Let’s start with yesterday, because they lend a backdrop under which today was operating.
OK – so two days ago.
I left work a little after 8 PM!!!
That is GOOD. I have stayed much later on the days before I leave for a few days.
I packed, cleaned a bit and got to bed before midnight!
That is also GOOD. I have been known to stay up until two packing.
Granted, much of that was when I was packing for the entire family, not just myself.
Caveat – I did not fall right to sleep…
Yesterday I had two champions on either side of my travel that went out of their way to make my life easier.
My carpooler picked me up 1/2-hour before our usual rendezvous so he could drop me at the airport.
Let’s just say my carpooler is not a morning person, so this is perhaps a bigger favor than it sounds.
And on the other end my sister younger stayed up way past her bedtime to pick me up at the other end.
She may have slept a bit while waiting for our slightly late flight to land, and baggage to be acquired.
The trip itself was fairly uneventful. Just long.
From a 7:00 AM arrival at airport 1 (PDT) to a 1 AM arrival at airport 4 (EDT), it was just a long day.
I got to spend a few hours at SeaTac (~65 degrees), did see the San Jose airport from the tarmac (~75 degrees), and then got to spend several hours in Phoenix (~115 degrees), before the final and longest leg to Detroit (~70 degrees). Reading and people watching. And a long walk through all of the concourses in Phoenix, just to stretch my legs. All of the planes were essentially full, but I had nice enough seatmates each time.
The only snag, or almost snag for me, was on the last flight. Not too long after we had reached cruising altitude, so people could cruise the aisles, the voice in the tube first asked for, “The woman traveling with the older man who is visiting the rear galley,” then, “Ms. ABC please report to the rear galley area,” then, “Is there any passenger on board with medical experience.” The tenor and actions that I could see of the flight attendants seemed to indicate something more than a scratch. I was sure we were going to be making an unscheduled landing. In the end, apparently the gentleman had a seizure, fell and hit his head. Perhaps the seizure was not his first, and it really was a scratch or bump, plus a general check-up, because we just kept flying. The only difference was that everybody was visiting the loo up front. (The paramedics and ambulance were waiting at the gate, but they did not stop everybody else from getting off first, so it must have been under control.)
So – with that backdrop, Jane dropped me at home at about 2 AM. I was probably asleep by 3.
Needless to say, I did not set an alarm and when I first woke up was trying to determine whether the first digit on the clock was a 6, 8 or 9. That was apparently too much effort, because when I woke next my phone range. After about a 30 minute conversation, I noted it was after 11 AM.
Time for a shower and to figure out what to do for breakfast. (Really coffee, because Jane had been kind enough to leave a yogurt and banana for me.)
Now post shower I was not too concerned about my appearance in the house. It is not directly adjacent to the road, Jane was at work, and nobody was expected. So I am “starkers” and opening up the window to let the breeze clear the mirror. And less than a minute later, there are voices in the back. I pulled the curtain back to peek out, and there are two men walking on the path around the deck, pointing at the plants and talking. My immediate thoughts were, “I am not clothed, Who are they? and What are they doing here?” In great keystone cop fashion I was trying to gather clothes, find my phone, and find Jane’s number at work (because I figured she would know of any planned visitors). These items were scattered in different rooms, and there are either sheer curtains or no curtains on the windows, and I was still trying to get myself into decent enough shape for an interaction. Jane did not know who they were, so I headed out the front door – after spending interminable seconds trying to figure out how to make it not lock behind me – and yelled after their car that was starting to move away.
They were, a young man and a man of about my age with a wheelbarrow and a car. The wheelbarrow was full of flat stones.
The father explained that they lived just down the drive, and dad (Harry) had given them permission to use some of the excess stones piled around our path. This seemed reasonable and plausible, so I let Jane get back to work, and proceeded to chat with them for several minutes more.
A nice family it seems, and I may try to touch base with them on our way back through A2.
And the vacation is now officially on. I can tell because I allowed myself to stop at Panera’s for coffee (and a sandwich) instead of walking all the way to Starbucks. (Carl – if you see this, I had your birthday treat from Panera.)
