No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow.
~Lin Yutang~
Aaaahhhh…….it’s so nice to be fully immersed into my o so familiar surroundings that I missed a whole lot more than I thought I would. We had a very tough time making it back home, which in the end, made the reunion that much sweeter. I’ll go ahead and get all of the ghastly details out of the way before I begin to chronicle our vacation.
The most adverse obstacle to overcome was the sad fact that I became sick on Monday…….and it’s still with me! It started with a sore throat, then proceeded with a stuffy, and runny nose, but worst of all has been the congestion, and coughing (especially when it is non-stop at night). It’s been such a long time since I have been sick, all for it to happen when we’re on our vacation – I was a trooper though.
Tuesday was one long rest day, I couldn’t really cope and just wanted to sleep it off since I was feeling so drained. That was the only “wasted” day; from that day on we didn’t let it stop us from seeing and doing the fabulous activities originally planned. However, we didn’t get to do everything, but that was to be expected.
We were supposed to get home last night, but good ole’ American Airlines dropped the ball on that desire. Our flight from San Jose, CA was running late to begin with, which made for a really tight connection when we landed in Fort Worth, TX. As fast as we could get off the plane, we were ready to run since we only had about 10 minutes to make it to the other terminal…….as soon as we deplaned a lady with a list advised us that our plane was already GONE!! For once a plane actually leaves ON TIME!!
We went up to the desk to determine what options were available, but the snide and unhelpful counter person wasn’t very congenial. We were dumbfounded to be told that, “There were no more flights going to Greensboro, NC until tomorrow morning.”, TOMORROW MORNING!! But they could get us to Charlotte, NC?!?!? Um, our car is in Greensboro……how the heck is that going to help anybody?! Cody said, “I bet they could also get us to Albuquerque too, but that wouldn’t help us out either!” Mr. Comedy Relief at your service – he’s too funny.
The only thing she offered us was a voucher for a discounted rate of $45.00 at the La Quinta Inn, or a cot if we wanted to sleep in the terminal…..WOW…..way to go American Airlines lady, thanks a bunch!? After the unpleasant encounter, we trudged on, mad, and unsatisfied to the new terminal in which we would be leaving from the next morning. Once there, Cody, being the exceptionally remarkable partner he is, took it upon himself to do some damage control. Long story short, he came back about 15 minutes later with a smile on his face. What he accomplished was truly extraordinary, in his persistence he found a more compassionate American Airlines employee who actually helped us! And believe it or not, he was toting even better vouchers that the other lady said wasn’t possible to get, and wasn’t willing to let go of. Cody singlehandedly got us a FREE hotel room, and a $20.00 food voucher!!!! Isn’t he AWESOME……thanks babe :o)
Before this gets too long, I’ll wrap it up. The flight home was not that great for me, flying when you’re sick is the WORST! Oh, and I hate to leave it on a gross note, but I blew chunks on our descent because of the congestion and pressure and whatever else was contributing to my nausea; thankfully it was a really small plane, and there were some really nice people sitting around me. Cody came through yet again with a barf bag, and cool, wet cloth for my forehead – I’m such a lucky girl. I even got to sleep on the car ride home…..
Boy am I glad to be home!!!