Sneak Peek at How My Weekend Started

Sleeping at SLC gate C09

(Yep! I Even Brought my CPAP!)

London: Coming Home

We packed up our suitcases and checked out of our hotel around 10 am. We spent a little time in the Business Centre checking flight loads again, and coming up with more contingencies. We got a breakfast croissant at the kiosk in the Tube station, made with delicious ham and emmental cheese. We scrounged together the rest of our change to pay for our tube ride to Heathrow. It took about 30 minutes to get to LHR terminal 4. We checked in at the kiosk, went through security, and walked around the airport to pass the time until our flight boarded. We got a few snacks and drinks, and crossed our fingers for seat assignments. We missed out on business class by two passengers, and got seat assignments one row apart. A nice passenger offered to let us sit together (giving up an aisle seat for a middle...talk about a good samaritan!)

We napped, snacked, read, and watched movies. I watched "Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging," "The Hangover," and "My Life in Ruins." The flight was slightly longer back to the US, approximately 10 hours. We came back through customs, grabbed some dinner, and checked out the flight boards. We were hoping to catch a 9 pm flight to SLC, but we still had about 3 hours till boarding. Taylor went down to Ops to check Deltanet, and it was pretty evident we wouldn't make it on that flight. We looked at alternate flights through DEN, HOU, ABQ, PHX, MEM, OMA, DFW, DTW, CVG and TUS, but all of those cities would require an overnight stay before the connecting flight to SLC. We were exhausted from the day of traveling, and decided to call it a night. Taylor got a $36 crew-rate hotel (with free wifi...hallelujah!)

In the morning, flight loads didn't look any better, and we wanted a to find the most certain option for getting back to SLC...which ended up being San Antonio. Once in SAT, we ate lunch at Las Palapas Mexican Grill in Terminal 1. I've got to put in a plug for this place...very delicious food and insanely inexpensive for airport food. Two full meals with drinks, tax and tip came to $16. We were happy when our names were called for a seat assignment, and even more happy that we had seats in first class. First class in a short flight on a CRJ isn't too swanky, just more opportunities for free drinks and more legroom.

We arrived in SLC in the late afternoon, picked up our car, and headed down to Lehi to pick up Rosie from my parents' house. We shared our trip pictures with them, and got back to SF around 8:00. It was an exhausting 2 days of travel home....but it was totally worth it.

London: En Route

Since our trip to London has so many details and pictures I want to post, I figured that I would split if up into sections so it won't take so long to post about the trip. Now for part one: Getting there!

I spent the evening before I left frantically packing. I went to the store to get some trip snacks and American candy to take to my friend Emma. I was going to bake some banana bread too, but ran out of time. I think I finally got to sleep around 11:30, and my alarms went off at 4:15. I double checked that I had my passport, ipod, chargers, and other necessary items and hit the road to the SLC airport by 4:40. I dropped my car off at Park and Jet (cheapest SLC parking spot, by the way. $5/day with a free car wash), rode the shuttle to the terminal, and checked in for the 7:00 am flight to Atlanta. The standby list was sketchy, but I got onto the flight at the last minute. I arrived in ATL and Taylor picked me up for lunch. We drove to my favorite Thai spot in Toco Hills called Top Spice. Then we stopped by Great Harvest Bread to use up a gift card on bread and kahuna bars. We got back to the airport around 2:30. He dropped me off at the terminal and went back to park in employee parking. I was to print out our boarding passes and meet him near the employee entrance.

Taylor forgot to write down our confirmation code when he booked the reservation, but I tried checking in at the kiosk anyway. No luck. Then I had a Delta Agent try to help, and she couldn't get it to work either. I waited in a long line to talk to a ticket agent, who found our reservation easily. She swiped my passport, and then let me call Taylor for his passport number so I didn't have to wait in line again. After security, we waited in the E concourse for the flight to board. We were thrilled when we were assigned seats in Business Elite!

