits about me. Traveling can make you tired and stressed. Hopefully the Vikings and Twins can mellow us out and make us happy over the next few weeks.