Just Between Us... : Planes, Trains (yep, we even did that) and Automobiles

Pssssst.....we are home now but I wrote this blog and the next one I will post tomorrow, last night, on the plane on our way home.

I’m writing this blog from high in the sky above Dallas Texas! I won’t get to post it for a bit since I won’t be home until some time tonight. This has been a wild 2 weeks of travel for not only John and I but Ryan, Aaron, Bryce, Kaylee, Lucy, and Alexis. It has been a great deal of fun and there is so much I want to share! I have, of course, been thinking of titles for my blogs, subjects and the like, the whole time we have been gone but somewhere along the way, I stopped writing them in my head and just sank into the moments of joy, fun, laughter, zaniness and getting drawn into the fold of a whole new family.

I haven’t really decided where to begin with my adventure blogging. I was thinking today that when I first started writing my little brain storms, we were on our way to Florida the first time, to see Matt and Ryan, who was living there at the time. I remember writing all the mishaps that happened along the way (I have to admit I keep wondering how Dick Guffey does this travel bit and not go stark raving mad?). We have had our share of mis-adventures but somehow John just keeps smiling (I know, I know, its just the best), holding my hand during all the take offs and landings (watching me get my anxious face at a couple of them) and just, in his words, being a hero! Hahahahaha! I love travelling with him so much. He makes it such fun. I think, I will keep you in suspense just a bit longer regarding the wedding. Don’t groan too loudly or get too frustrated at me, I just need some time to process the whole thing, it was such a lovely day. I thought, for the sake of posterity, I would take you through just a few of our plane hops, means of travels and just plain funny things that happened along the way. I hope you think they are funny and interesting too.

Tuesday the 25^th (I think anyway, I have lost track of time) I worked. Plain and simple. I worked. It was my big 4 and a half hour house and had I known what was about to happen in our agenda, I would have freaked completely out! I got done with the house and was moseying around Fred Meyer, doing a little bit of shopping for a couple of last minute things when I get a text. It went something like this:

Becky: “We are expecting another storm in Philly and they will most likely shut down the airport so you might want to make some different plans” um, our current plans? To leave on Thursday midday to go to see Thane and Becky and the boys, via Salt Lake City….my answer? “in Freddies at the moment, will text you when I get home and we can figure this out”….

I get to the checkstand and my phone rings, (by this time I am nearly staggering I am so tired. Its Matthew. Wanting to know what table they should put Carol and Cecil (my sister and brother in law) at. I discuss that with he and Lindsay for a few minutes and then he and I visit while I sit in the parking lot in my car (I had forgotten my hands free device at home) and I let off some steam and laugh for a few minutes with him. I head home, getting texts from John about the weather and things of that nature. (yes, I stopped along the road to text) and finally get home. The flurry of activity and decision making, by this time, was so amped I was staring at him like a deer in the headlights. I mean it, I was so darn exhausted and mind numbingly indecisive I just didn’t know what to do about getting to Thane and Beckys. We wanted to go for several reasons. One, we wanted to see them and two, we needed to because our plane tickets to Matt and Lindsays wedding were through Philadelphia. I just kept telling John, “I don’t know what to do I am so tired.” He had already gotten online and found some cheaper tickets for us to get us to Philly but the catch was that we leave that night!!!!! I just stared at him. I had already started to pack but had planned on having the whole next day to get everything together and ready for the trip, including getting the house ready for Alyssa to take care of it for us. I was dumbstruck. All I could think of was to take a shower so I climbed into it and as I did John said, “I keep praying about what to do but just am not sure at this point” I thought to myself, “oh, that might help if I stop and pray about this predicament” I mean, do we stay at home and take our chances? Do we fly out early and beat the storm only to spend a bit more money in plane tickets? Do we……..I prayed and felt a peace about going early. I climbed out and said to John, “lets just buy the tickets and go.”