It was so nice to have the swanky treatment for the flight. Our FA was wonderful and spoke to us by name. We had all the Dasani water and Coke Zero we wanted. We had a lovely four course dinner:

1. Veggies and hummus, curry soup, and green salad
2. Crab cakes (me), beef tenderloin and shrimp (Taylor), ciabatta rolls, risotto
3. Cheese and fruit platter
4. Hot fudge sundae

We watched "The Ugly Truth," then tried to get some sleep. I slept about 90 minutes, but Taylor got even less. Breakfast was served about an hour before we landed, which was an english muffin sandwich with scrambled eggs, spinach, and havarti cheese with some fresh fruit. Before we landed, I stuck off to the lav to get my LAVIATOR shot.

We landed at Gatwick around 6:30 am, made it through passport control and customs fairly quickly, and called Emma to let her know we'd arrived. While we waited for her to "collect" us, we enjoyed looking at all the cars you don't see much in the states: Citroens, Fiats, Vauxhalls, Peugeots. Even the Toyotas, Hondas, Nissans, and Fords looked different than their US counterparts. Although we were feeling jet-lagged, we were excited to get out and explore.

London: The Short Story

Cheers! It's me blogging from London! Just a quick list of what Taylor and I have done in the London area:

Met up with my bloggy friend Emma (twice)
Piccadilly Circus
Hyde Park (including Princess Diana memorial fountain)
Harrod's
Science Museum
Buckingham Palace
Big Ben (Houses of Parliament)

Westminster Abbey
St. Paul's Cathedral (all 600 stairs to the top!)
Tate Modern
Thames River Cruise
Trafalgar Square
LOTS of trips on the Tube

We head back to the states in the morning. It's been an amazingly fun jam-packed 3 days. I'm still jet lagged and have about 15 blisters on my feet from all the walking....but I have to say I love this city!

More details when I return :)

Post 499: MIA?, Portland Trip, and non-revving nightmare

Thank you to all those who checked up on me to see if I was okay. "A week without blogging? Are you seriously ill?", several people asked. No..I'm not ill - just in need of a break from the rigors of creativity and daily blogging.

The Portland trip was exciting and exhausting. Rosie and I flew in Friday night and stayed in Tualatin with the Grahams, a family that my family has known for decades. Saturday was fun, start to finish. I had breakfast with Coral, a middle school friend, at Rose's in West Linn. We had the cinnamon roll french toast (to DIE for) and got caught up on all we've missed in the last 12 years. Next, we drove back to Tualatin by way of the Wanker's Corner general store (where we got drinks and snacks.) Our original purpose for going to Portland was to attend a wedding reception for Rosie's cousin...but we didn't realize we'd put the wrong date down until after we got their gift. We met Carisa, an elementary school friend, for drinks at Starbucks. She's getting married this year, and it was fun to hear all about her fiance.

For lunch, we went to Newport Bay Restaurant with my aunt Laurie and cousin Christi. We hadn't seen each other in 7 years at Grandpa Gene's funeral, so it was lovely to have some family time with relatives I rarely get to see. We did a little shopping around Washington Square Mall, then I followed Laurie over to Auntie Dona and Uncle Bob's house. Their daughter Margi found out I was over and she immediately joined us. We caught up and reminisced for the afternoon. Aterwards, I dropped by my cousin Jillian's apartment. Her husband just graduated medical school, and they're off to Colorado at the end of the month for Ben's pathology residency. They gave us a McCormick and Schmick's gift card, so we had a free super-fresh seafood dinner there after pics at the Portland Temple. We arrived back at the Grahams' around 9, visited until my eyelids could no longer stay open, and set my alarm for 3:40 am.

We woke up, packed our bags, and went out to our rental car. Once inside, we realized that things were missing...my Blackberry and Ipod chargers, some papers and food items. It didn't look like the car had been broken into, so I'm guessing the rental car's alarm clicker wasn't working. Luckily the chargers can be replaced. We drove to the airport, grabbed some breakfast, dropped off the car, and waited through a horrid security line at PDX. I complained over the 40 minute wait...but little did I know the non-revving disaster I was about to encounter.

