Airports, Gates and a Happy Surprise

~ JodiLea
Flying

Funny how things will come back to you. After not being in an airport, by myself, for years, once I got there I felt confident in how to find where I was to wait. This would not seem like a big deal to most people, but for me, it was a rare thing to be confident, alone, in a strange place.

My morning started at 4:15 am with a wake-up call and hustling to get dressed and re-packed to catch a 5:15 shuttle to the airport. Hotel room coffee is mediocre, even at a Hilton. My adrenaline was pumping enough to make up for it. When I looked in the fridge for a bottle of soda, on my way out the door, I gasped. My insulin was also in there and I had completely forgotten it. What a horrible feeling! Complete confidence buster for sure. I thanked God for my guardian angel who, once again, saved my butt.

I made the shuttle with 2 minutes to spare.

My flight to Dallas was crammed full and I boarded with the “C” Group, so I was surprised to see an aisle seat open, not too far back. A young mom, with a 2-year-old, had the middle and window seats and motioned me to sit there. I did. She laughed and told me that no one wanted to sit there because of her child. I said that I was a grandmother and children did not scare me. Aside from some turbulence when we climbed and descended through the clouds, the flight was uneventful. Exactly how I like them.

After landing in Dallas, my first priority was a restroom, then to find what gate my flight to Harlingen was departing from. No flights to Harlingen were on the boards yet, so I hung around gate 8 and checked the texts that I missed while in Airplane Mode. A couple from Maggie, a few hours ago that she had just landed in Dallas for a long layover.

Dallas? No way! How did I not know that her flight stopped in Dallas?

Her next text said, “Wait! I think we will be boarding in Dallas together! Text me when you get here.”

Me: “I am here in Dallas, at gate 8.”

Maggie, “I’m at gate 10, can you see me?”

Me: “Whoops! I’m at the wrong gate. The notice on the board says we leave from gate 19.”

Maggie: “Are you at the airport? “I’m at gate 19.”

Me: “Me too!”

I stood up and looked around the gate. I recognized her right away, she was facing away from me. I snuck up on her and stood right behind her. “Hey, Roomie!”

How could we have gone for months without realizing we would meet in Dallas and fly to Harlingen together? I was sure that after I booked our flights that I compared them. Apparently not. The one-hour and 15-minute flight (pardon the pun), flew by. We landed at 5 pm, got the car and our bags, and we were on the road to South Padre Island by 5:30.

The sun had not gone down yet but was rapidly sinking into the west and would be dark soon. When we saw a Sonic drive-in, we decided to have dinner there for old times sake and we were starving. We were going to get to the island in the dark either way.

To be continued…

White Christmas and Then Some

~ JodiLea ~ 1 Comment

It began snowing in the wee hours of Christmas morning and did not want to stop. As expected, we lost power later that day, but the generator was full of gasoline and it was not too bad. The household was at 6 people and 2 dogs for a few days.

Between the two storms, 2 more couples arrived, 2 kids and a dog. We were all here together! A very rare occurrence. Of course, it was chaos, noisy and crowded. 12 humans & 3 dogs snowed in, without power. Hours of shoveling to make a path for vehicles to get onto the road, so we could navigate to town and get cell service. A generator will power a house, but not the internet and telephone services.

I needed to book a hotel room by the airport if I was to make my flight out Thursday morning. Weds afternoon would bring the second big snowstorm and no way was I going to miss my flight out of here! The airport was a 2-hour drive away and at sea level, so safe from snow. With that chore done, we climbed back up the hill and had leftovers for dinner.

Now I had to pack. Ha! My brain was absolutely not ready to do this a day early. It took me hours after dinner and before lights out to get almost packed. Then the next morning while the overnight snow was shoveled out of the way, I spent another few hours making sure I had enough of my diabetic supplies, meds, and undergarments. The house was cold (except in the front room where the wood-burning stove was.) I knew it would be a warm 80 degrees in Texas, so I had T-shirts, a bathing suit, long sleeve shirts, and a sweater. I forgot to pack my capri pants. I forgot to pack a skirt. No sunscreen. Oh well. They had stores in Texas and I could not pack anymore. My suitcase and carry-on bag were stuffed to the limit, and I was done.

I kissed and hugged all concerned and happily left the chaos. Sure, there were a few twinges of guilt, but I got over them. Hubby and I rode with our oldest son in his 4-wheel drive car. When we got to the lower elevation, the rains pounded us all the way. A quick hug and I was dumped (their word) at the hotel and they needed to hurry back before the heavy snow started.

And so, on Dec. 29, at 2:30 pm, the adventure begins…

and Take Your Grumpy Little Friend With You…

~ JodiLea

I usually start off each year by saying “good riddance” to the last one. Instead of focusing on the possibilities of the brand new year, and feeling all sentimental about the passing of time and such, I prefer to thumb my nose (and other assorted gestures), at the ending year.

I had quite enough of 2021, which brought with it, not the bluebird of happiness, but the grumpy bird pictured right. 2021 will go away and be replaced with 2022, who hopefully has a friendlier sidekick. I will try to be hopeful.

Maybe I am more upbeat than usual because I will be kissing off 2021 with my very best friend. We have lived all our lives across the country from each other (except for that one wild and crazy year we were college roommates). Before husbands and children, careers, and households to run, we got together in the summers and could be just “us”. In the winter months, we wrote letters back and forth and called each other – after 10 pm or before 8 am because it was much cheaper. Then we decided that it would be less telephone bill and only a little more postage if we used cassette tapes as our mode of conversation.

We never ran out of something to tell one another. Ever. Then, husbands and kids came along and get togethers were not “just us” anymore.

This brings me back to saying bye to 2021 and hello to 2022. We are flying out and meeting in the middle of the country to Harlingen, Texas, where we will rent a car and drive one hour plus minutes to South Padre Island and the Hilton Hotel on the beach. We will have a full 4-days of “just us.” I am SO excited.

Note: The following few posts will be like diary entries of our adventures. No names of hotels, restaurants, or tourist attractions will be changed to protect anyone…

TTFN

.