Okay, get ready, this could take a while. This entry will forever be remembered as Fantasy in Travels with Bill. My plan was to leave the hotel this morning at 8:30, so I would have no trouble getting to the airport with plenty of time to spare for my 11:40AM flight. It was not a direct flight, but it would get me back to Austin at about 3:45 or so, plenty of time to pick up the girls and have a quiet evening with them. Watch a little tv, maybe take a nap or two, fix something to eat, and just chill. I got in the cab at 8:32, a couple minutes (literally) later than I had intended, buy not the end of the world. I always try to do curbside check-in, and I tip rather generously, just in case there are any issues. I was bringing back four tubes of hippie crack (shut-up, it's granola) from Baked and Wired in Georgetown (fruit or no-fruit), because it is the very best granola EVER. My neighbors Linda and Jimmie brought me some once and I have been a crack addict ever since. When I flew to DC, my bag weighed 45.5 pounds, and that was with three 16.8 boxes of Merlot which I had every intention of drinking during the trip, but I did not drink any of it. I did have three or four glasses of wine during the visit, but it was all in restaurants of the hotel bar. SO, with the hippy crack in the suit case, and a few other things I took out of the back pack so it would not be as heavy, my checked bag weighed in at 52 pounds. It was an interesting thing that happened,,,the skycap looked away, and then the bag weighed 49 pounds. The next time he turned away, the bag had lost another 12 pounds. We chalked it up to a problem with the scale, and the bag went right on through. The next obstacle was TSA and Pre-Check, and I also have Clear. They said it was time for me to upgrade and confirm all my stuff, and to take a new photo and fingerprints. By the time they finished, the result was 'No Known Traveller.' It took a while to straighten all that our, and then it was on to the next thing. As I was walking to the gate, there are only 10 gates in the Southwest area of Ronald Reagan, I had a feeling that my phone was not where it was supposed to be, and that was because I had left it in the cab I took from the hotel to the airport. Hmmm. No phone. I borrowed a nice ladies phone and called my phone and there was no answer. I waited a few more minutes, borrowed another phone, and called again. This time there was an answer. 'What? Is this Mr. EvansWilliams? Yes, can you bring me my phone back? Where are you? You just dropped me off at Southwest. I'm already back downtown. I'll pay your fare to bring my my phone back. Okay, it'll be about 20 minutes. He showed up, I gave him $100, and I thought it was well worth it. Then I had to go back through security again, but that was no trouble. I got to the gate and the 11:40 flight was delayed to something like 12:40, but they were expecting another delay because of weather in Atlanta. Because of other panes being delayed and other planes being scheduled to take off two or three at a time, it lead to a but of chaos, By this time I was with my friend John, There were no seats at our gate, so we sat where we could. We both swear that we heard nothing about any updates, but suddenly, the plane we were supposed to be on LEFT WITHOUT US. Well, that was rude, and the ticket agents didn't really show any compassion. The whole problem was attributed to my advanced age and my hearing challenges. Whatever. We re-booked a flight that would leave at 6PM, and my boarding position was C45. So, we were punished (although John got a changed ticket and a $9.25 credit to use on a future flight.Where was I? Sorry I fell asleep, and it is now Friday morning. SO...John and I went to the gate for the 6 o'clock non-stop flight to Austin. We almost missed that flight too, because (surprise, surprise) they changed the departure gate and we did not know it. BUT, we figured it out, and got on the re-booked flight. And then, as we approached Austin, there was weather. It was supposed to be bumpy, but nothing terrible. We landed, and taxied close to the gate, but not to the gate. There was lightning in the area, so the plane at the gate we were wanting to get to had not pushed back, and the ground crew was taking safety precautions. Totally understandable. We were finally at the gate. Long story short (I kinda missed that opportunity, huh?), everything worked out okay, I got the girls, and we got home about 11 o'clock. AND, personally, we missed all the rain, wind and hail, but I know people nearby that had the worst hail storm they ever experienced.
Epilogue: Just chill out, those experiences were nothing but first world problems, the girls and I are home safe and sound, and we are all lucky people. Have a great day!
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