Not quite what they meant by "Sideways", Last call

Are you as sick of this story as I am? This is the last of the wine trip posts, I promise. But if you're just tuning in and have, say, an hour of time to spare, catch up on parts 1, 2, and 3 here, here, and here.

Some trivia about the movie Sideways is that the title is in reference to the feeling one gets from drinking wine; in essence, "sideways" is a more creative term for "drunk". I was in no way drunk or even tipsy, but I did spent the rest of the night sideways - curled up in a ball in the hotel bed, wishing my fever away, wondering when, how, I could have possibly picked up this sudden bug. Pity party of 1, your table is ready!

We had discussed going to dinner at The Hitching Post, one of the most prominent settings in the movie and situated less than a mile from our hotel, but there was no way I could have sat upright for two hours. I sent Kristin and Heather without me, and they, of course, met two guys who paid them compliments and paid for their meal. I, per usual, miss all the good stuff. Pity party, 1? Going once!

Few things are worse than learning the details of someone else's illness, unless it's listening to someone else's pity party, so I'll wrap it up. By the next day the worst had passed, and I felt fine to drive everyone out of Santa Ynez and back to their respective airports. At 8 AM, the car ride back was more subdued than the drive we shared going up. Our anticipation earlier in the week was so physically tangible, it had been like a fourth passenger - one we must have left in Solvang on Friday night. In its place we got Heavy Silence, or Contemplation, neither of which are any fun.

I can't speak for anyone else, but I just felt deflated - my fabulous weekend planned for months, tainted by situations completely beyond our control. I felt guilty that Heather was so far away from her grieving family, which was clearly where she mentally needed to be. I was also privately frustrated - I get so little time with these girls, my closest friends, and here I wasted precious moments being sick. Not that it was my fault, but like I've said before, God has a funny sense of humor, and apparently appreciates a good laugh at my expense.

Overall, the trip was amazing - the very best thing I have done in years. Fun, for fun's sake. I'm just afraid the memory will remain bittersweet, a red wine stain on my mental scrapbook.