We tried for the 6:00 am ATL flight - we were part of the 9 that didn't make it on. Then we tried for the SLC flight - denied again. Tried for a MSP NWA flight - nope. Tried for another ATL and SLC flight - was told our best option was to get an ID-90 pass from Horizon, fly to Seattle, and get a SEA-ATL non-stop flight. We waited till we didn't get on another MSP flight, went out of security, purchased the passes, walked across the airport again to Horizon's gates, where the gate agent said our luck was pretty bleak to get on a SEA flight standby. So we went back across the airport to try for the last SLC flight - denied again. Finally, we made it on a MSP flight at the last second, and we had to check our bags. Once we were in Minneapolis, we were too late to make it on any outgoing flights. Taylor Priceline'd an "airport hotel" that didn't have a shuttle and was nowhere near the airport. We paid so much in cab fare that we could have gotten a really nice hotel. We got about 5 hours sleep before the 3:30 am alarm woke us up, the cab took us back to the airport, and we were crossing our fingers for the 5:15 am ATL flight. We were top of the list, made it on, and were able to sit together. We touched down in ATL just before 9:00 am - which meant I was late for work.

It was a bittersweet trip: wonderful visits and horrible trip home. Was it worth it? I say yes cautiously : this experience has put the fear of the flight Gods back into me. I don't think I'm going to tempt fate like this again when flight loads aren't wide open. The next time I fly will be on a confirmed positive space ticket.

Crazy Way to Chicago

Finally in Chicago, by way of Milwaukee. Bumped flights, lost phones, lost wives, lost on the tollway with not enough change, reconnected with an old friend with a charitible streak. It feels like a feat to be here. I feel sick about what happened with Misty...more details to come.

My Memphis Valentine

A few months ago, the radio station I listen to had a contest called Lovers in Japan : tickets to see Coldplay in Tokyo on Valentines Day. Needless to say, I didn't win the contest, but it did get the wheels spinning to do something special this year. Taylor's February schedule gave him 2.5 days off for the V-day weekend, so it sealed the deal. We would have a Valentines Date away from ATL. It would be the first trip Taylor and I took away from home, just the two of us, since our honeymoon in 2004. Some friends from our new ward agreed to watch Rosie for us, and we were off to Memphis, TN!We flew into MEM Friday night. We picked up our rental car and drove across the Mississippi border into South Haven. We got dinner and dessert at O'Charleys. The caramel pie didn't live up to my expectations, but the mural on the wall was pretty cool. After dinner, we headed to our hotel. We got a great rate at the Fairfield Inn...but I won't fill you in on the sordid details of our hotel time ;)
In the morning, we had our free breakfast. I like staying in Fairfield Inns because they have comfortable beds, and good hot breakfasts! After we ate, we checked out and headed into town. We stopped at the Memphis Pyramid - it was build with hopes of being a destination convention site, but as far as we know it sits vacant as a spot for photo ops.
Then we crossed the bridge over the Mississippi River into Arkansas. I have never been, and really don't have reason to. We just went so I could cross it off my U.S. map.

We stopped for drinks at the Pilot. I made him pose for this shot. He wasn't amused.

Then we drove back across the MS River back into Memphis. The city is definitely more interesting coming in from AR than it is from the suburbs.


Then we had the sentinel moment of our weekend...Corky's Bar-B-Q! We shared the ribs for two set up, with rolls, beans, and fries. We had half a slab of dry rub (Taylor's preference) and half a slab of wet (my preference).
More than anything, we love the Apple BBQ sauce. We could drink it straight! (At least, I would)

Next we went to Beale Street...which is what Memphis is probably most famous for. We were immediately greeted by a drunk wino asking for money. I immediately slung my purse over my shoulder, inside my jacket. that's why my butt looks bigger than usual in this pic.Random Elvis Mural

What do you think, can I pull off this look?

There were blues bars a-plenty, but none were offering daytime karaoke (much to Taylor's relief)

Boas a-plenty! I chose the red one for Valentines Day (don't worry, I didn't buy it)

Who wants some totally uncensored pork?

More Elvis paraphenilia than you'd ever care to find.

This is my favorite find of all the kitschy stores: A tin that says "Well behaved women rarely make history." Appropo, no?

After Beale Street, we drove back to the airport, turned in our rental car, were harassed by rude TSA agents (who threw my lingerie out for all to see, and made Taylor check his bag for no good reason...even though he had his crew badge). We flew back on the 3:40 flight, and were home for a quiet evening with Rosie by 7:00 pm. Memphis, I'm sad to say, is probably not a place I'll visit again (other than Corky's) but we had a great, memorable time.

