I think we are REALLY lucky to have flown six planes in 10 days and not had one cancellation or delay. Don’t you?
We stayed our last night in Asheville at a BUDGET MOTEL, which really lived up to its name. I mean, there was really nothing wrong with it – there was a fridge and a microwave, a TV with a remote control and a king-size bed, but everything was just a little shabby. The shower didn’t drain very well, so you were standing in water by the time you finished.
The towels were so small you could barely cover yourself with them (I’m BIG on HUGE bath towels, so hotel/motel towels never make it for me).
I set the alarm for 9:00am and we snoozed a few times, since we really had nothing much to do this morning. We had repacked all the bags last night, so we just had to shower, dress, eat and return the rental car before our flight, which was at 11:55am.
We decided to eat our NUTRISYSTEM breakfast bars at the airport, so we drove to the airport (which was less than a mile from our motel), returned the rental car, checked Eric’s bag, and went to the restaurant, which consisted of a very small food court with a SUBWAY, a coffee place, and another food place that served fast food. We just got coffee, sat down and had our bars. Eric bought another book, since he had finished his other one yesterday. I bought ENTERTAINMENT magazine with Tina Fey on the cover. I love her!
We went through security, which was much easier since we put all our liquids and gels in the bag we checked. We still had to take off our shoes, take the GPS system, camera and lap top out of their cases and take out our cell phones, too. Eric had to completely unpack his backpack, because they are very curious about his bicycle pump, bicycle pedals, and bicycle tools. They really look like something you’d use if you were a terrorist, I know, so it makes perfect sense that they’d need to really examine them carefully. After they were finally done, we packed it all back up and headed to our gate.
Our flight was on a small plane, so we had to board on the runway, just like last time. We took off on time, but since it was a jet and not a propeller plane, it was in Atlanta in 30 minutes! Unbelievable! It felt like we just took off when we landed!
We had lunch at CHILI’S and then took the train from Concourse C to Concourse A where our next flight took off at 2:55pm. Again, we were very lucky it was on time. