Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Day One of Travel

Today has been quite a day...and it is only 4:30! At least I think it is only 4:30...we have been in the air about one hour with seven more to go until we set down in Amsterdam. We really needed Dave this morning; no one really took seriously my pleas to 'get moving' so we didn't leave San Antonio until around 10:30. Yes, I know it is crazy, but there are some things, like packing a Pathfinder, that are totally out of my control. We finally left and I did have a sense of foreboding about me. I tried to 'chalk it up to" leaving late, but I sensed it was more than that. The trip to Houston really went fine; we stopped at a Dairy Queen in Flatonia and the wait likened the layover in Amsterdam. Again, my anxiety level began to rise when I realized that we were way behind the schedule we normally keep, but, I kept positive to cheer myself more than the others. We hit the Sam Houston Tollway in Houston and I must admit that I sighed a sigh of relief when we stopped at the first toll booth. While I realized we were still miles away from the airport, I knew, at last, we were close. For some strange reason, thank you God, I just happened to look back at exactly the time a suitcase broke loose fromt he top of the car and plunged onto the highway. It did not make any noise so I am wondering if we would have known it was gone until we arrived at the airport. The worst part of the entire thing was realizing it was MY bag that lay in the middle of the road. I am really not sure what I screamed, but I am sure that it was NOT suitable for young ears. Barr was finally able to pull to a stop and he and I ran about 1/4 of a mile back to get my bag that lay smack dab in the middle of the tollway. I was at my anxious best! A Good Samaritan did some blocking for us and we were able to haul it off the freeway and get it back in the car. I didn't even want to think of the damage to the bag...we only had 15 minutes to get to the airport to make the one-hour rule of check-in. But, there was plenty of damage to the bag. This time, I got in the driver's seat and drove like a proverbial "bat out of hell" to the airport. When we pulled up to the terminal, I barked orders to anyone who would listen and then took off for the Park N Ride. I had no idea how to get there from the terminal, but I had to and I did it! When I got to the terminal in the shuttle, I found the group checkin in and halling over the price of the bike frame that we are taking with us to teach the people in Uganda how to make a bike. It was turly a "nightmare of epic proportions." So, here I am on the plane. The delightful young man next to me just spilled my entire glass of red wine on me and I have been fortunate to be given a pair of sweatpants from one of the KLM flight attendants. You may be wondering what else could go wrong. But, I know this is all part of the wonder of the trip. The kids had an aisle to themselves and I am sitting on the back row of the plane...at least I have an aisle. It is, indeed, the little things in life that make me truly happy. More tomorrow!

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