22 Hours in Utah

On Friday night, I'd decided not to come to SLC because the flight loads were yucky and I needed to take it easy to recover from bronchitis. My mom called to guilt-trip me about it, but I told her my mind was made up. But I woke up at 3:30 am and started IMing my sister Mary. She had driven 4 hours down from college for the weekend and really wanted to see me. I checked the flight loads for the morning flights, and they were quite positive. Taylor was on a high speed to Pittsburgh, and would be on another one to Dayton the next night. I dragged Rosie out of bed, packed up our overnight bags (couldn't find the camera because of all the moving mess), and drove to the airport.

There were 55 open seats on the flight, and all 55 people on standby got on (the plane was totally full) Rosie was across the aisle from a nice girl a bit older than her, also the child of a pilot. They chatted through much of the flight, which helped the 4 hours go by. We arrived in SLC at 10:30, and my sister's friend Melina picked us up. We made a few necessary stops (Sunflower Market, Seagull Book, Downeast Basics, etc), had lunch with Melina, Mary and her roommate Katie, and went down to my parents beautiful new home in Lehi.

My friends Esther and Emily both visited, and the three of us went up to South Towne Mall to do some shopping. I came back for my mom's 51st birthday party. Dad made teriyaki chicken, I made my famous Better than Sex Cake, and all the family was together for a few hours, sans Taylor :( Since I'd been up since 3 am EST, I was totally dead tired by 11 pm MST. Mary will be taking me to the airport at 6:30 am, and I'll be back in ATL around 2:00 pm..as long as flight loads cooperate. Wish me luck!

To SLC, or not to SLC

...that is the question.

I've got a 3-day weekend for work, and there's a lot going on in SLC. My friend Nicole's wedding, my friend Antoinette's party, seeing my parents' new home in Lehi, my sister will be down from Rexburg, etc.

Unfortunately, to make it to the wedding and party, I'd have to work a half day Friday. I have lunch plans with my manager, a meeting and tour at one of the hospitals I work for, and no vacation time. Plus the flight loads are really iffy. So if I make it for the fun Friday night, I'd be missing out on an important day. And have to take Rosie out of school. Saturday morning's flight at 6:50 am looks promising, but I'd have to leave Sunday night at midnight for the best chance back. Is it worth the hassle of traveling when I'd be there for less than 48 hours? And all this the weekend that our moving truck arrives in GA?

I'm really jonesing for Leatherby's, Zuppa's, and The Pie.

Non-Rev Roulette

I decided on a new term for the luck required in flying non-rev...Non-Rev Roulette. I coined the term while punching in a Twitter message about crossing my fingers about getting a seat from SLC to LAX on Monday night. There had been a lot of weather delays through the day, and the airline had reassigned many passengers to my flight. The flight had 48 seats available in the morning, and an hour before I needed to leave for the airport the flight was overbooked by 6. However, several flights never made it in and the flight ended up being wide open. I got my boarding pass, lugged my bags through the jetbridge, and realized that our seats were in FIRST CLASS!

Rosie and I got free movies, pillows, blankets, Sunchips and comfy seats. I watched 97 minutes of American Teen, and Rosie watched Wall-E (when she was not listening to her new pink MP3 player from Grandma and Grandpa Watson) It would have been nicer to have seats in first on a longer flight, but we were happy to have a little pre-Christmas perk!

Oregon Travelogue

Saturday, the three of us arose early to get ready to leave for the airport. My visiting teacher Sue drove us to DTW bright and early. We ate a quick breakfast at the airport, and got boarding passes without too much trouble. Rosie and I flew towards Portland (flying Northwest via Northwest) and Taylor flew back to Atlanta. This would be my last trip to Portland while my Grandma Watson still lived in Oregon – she moves to SLC on Saturday. Rosie forgot the battery to her portable DVD player (again!) so I handed over my iPod. The 5 hour flight was the longest I’ve been on in years, and has made me second guess the idea of flying with a child overseas.

We arrived around noon and picked up our rental car. Rosie wanted to drive into Washington State, so we crossed the bridge and got lunch. We ate at the Burgerville USA on Mill Plain. Since the last time I ate there in 2002, the chain has taken a more healthy approach – local and sustainable, with many organic ingredients-which is not typical for a burger joint. I got my beloved crispy chicken sandwich with Tillamook cheese, and fell in love with the most delicious sweet potato fries imaginable (yes Liz, even better than the 101 Café!)

