April 2011 Trip

[Honeylioness]

Okay, so when did I develop such bad luck with traveling? Perhaps it has always been this way and I am just more conscious of it. Who knows.

Anyway, on the morning of April 13th the girls and I were up in time, threw the last itmes into our bags and loaded up the car and headed off to Logan (after a necessary stop at Dunkin' Donuts of course). I have become rather spoiled regarding my daily commute of three miles through town and had forgotten what a mess the highways are during "rush" hour - which is one of the most ridiculous oxymorons I have ever heard of - how can going under 20 MPH be called a "rush"?

However we had left well in advance and got into Boston, parked the car in the long term lot, caught the shuttle to the terminals and finished checking in. I had already printed off our boarding passes and logged our bags in as well. Even security moved right along as did boarding.

However after we pushed back from the gate things went downhill. After taxing out towards the runways we came to a halt and an announcement was made that we were told to hold until some weather patterns moving through were gone. We heard the same comments at least three times - that it would be just another 20 minutes. Finally after two hours we took off. Of course this meant that we completely missed our connection in Newark to Seattle. In fact, almost 50 people on our plane missed the connection by less than five minutes. You would think that with that many people making the same transfer they would have held the flight. GRRRR

So after waiting in line for over an hour, during which I sent the girls off to eat lunch, we were told to go to another terminal for a "possible" connection. But they neglected to mention that the other gate was at least 1/2 mile away!! After getting nowhere with that gate agent we were shuttled to yet another customer service post and given boarding passes. What I didn't realize was that they were listed as Stand By.

So off we went to yet another gate MILES away and checked in there. One of the interesting things about being in Newark is the diverse groups of passengers. There are the business day trippers, people connecting and the locals - a lot of who are Orthodox Jews. The agent at this gate was a real hoot. Obviously local with an interesting blended accent of New Jersey and Hispanic - and she called me "Momma". As in - don't worry Momma I take care of you". I had told her that if there were only two seat available I would send the girls and stay for a later flight, but I couldn't leave them behind. At the last moment we were told to run down the hall that there were four empty seats. So at least we were aboard. We arrived in Seattle about six hours late.

The following week, on April 20th we were back at SeaTac for a midnight flight home. The leg to Houston was uneventful and we managed to get a little sleep. Then after two hours waiting it was back on the same plane and heading back to Boston. I had made the decision to not have any coffee during the layover because I wanted to get some more sleep on the second leg.

About 40 minutes into the flight they made an announcement asking if there was a doctor or nurse on board - this is never a good thing. about a half hour later the pilot came on the intercom to tell us we were going to make an emergency landing in Atlanta as a passenger was really ill. Fastest landing I have ever experienced. I could not believe how fast we dropped altitude and almost slammed into the runway on all three wheels at once.

You know how normally the plane slows down then you meander towards the gate at about five miles an hour? Not this time. I swear he was doing 40-50 MPH towards the terminal. There were several security cars I saw blocking off other runways with their lights flashing. As we braked in front of the terminal two fire trucks and an ambulance raced towards the plane - sirens blaring. The door was opened, the stiars wheeled into place and three paramedics in full gear came down the aisle. After quickly talking to the doctor who had been with the passenger they carried the man out, down the steps in a fireman's hold and then into the ambulance. The wife followed and we heard the baggage door opening.

We were on the ground for about two hours while they re-fueled, got the man's luggage and did paperwork. Apparently the FAA wants a lot of forms filled out when a plane makes an unscheduled landing. The doctor also had to do paperwork and then we were back in the air.

About 100 miles out of Boston the pilot came on to warn us there was a bit of rough weather ahead and be prepared. Another one of the biggest understatements I have heard in a LONG time. It was like saying a hurricane was just a wind storm with rain. Not only was the plane making large dips it felt as though it was fishtailing in the air as the back end moved from side to side. There were 40 MPH winds gusting across the water and the white caps were huge.

My stomach was telling me very clearly it was NOT happy. I tried deep breathing to calm myself - this worked for a few minutes. However as the plane made another big sudden drop it was all over. I have not been that sick on a plane in years. And from what I heard I was not the only passenger using the little blue bags. I felt like garbage as I staggered off the plane finally.

Once we ransomed the car from parking and hit the highway home all I could think about was coffee, a shower ... and there was no food in the house to feed the girls dinner. So first stop - Dunkin'. Then the chinese buffet so the kids could get food they could either eat at home or warm up later. Honestly, I felt like I had been through the wars by the time we finally arrived home at 5:30 pm.

Oh, and did I mention the three car pile up on the roadway that closed two lanes and slowed us to five mph for three miles??

And then I got to get up early the next morning to go into work. On what was supposed to be a vacation day.

But that is another story.

[Honeylioness]

I thought I would capture some of the key happenings that went on during our recent trip to the Seattle area.

