My Hat

A year ago, we went to Washington DC and surrounding areas. Everyone in our family was allotted one souvenir for the trip. Shannon got a cameo necklace at Gettysburg on the first day. The girls opted for stuffed pandas from the National Zoo on day 4. But even through all the gift shops we walked through, I couldn't find a souvenir that met my high standards. Eventually, we made it to the 6th and final day of the trip, in our 6th state that week and at our last stop of the day: the headquarters of the Appalachian Trail. And there, I finally found my souvenir - an AT hat.

I was due for a new hat, and there it was with its white blaze on the front, which is how the 2,000+ mile Appalachian trail is marked on its run from Georgia to Maine. So I happily bought the had (and a key chain) and our trip was complete.

When our recent trip to Disneyland came up I packed my hat and wore it each day at the park. That is, I wore it until the morning of the last day in the park, when the final moments of my hat were captured on film:

Fractions of a second after this picture was taken, my hat went flying off, forever lost in the brier patch. After dutifully stowing backpacks, hats and sunglasses (not only for myself but for the girls also) for more than two days, I never considered the hat on my head as we climbed on that ride, and it was gone in the blink of an eye, gone to a watery grave in the Splash Mountain water filtration system.

I went back a few times during the day to see if my hat turned up at Splash Mountain, but without luck. We checked the park lost and found on our way out at the end of the day, but they gave me a business card with instructions to call back the next day. I waited 5 days before calling and gave them what has to be one of the more detailed descriptions of a lost hat that they've ever had. They went and looked - no hat. I left my contact information, but they pretty well admitted that if it hadn't turned up after 5 days, the odds were against me.

Shannon, being an excellent wife, got on line and ordered me a new hat (1400 miles of driving not required) which arrived a few days later:

But, of course, as soon as she did that, Disneyland called to let me know that my hat had turned up! Who knows where it had been for 9 days, but it doesn't matter, that which was lost is found.

So now I have two of my favorite hat. A brand new one, and a broken in, wrinkly version that shows some oxidation on the metal on the back from spending some time in the water.

As a side note, it took a lot of searching, but we finally found something free at Disneyland! They pay for the shipping to send stuff back to you! Given what airlines charge these days, I think next time we go, I'll "lose" my entire suitcase at Disneyland and save myself some checked baggage fees.