I wanted to visit Title Nine’s store in northwest Portland, so we hopped on I-84. After a few miles, we realized we were going the wrong direction (east towards The Dalles). Since we’d already traveled a good portion of the trip, we continued to Multnomah Falls. It was pouring rain, but we didn’t realize that they had courtesy umbrellas until we’d gotten ourselves soaked. We snapped a few pictures, and after about 100 stairs, decided against the hike up to the bridge in the rain. We grabbed a few souvenirs at the lodge, and continued back to Portland. We enjoyed our drive through downtown, over the bridges of the Willamette River, with the friendliest drivers I’ve ever seen. We knew grandma was anxious for us to arrive, so we didn’t stop downtown. I decided to stop by my old house on Makah Street. I parked the car, and saw that a car was pulling out of the driveway across the street. It was Stephanie Siljeg, who’d been my neighbor from 1986-1993. We made eye contact, had a moment of happy recognition, and she pulled over. We made plans to get reacquainted at some other point of the trip.

We arrived at her home in Tualatin around 3:00 pm. We had plans to visit with Alaina and Jillian’s families in Salem Saturday night, but a large snowstorm was forecasted, and we canceled. So we just visited at her home for an hour, and then drove over to Bridgeport Village. We had dinner at Paradise Bakery, and went around looking at the shops. We stopped back over at Best Buy in Tualatin to buy another SD card, so I wasn’t limited on the photos I took on the trip. When we got back from dinner, we visited for a few minutes, and Grandma went to bed early. Rosie and I went over to the Siljegs and visited with Jodie, Kim, and Stephanie. It was so fun to get caught up after so many years. Of any non-family relation I have right now, the Siljegs are the oldest connection I’ve been able to make contact with. It was a lovely visit over hot chocolate and cookies, reminiscing over stories of the last 22 years, and I hope to keep in touch with them in the future. I got back to Grandma’s a little after 10 pm, and retired for the night after 21 busy hours.

Sunday morning we looked out the window to see the first bits of snowfall. By the time we left for church at 8:40 am, there was a decent 2" accumulation. Church was canceled after sacrament meeting, and we drove back to Grandma’s. We had plans to go to a large extended family get-together at Laurie and Ricks, but their area was impassable in the snow, and chains were required to get there. Eventually, we had about 7 inches of snow. For those not familiar with Oregonians and snow…even with just a dusting, everything shuts down, especially if it gets icy.

Grandma looked through her cupboards for any remaining food items, since she’d been finishing off all her food and packing her dishes. We had a lunch of chicken salad sandwiches, frozen noodle casserole, and steamed veggies. With the snow as it was, we stayed in for the night, with the exception of a snowy walk that Rosie and I took near sunset. We watched Hallmark Channel movies and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas broadcast. Grandma spent some time with me getting set up on the Familysearch.org website – she’s an expert since she’s currently serving an online church service mission for family history. She looks forward to moving to Salt Lake at the end of the week to serve in person.

For Monday, Grandma will be picked up by her realtor to sign all the closing documents for her home. Flight loads look better for Monday night instead of Tuesday morning (unless everything gets messed up from the snow). Rosie and I hope to meet up with Coral and/or Carisa today, both friends from my youth…as long as the weather cooperates and the roads are passable. They’re pretty icy at this point. We’ll hopefully be able to spend some time walking around downtown Portland, before heading to PDX for our flight to SLC.

What to pack?

Earlier this month, I posted about my intended gypsy lifestyle for the remainder of the month. I will be leaving Detroit today, and will not return until December 28/29, depending on flight loads. Above is a picture of (a new version of my) trusty silver suitcase. It has traveled with me for over 40,000 flight miles and 3,000 road miles with me this year. It's a the Swissgear Zurich 20" pilot case in metallic pewter from Target. Before I was the wife of an airline pilot, and traveled by air infrequently, I would buy the super-bargain luggage from department stores. For $69.99, you could get a 5-piece set in a myriad of colors. Perfect, right? It only took about 3 trips by air before the wheels and handle were shot. I decided that I would invest in a great carry-on bag, since checking luggage on a standby flight is a non-rev faux pas.