After finally arriving I somehow managed to rip a main seam in the skirt I was wearing getting out of my airplane seat. No problem, I brought at least three others with me right? Umm, seems not. As I was unpacking the next morning I had a sudden image of the three other skirts - neatly folded and still on the hope chest at the end of my bed in Massachusetts. #%#$%$# So it was off to the second hand clothes store. Unless it is a steal of a deal I have a hard time buying new clothes at anything resembling full price anymore. However at Deseret I found six skirts - three denim, one black, one blue cotton and one brown raw silk for $31.

The weather in the Seattle area had been bad even for them. Seems they had gone over a month without a day sans rain. But having lived there for a while I know that people just go about what they need to do - because if you wait for the weather to cooperate you are going to be old and gray. So Friday I drove the girls down to Pike Place Market www.pikeplacemarket.org/ where we window shopped, picked up flowers and gifts, sampled honey and other local foods, ate lunch overlooking the Sound, poked through odd little book stores and novelty shops and made my yearly trip to Market Spice. marketspice.com/ There I picked up some Raspberry Black tea (loose leaf) and several types of salts (Alder smoked, pink and Sel Gris.

On Saturday my dad took Ines and Siying fishing at a stocked trout pond facility. There the girls caught six large rainbow trout which we ate for dinner .... yuuummmmmm. My mother and I went out and did some errands then headed for a nearby Estate sale. This is something that was "our" thing when I lived there and neither of us does it much anymore because we don't like doing it alone.

Jackpot!! A three story house obviously owned by an elderly woman who had never thrown anything away AND was into crafts. I considered the idea at this point that I may have to ship a box home as one could only ask so much of a suitcase. Don't get me wrong though - I did not go crazy and only spent about $20 though I could have done a lot more. It was hard to resist however the hand knitted scarves made of novelty furs for the girls at only $1.50 each.

Sunday was Palm Sunday so off to church we all went (the girls were very stylish in their dresses and heels) then home for dinner with some family friends who came over in lieu of Easter since I was home. In between the two the weather finally broke and after quickly changing clothes the girls and I headed down to Richmond Beach then over to Edmonds to watch the ferries, walk along the ocean's edge and hunt for really unique rocks and such. Ines and Siying particularly loved this. The smell of the ocean, the nearby islands and then in the distance the smudged silhouettes of the Olympic Mountains. www.nps.gov/olym/index.htm

Monday the girls wanted to go shopping - probably influenced by one of yesterday's dinner guests who told them about DSW Shoe Warehouse. So we headed to Northgate (one of the countries oldest enclosed shopping malls). When we walked into DSW I had to laugh as their jaws dropped and their eyes got huge trying to take in all the available footwear spread out before them. Before they could get TOO stunned I steered them to the back room where I always start. Then I explained the colored stickers "Yes, the price may say $44.99, but the ticket is red which means 70% off the marked sticker price - so yes, this pair is only $13.50". Then I let them loose. After an hour Ines had picked up two really great pairs of boots (one ankle high the other knee high) for about $65 for both. Siying had snagged several pairs of cute flats - though she had found them on the main floor. And I had sucumbed to the siren's call of a pair of brown leather brogues, tan leather flats and red suede pumps - all for only $41. I LOVE the back room!

An obligatory stop at See's for some items I cannot get on the East Coast then we headed over to the U District and poked around a bit - winding up, as I had intended, at Half Price Books. I picked up four new-to-me CDs for $2 each along with a couple of great books of designs. I find that kids' books have some of the best illustrations that translate well into quilt motifs and designs. And they tend to be much cheaper as well.

My parent's had offered months ago to "assist" with a large church activity - the Senior Luncheon. However the people who were supposed to be in charge skipped town soon after to head to Florida and were not due back until the day before. Therefore by default all the planning had fallen on my folks - specifically my mother. Now my mom has many many talents - however being in charge of such an affair is not her thing and she will be the first to tell you that. She says she is a much better soldier than general and was dreading the set up and day of planning and supervising of people. However - I was here now. After talking to her about it and ascertaining if she really was okay with my taking over it was set. The other people on this committee had NO idea what was about to come their way ... MWUAHAHAHAHA

Tuesday we went to Costco to get the meal ingredients including 4 dozen eggs, 36 pounds of ground beef and 40 pounds of potatoes. Then off to the church to drop off and prep. Perhaps I should preface this next part of my story by outlining what I believe to be how things should work in the world. If you sign up to help set up tables and chairs, then set the tables - then that is your primary reason for being at that place at that time. It is NOT to drink several cups of coffee and gossip about other people. Or be a major PIDA and say frequently in a snide tone of voice "Well, you could do it that way - but that is not the way we did it when I was in charge". Really?? Well news flash honey - I don't give a rat's patootie. And for someone that picky why didn't YOU step up to run this shindig huh?

