Not wrapping Christmas presents. We were up really early again - not to make miles with the motorhome, but to get to the airport. The Mason City, Iowa, airport. Small, as in: one gate. The lady at the counter is also the person who checks your boarding pass at the gate, and tags your bags for gate check, and shovels the snow away from the door out the gate leading to the plane.
Clearing security was my first time with the titanium hip - yep it sets off the metal detector. The TSA fellow doesn't really care if I have a card from the doctor that explains why I'm setting it off. I get to have the detailed pat down. He told me it was going to take "4 minutes" for the pat down, and he used every second of that. I can't say for sure, but I think we're dating.
Thanks to yesterday's flight getting cancelled because of the snow, this Regional Jet was packed. It was a lot of bodies in that small "boarding area," and a full plane. Steph and I were able to take this first leg of our flights together to Chicago...
As we climbed in altitude, we could see the first sun rays of the day...
Our flights out of Chicago were at nearly the same time, and about 8 gates apart - it gave us the opportunity to have breakfast together and get our last hugs in before we parted company...
It was truly a treat to be able to spend this week with my girl. It made this trip an adventure instead of an ordeal. It gave us the chance to talk about about life without the rush of normal life getting in the way. I am grateful to have had this time together.
From Chicago, she headed to Denver, then Phoenix; I went to Houston, then Harlingen (in the Rio Grade Valley). My trek from Gate C10 to B21 gave me my steps for the day; carrying my computer bag and backpack, I felt a bit like a pack mule by the time I got to my gate... with 10 minutes to spare.
Leaving Houston, we flew over the Houston Ship Channel on the way south...
It was solid overcast when Joan picked me up at the Harlingen Airport (Valley International Airport) - she is even prettier than I remembered, and I was happy to take her up on the offer for her to drive home. I went through three seasons today: from bitter cold/snow in north central Iowa to sunshine in Houston, to shirt sleeve weather in the Tropical Tip.
At home, Joan had a pork roast waiting for us; nice home-cooked meal. Yes, Rufus seemed happy to see me, although he was most interested in the fact that I made it back home just in time to give him his 5:00 meal. When he was done eating, I took him for a walk on his leash. He is a good boy.
Nice to be back home. Good to see these faces...
This is the first I've had to fly anywhere since my Mother had a stroke and passed away 10 years ago. The planes were packed; the terminals were packed; lines to board; the seats in the planes seem smaller and closer together than I remembered.
There are times that flying is the most expeditious way to get somewhere, but it is certainly no longer my preferred way to travel. It is good to be back home. I feel for my kid, since she is back to work early tomorrow... I may take the day as a "slack day"... because I can.
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