This morning I'm flying to Portland, OR. The typically temperate December weather that I remember as a child will not be the reality this weekend. Heavy rain and snow showers are predicted tonight. Salt Lake City weather will vary from the 20's to the 4o's. And I won't be in California for 10 days, and the forecast out that far predicts average temperatures in the 60's to 80's. I have very limited space to pack for very different climates. For a girl who's a mad travel junkie, here's what I'm wearing and packing in my limited space:

On me:
Black half-zip sweater
Long sleeved tee
Black casual trousers
Two pairs of socks
Keen Ashland shoes (comfortable for walking long distances, but all-weather)
Parka, gloves, scarf and hat (which stuffed into a tote bag make a decent pillow)

In the laptop case:
Tucson, my trusty laptop
Meds, cold remedies, motrin, kleenex
3 magazines
Ipod and headphones
My quart-size zip-top bag with my less than 3 oz. toiletries
Snacks and gum

In the suitcase:
1 pair of jeans
1 sweater
4 short sleeve shirts
1 dressy shirt
2 shades, black and red
Underclothes and socks
1 dress, with hose and slip
1 pair dress shoes
Toiletry bag with dry makeup, floss, toothbrush, etc
Glasses in a case
Small Christmas gifts

During the summer, I'll include my swimsuit and some capris. I've almost got this packing down to a science. Any other tips for packing in with limited space?

Gypsy Lifestyle

Yesterday at work, I let my boss know that my last day would be December 12th (instead of the 19th, which I'd told her in October). I still don't have a firm job offer, but there's too much going on this month to be focused at work. I decided that I want to do some extensive traveling on the west coast, and return to Detroit the last week of December.

If all goes as planned, Rosie and I will be living the gypsy lifestyle out of carry-on bags for a couple weeks. We'll be braving the airport crowds, and pleading with gate agents to board flights on our timetable. This is our preferred itinerary:

Dec 13-16 Portland, OR
Dec 16-20 Salt Lake City, UT
Dec-20-27 Los Angeles, CA
Dec 27-29 Detroit, MI (to pack, clean, finish up dental work)
Dec 30 Drive from Detroit to Atlanta with a jam-packed car
Dec 31 Pensacola, FL for a New Years Party
Jan 4, '09 Begin new job

Oh, Atlanta

A few people have asked how our Atlanta trip went. It was really fun to travel and enjoy a child-less trip. It was the first time we'd been on a passenger flight together, without Rosie, since our honeymoon. We touched down in Atlanta around 9 am, deplaned at 9:45, and got to our rental car at 10:30. My $13/day compact car rental turned out to be really nice Mustang. We drove into Stone Mountain at Clint's house around 11:15, and stayed up wayyy past our bedtimes.

In the morning, I insisted on finally having breakfast at the Waffle House. The cheesy eggs were very tasty. Then we went to Stone Mountain to look around. We then spent the next 5 hours driving and driving. We went through Decatur, Druid Hills, downtown, Smyrna, Marietta, Vinings, and more. We checked out a few apartments, and have one in mind that's our top choice in Smyrna. We then met up with Taylor's BYU roommate Hank, and his wife Marissa for a BBQ. Their apartment was right on the Chattahoochee river, and it was a perfect afternoon for a BBQ. Afterwards, we went to the Ansley Park Playhouse to see Clint's sister, Tina McKissick, star in the play "Veranda." Post-performance, we went to a fabulous Mexican restaurant and hung out at Tina's. We stumbled back into bed around 2 am.

The next morning, Taylor and I headed off after breakfast. We checked out the Camp Creek area, and started driving to Peachtree City (but ran out of time and turned around). We got some lunch in a pretty sketchy part of town near the airport, turned the Mustang back into the rental agency, and found our gates in the terminal. I got the last seat available back to DTW. Taylor got bumped from a flight (full of 15 pilots vying for the jumpseats on a full flight) before scoring a seat to Memphis for training.