Can you tell that unlike my mother I am not only rather good at being in charge but I kind of like it??

After giving the "kids" (yeah right, the youngest must have been in their late 60s) about 10 minutes to visit and such I came out from the kitchen and using my best kindergarten teacher voice got their attention. I then politely introduced myself and set each person a task - getting chairs, vacuuming, setting up tables etc. Making sure to let them know that any questions about how the tables were to be set should go through Mom. Then I retreated into "MY" kitchen - see, technically any kitchen that I am doing major work in becomes "mine" by default.

The girls were real troopers and peeled 40 pounds of potatoes in about 1/2 hour. Crushed crackers, broke eggs and mixed up meatloaf by hand. We got the beans started, formed the loaves and cleaned up the kitchen before the others were done setting up the Hall. So we left for another quick sojourn to the waterfront for a little while to re-charge.

Wednesday morning we took the time to have a nice breakfast before heading over to the church again. As lunch was due to start at 11:30 am the meat loaves had to be in the oven by 9:00 am and the potatoes started as I just knew pots this big would take FOREVER to come to the boil - which they did.

The girls again pitched in where needed - filling coffee urns, water carafes, slicing desserts and putting them on plates. They also helped make the gravy and mashed the potatoes before serving the 130 people who came down the food counter line. I have to say I was so proud of them for stepping up, not whining and being gracious to everyone.

Unlike their "mom"

See, I had things well in hand and under control. So when D flew in around 10:30 and proceeded to try and take over - I was not amused. At first I assured her that all was fine and why didn't she go enjoy the event as a guest. But that was MUCH too subtle for this type of tank person. Finally, after catching her bossing around the girls about the order the food was set out to dish up I could no longer hold back. Taking her arm FIRMLY I steered her towards the kitchen door and in a low even voice said "D, I know you think you are helping - but you are not. In fact, every time you come in here you stress me out further. So I think for everyone's sake you best keep out of the kitchen until I am no longer in it ... got it? Because the next time I have to say this I WILL draw an audience and you won't find it pleasant at all." Then I showed her the door and shut it firmly behind her.

I turned around and saw the girls, especially Ines, grinning like nuts. I heard she made a comment to my mom along that lines that "...you daughter is rather ... frank ... in her opinions isn't she?..."

Oh well, I suppose she could have said worse. Ines told my folks that it was all she could do to not pump her arm and say "ooo-yah" when she over heard me talking to D. But she thought perhaps that would be a bad idea. Good call hun.

Once the meal was over and the featured speaker was through the girls and I were released - the rest of the group would handle the clean up thank goodness. On a side note the speaker was very interesting. She was a part of the Danish Underground during WWII and acted as a courier of information and pamphlets for the Resistance.

On our last day in the Pacific NW we headed down to the Ballard Locks and Lake Union waterfront. The girls were fascinated with all the house boats on the Lake. We then took a side trip into Ballard - the Scandinavian section of town. There we went to the Nordic Heritage Museum and Ines was quite interested to see just how many Finns had emigrated to this area. She also liked the fact that even though we were in the U.S. there were flags from Finland, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Iceland and The Netherlands hanging off many buildings.

My parent's took us out for a wonderful dinner overlooking the Edmonds waterfront before we headed home to do a final packing and head off to SeaTac for the odyssey home.

[Honeylioness]

So, one of the final stories about my recent "vacation". I had originally put in to be out of the office from April 13 - April 22. This included a Holiday her in Mass on Monday the 18th - Patriot's Day. The idea was we would be returning to Boston on the 21st. Would have Friday to recover, do laundry etc and get ready for Easter and our guests on April 24th.

That was the plan anyways. But between the time I booked the trip and my actually leaving we learned that there would be an audit from the BSI happening the week I would be gone. (The BSI is like the EU version of the FDA). There ensued much panic and concern since no one else had learned how to run the training reports that would most likely be requested. So a lot of what I did the weeks leading up to my departure was create an instruction manual. 35 pages WITH screen shots and illustrations. Then I walked the manager through many of the processes. So things should be good no?

Apparently NO was the operative word.

Two days before I left the VP came to me with an offer. If I would come in and work on that Friday (technically a vacation day) then I could not only take the following Monday off - but he would give me an additional day off as well.

So I came into work on Friday. They had been able to convince the auditor to hold off on getting any training questions answered as their "primary training coordinator was on vacation". As you can imagine it made Friday more than a little "interesting" here at work. Plus I had to dig out of the hundreds and hundreds of items in my work e-mail in box. Plus the dozens of phone messages.

I finally got my recovery day on Monday the 25th. Originally I had great plans to do all these things around the house - but in the end I was a slug and didn't even get dressed until after 1:00 pm.