I haven’t mentioned another teeny piece of this puzzle. We had planned on having Ryan take us to the airport on Thursday. His schedule hadn’t really been conducive to driving us to Portland as he had gone to school on Monday, getting home at 11 pm ish and then going to work very early and working a long shift all day on Tuesday, in fact, when this whole dilemma was going on, he was still at work! It was such a quandary. I was really worried about asking him to drive us back to Portland when he had been home barely 24 hours from driving up there already! He, as usual, took it like a trooper and said he’d go ahead and drive us up there (albeit a bit reluctant). John drove up there while Ry rode with us and we had a great visit the whole time.

We flew out of Portland Airport at midnight that night and yes, we managed to sleep quite a bit of both legs of our journey. We landed in Houston (I know, I know, what a weird route) and Thane picked us up at the Philadelphia airport at noon the next day.

I have a few little funny stories about our time in New Jersey but wanted to cover our planes adventures first. We flew out of Philly on Monday the 8^th after 5 days with the Syversons and I had my first suitcase search of my entire life…. Lets go back a minute…or a few days…Matt had asked me to bring sand from our beach as he and Lindsay were going to that in lieu of lighting candles (no candles are allowed in this church that is hundreds of years old) so, on my trip home from Newport that previous Tuesday before we flew out, I stopped by the Waldport bridge in the pouring rain and filled a bucket that I had in my car, with sand, wet sand. I put it in a plastic bag, placed it in my carry on and went along my merry way. On the way through security in Philadelphia the TSA agent stops me, along with my carry on.

“Ma’am, do you have any gold in here?” HUH?????? GOLD?????? Yeah mister, I am so darn rich I haul bars of gold around in my stupid carry on and travel coach for heavens sake!

“Yes, I do, my jewelry is gold” I didn’t trust anyone not to steal it from my checked bag, which by the way is highway dang robbery to have to pay for a checked bag, so my wedding jewelry was in my carry on.

“nope, he says, that’s not it” really now, you have to be kidding…yes, I am so thinking this stuff!

Oooooookay……I think….

He opens my suitcase and starts pulling things out, including my dress to wear to the wedding which he, once it was all said and done, ended up WADDING up TWICE!!!!!

“nope, can’t find anything, will have to run it through the scanner again” Bottle neck is beginning to happen because mister brilliant is being incredibly investigative. Here is where a husband who knows you so well he can read all of your body language comes in handy and the only thing keeping me from smarting off to this bozo is the fact that I want so desperately to get to Florida to see Matt and Lindsay and I know if I get smart with this dude I will end up in handcuffs or some such thing (at least according to all the loudspeaker announcements and signs posted about how seriously they take comments of any sort!). John sort of lays his hand on my back.... okay, I get it...and I calm down.

“I’m gonna have to empty your suitcase ma’am” Okay, whatever! I don’t really care, just hurry the heck up!

He opens my suitcase and once again starts to empty it, digging around my wedding dress, lingerie for Lindsay (I was truly wishing he’d open it up, I would have loved to see his face) and all my other stuff. At the bottom of the suitcase was this bag of sand I had brought for Matt and Lindsay, that, I might add, had made it through security in Portland. He takes it out very carefully and looks at it like some kind of Einstein, then gets a kit from one of his work mates and proceeds to tap it with a piece of sticky paper and put chemicals on the paper to test it! By this time I am thinking two things; one, knock yourself out genius, its just sand. Two, geez I hope Aaron didn’t do any target shooting and touch those plastic bags with anything resembling gun powder!!!!! (okay, yes, my mind was doing crazy things about now and flying totally stresses me out)

Of course the bag was clean and we were on our way to our gate and to our final destination, New Orleans, where we waited for all the chicks to arrive before heading to Navarre Beach……That’s a whole nother story though! I must say before closing this blog….not very many things can ever beat walking behind your four adult children and their significant others who are laughing with such joy at being together, all talking at once and being so excited to see each other they just can’t be quiet! John and I walked behind them and as we watched them we looked at each other, smiled and said, “this feels so darn good….”

And then we had to go rent our cars!