Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Air Travel over the Holidays is FUN and not FUN!

Well, air travel has been a bit of a challenge this season. The flight from Denver to Tulsa was, of course, delayed for several hours. As a part of my happiness project, though, I took the opportunity to make some new friends. First was a big man with tatoos and earrings, on his way to Phoenix to spend Christmas with his inlaws, who showed me his pictures of his new daughter and reminded me yet again that babies always make the trip worth it! Then there was a new friend who lives in Denver and who likes hiking and camping, and also happened to be the aunt of my good friend Marlo , who lives in Tulsa. I need some friends in Denver, particularly those who belong to a hiking club and enjoy the out-of-doors! So the delay was in part really fun. I was surprised that others were not griping about all the delays, changes, cancellations, but really, the airport crowd was in the Christmas spirit and were just happy when we finally took off.
Coming home was more of a challenge, as I was suffering from some type of stomach virus. I know it wasn't the flu, because Janina made me get a flu shot this year. But I woke up in Oklahoma feeling sick to my stomach, and I still had to make my way home to Denver. I loaded up on Pepto Bismol and Advil, and tried to make the best of things. The flight was full, though, and I had to sit next to someone with really bad breath and this can be a real challenge when you don't feel very well!
To make matters worse, when I finally arrived in Denver and my suitcase was tossed onto the luggage carousel--disaster!! The zipper broke, spilling all the contents of my suitcase onto the conveyor belt. A collective gasp--oh no!--broke out from the crowd as my underwear, vitamins, shoes, and clothes went everywhere. I don't know if this has ever happened to you, but try and grab items as they continue to go around one of those conveyor belts! You can only grab so many items at once, and the rest just go around for everyone to see. Two very sweet young girls helped me grab things, and finally all was retrieved--at least as far as I know (I have not gone through everything yet, but I am sure that anything lost can be replaced). I had to use my good problem solving skills, too, to figure out how to get the suitcase home. I decided NOT to take the bus, which was how I had gotten to the airport, and took a taxi instead--a Christmas present to myself b/c I was just not up to anything else.
So, Christmas was wonderful, but holiday travel can be anything but wonderful!

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