It’s just after 11 p.m. and I’m winging my way across the USA. I expect to arrive in LA at 1.00 am. Daughter Calie and Grandson Kodi are enroot from Australia.
The past week has been busy with the normal work on the road. A presentation and class kept me focused. The weather has been just wonderful but I’ve spent most of the week working on the computer.
I packed three boxes to go home and left some things for the next trip in May…. Goodness I can’t believe I won’t get back to this part of the woods till Next year. I will be in the USA for Houston and other teaching in November… but I miss Long Prairie.
Many people say it must be hard being away from home for so long. Goodness Long Prairie is my second home now… I have a friendship family. Friends, Joan, Fran, Lori and Marcie are as important to me as family. The Little Falls Quilt Group have adopted me and follow my travels with interest and I have to spend time with everyone when I go back.
The employees at the Fairfield Inn Minneapolis Airport know me by name and reputation! (It’s also handy to the Mall of America) Ha, but not all runs smoothly.
You can check, re-check and re-check and things will still go wrong. Take for instance my transport to MN on Sunday… I had a ticket for pick up at 9.30 Sunday morning. By 9.45 I figured I was a forgotten soul. I rang the company. “Sorry it’s Sunday, the office is unattended, ring back Monday” Gees lucky I didn’t have to catch the plane that day…
We drove 18 miles to the next stop, only to find they had left.
So back home to Long Prairie. Next shuttle is at 3.00 p.m. 40 miles away.
Joan had an important family function so dropped me at 1.30. I waited and planned my strategy if he didn’t come…. Hire a care, stay there in another hotel and wait for the morning shuttle…. Oh, but I would still have to pay my booked accommodation in MN…darn.
Fortunately the driver arrived to do some paperwork. I told him my sad story. So he delivered me right to the hotel instead of the airport and I worked on the computer for the whole hour and a half drive trying to stem the anxiety of the earlier part of the day.
Then you have to get your seat allocation on the plane for the 4-hour trip to LA. I got a cheaper flight so paid an extra $15 for a better seat. Ha, but you can only do that 24 hours before flight. So you still never know what your seat is until the last minute. Seat allocated, I can get my boarding pass faxed to the hotel and then delivered to my room. You have to learn the tricks folks. I pretty much know them all.
Next morning… I arrived in LA at 2.00 pm MN time, too late for the shuttle so a phone call to the hotel informed me that I had to catch a taxi.
I slept well and here I am 9 hours later sitting in terminal 4 with all my luggage, lap top on my bags and earphones in listening to a little Handel while people come and go all around me. Callie should arrive in about an hour and then it’s off to Anaheim for play. Whoops I forgot, I do have to finish a sample and photograph it tonight… THEN I can play.