Checking in from ATL

This weekend, Taylor and I have been in Atlanta. He starts training for his new plane on Monday. When we boarded the half-empty plane on Friday, we looked at each other with a cock-eyed face. We realized this was the first flight we'd taken, just the two of us, since our honeymoon. For a couple that flies thousands and thousands of miles, it's pretty funny that it's been so long. Oh wait, there was one trip in the Cessna 172 right after he passed his private pilot checkride, but that still was 3 years ago...

We've been checking out neighborhoods and apartments, spending some time downtown, spending time with friends, had a BBQ on the Chattahoochee, enjoyed Stone Mountain, saw a hillarious play, finally tried the Waffle House, and today we'll part our separate ways again. As I laid in bed this morning, I just had such a good feeling. I'm certain that this will be a good move for us. We don't know exactly where we'll live, or exactly where we'll work, or exactly when we'll move...but it's right.

Back in Detroit

I just got home from SLC. I didn't ever think I could be so relieved to be in Detroit. I think I might give up on non-revving to SLC for a while. Rosie and I got on the 7:24 am direct flight, and through the kindness of a few passengers, Rosie and I got to sit together. The GAD actually was very friendly and helpful this morning, which is a first (I've been to SLC 8 times since January and ALWAYS have to deal with her). In her defense, there's a hiring freeze with the airline, and she's been pulling 13 hour shifts (5 am to 6 pm) so I can understand her crankiness.

We did purchase some discounted ZED passes, which would have allowed us to fly standby to Atlanta on Delta in case we didn't make the first 3 flights on NWA. I don't think we'll need them again, especially because we may have some upcoming changes to our "domicile" and flying to ATL on Delta would not require a ZED pass. Hopefully we can get them refunded easily.

I dropped Rosie off for the last 2 hours of school, but she still missed school picture day. I'm supposed to be using this time for napping. Time to sleep....

Non-Revving Nightmare

I've had a lovely weekend in SLC, and stories and pictures will be posted soon. However, I just need to vent a moment on the "perk" of non-rev travel. I enjoy the freedom to travel much more often than I regularly would (although if my husband was not a pilot, I would not be living on the other side of the county and I wouldn't travel home so much to see my family)

I had listed for the 7:24 am flight on Sunday. I checked flight loads the night before, and I didn't like the chances I had. I decided to try for he 1:50 or 5:32 pm MSP flights, but by noon those flights went from open seats to very oversold. I didn't actually "go" to the airport, but it didn't seem at all worth it when the SLC-DTW flight is hard to get on even with a few open seats. There were quite a few open for Monday morning, so I listed for the 7:24 am DTW flight again. Taylor was able to board in a discounted first class seat, but Rosie and I were stuck. We didn't make it on at 8:30 MSP either, and the GAD (gate agent of doom - I've had 6 months of bad luck with her) said she'd list me for the 1:50 MSP....but I'd have to wait until the plane had left before she'd roll over the reservation. So I waited 15 minutes, and she swiftly locked up the desk and ran off while giving me a dirty look. I called up FlightTrack to see if the GAD listed us, and of course she didn't. The reservation agent said the 1:50 was oversold, and 12 were on standby ahead of us....but if we waited for the 5:30 pm MSP flight, we'd be able to get on in first class. We left the airport to spend the time from 9 am to 4 pm in somewhere other than the airport.

When we got back to the gate at 4:30, we were told our chances were still good to board. Unfortunately, a captain and 3 FA's showed up at the last minute who had not been listed on the flight. When all was said and done, there was only one seat left, and I was NOT about to send Rosie off unaccompanied to MSP. So we're trying again in the morning.

Wish us luck.

Just the two of us...

This week we flew to SLC for Taylor's grandfather's funeral. Despite the sad circumstances for the trip, it was really nice to spend three days with Taylor. We even got on the direct DTW-SLC flights with no hassles. One of the evenings we went out for a night on the town. My parents now live in an apartment downtown, so it was easy to walk to the Gateway for dinner. Here's a pic I snapped on my phone of the two of us on our downtown date.We returned home last night, and Taylor left on a 4-day trip this morning. I'm feeling a little lonely tonight, which doesn't happen too much on the first day of his trips. But he has 4 days off once he's home, so three more nights to go...

Two Cool Trips

I've been behind in my blogging for a while! I've been on two awesome trips in the last week and a half, which I need to give the run d0wn in case I otherwise don't blog about it.

