What does a bird-shaped coffin and a lock of Lincoln's hair have in common?

Sunday, September 30th 2018

Lake Conroe, TX and Los Angeles, CA

It’s 6am CST and I am getting up to see the sunrise on Lake Conroe. The condo is dark and silent as I sneak downstairs. I think this is the first time in my life I have ever woken up before my parents. After nearly five minutes of searching I finally find a light switch and am able to see enough to boil some water for the French press. I make a very strong cup of coffee and move outside to watch for the sun. 

6:32am, the official time of sunrise comes and goes. Dawn is breaking and the entire lake is bathed in a blue-tinted light that can only be seen at this time of day. The sky is gray and the air is misty, but it’s not raining anymore. I watch a few birds fly by and a lonely fishing boat putter towards the main part of the lake.  

My Mom joins me around 7:30am and almost immediately we catch a glimpse of the sun poking through clouds somewhere in between the horizon and the top of the sky. We seem to be the only people on the lake. 

Eventually, we are all awake and spend a lazy morning drinking coffee and make a late breakfast. Around noon we start to pack up. We have about 4 hours to kill before I need to be at the airport for my flight back to LA. My Mom suggests that we visit the National Museum of Funeral History and I think this is an awesome idea. 

As we enter the museum, I really have no idea what to expect. It starts out with a tribute to Presidential funerals which is peppered with weird little relics like a lock of Lincoln’s hair and dirt from the burial site of President Truman. Next we enter a room dedicated to the burial of Popes. This is pretty interesting and I learn a lot, including the process for the ceremonial smashing of the pope ring upon his death. Other rooms are more focused on science, like mummification and cremation. There is also a tribute to famous deaths of Hollywood and then a display of fantasy shaped coffins inspired by funeral traditions in Ghana. This place is totally wacky. 

Eventually I meet my parents at the end. This experience was so strange, we each buy a t-shirt to commemorate the moment. 

We find a Papasitos on the way to the airport and sit down for a long lunch. I order a taco salad and I excited to see that it’s automatically served with ground beef (in California this would be carne asada). 

I end up at the airport early, but it’s okay, we are running out of things to do anyways. The flight back to LA is easy and before I know it I am back home. What a fun little weekend trip.