California: I flew out of DTW Friday evening. The flight loads were pretty iffy, but a three hour flight delay got me a seat on the flight to LAX. I arrived in LA around 11:30, picked up my rental car and met Liz for fresh strawberry donuts in Glendora. I got in at the in-laws at 2:00 am, and was up again at 7:30. It was a super-hot, sunny day (over 100 degrees!) I visited with Lissy and Tyler, who are expecting twins this August (if not sooner). I did a little gift shopping, grabbed some In-N-Out, and rifled through the sweltering hot shed looking for my high school scrapbooks (no luck). Liz and I drove to Pasadena, indulged in marzipan princess cake and rum rolls at Federicos and continued on to the Huntington. The gardens were beautiful and relaxing.

After returning from Pasadena, I visited with my in-laws who had returned from a funeral. I grabbed a 20 minute nap, then drove out to Rancho Cucamonga for Chris and Mary's wedding reception. The ring ceremony and reception was beautiful, and I ran into a lot of friends I was hoping to see. I then drove over to Brett's to his Syttende Mai Norway party. I toasted to Norwegian toasts, and grabbed a plate of Scandinavian desserts to eat on the way to LAX. I dropped of the rental car around 11:30, and made it on the 12:30 flight no problem. Total time in California: 25 hours.

Upstate New York: Since Taylor was hired by the airline, most of our travel has been by airplane (except for our cross-country moving trips). Taylor, Rosie and I had the same three days off for Memorial Day, and despite $4.19/gallon gas prices, were itching to take a road trip. We left around 9 am, endured a 80 minute border crossing at Port Huron, drove through Ontario, Canada to Niagara Falls. We balked at the $20 parking fee to be in the closest lots to the Falls, and drove down the road to a $10 lot with shuttle service. The falls were beautiful and super misty, and a large rainbow stretched across much of the area. We got lucky with the Niagara border crossing, only having to wait 3 cars to enter the U.S. again.

We drove on to Rochester and met up with my old friend Alan, and his girlfriend Liz. We got reacquainted at his place, then drove downtown for dinner. The restaurant had an hour wait, so we drove to High Falls in the meantime.We returned to the restaurant and ate at Dinosaur BBQ, one of the best BBQ I've ever had! Alan also took us for a tour of his laser laboratory at the University of Rochester, where he is working on his PhD.

In the morning, we drove to Palmyra to see the church history sites. We hiked the Moroni Monument, watched a movie in the visitor center, toured the Joseph Smith and Frame homes, enjoyed the Sacred Grove, and finished at the printing press downtown. The drive back to Rochester criss-crossed the Erie Canal several times. We took Alan out for lunch at The King and I Thai, then hit the road back to MI. The best part of the return trip was the clear view of Toronto for much of the drive from the border to Hamilton. Someday the trip will be specifically for Toronto! We arrived home at midnight. Total trip time: 39 hours.

SOMEDAY I'd like to take a trip that I actually have time to relax...

It's Over...mostly

I just submitted my term paper and attachments for my final for my critical writing and reasoning class. I had until midnight MST, but I've been up since 4 am working on it (as I have been 5 out of the last 7 days). I'm exhausted, I've got the minimum length...and I just can't THINK about it anymore. Never in my life have I been more relieved to turn in a "barely adequate" paper. At least that's how I feel about the quality of it. I talked to my academic advisor today, who said that the requirement was to have a submission in by May 15th, but there was a loophole that if it didn't meet the standards on the rubric, I would be able to revise and resubmit it by June 15. So I guess I'm taking advantage of the system...but in a twisted way it seems like exactly the way the worst semester of my life should end.

Tomorrow night I'm still planning on my quickie California trip. I'm hoping to get on the 7:30 pm flight out of Detroit. If I don't make it, I'll be able to coordinate with Taylor's high-speed and take the car home. I want to make it to the Huntington with Liz, Chris and Mary's wedding reception, see my in-laws, grab some In-n-Out, and hopefully see the ocean (Dockweiller Beach is about 10 minutes from LAX). Now that I can purchase Zed passes, I'm feeling a little more confident about flying non-rev on an almost full return flight. Cross your fingers for me!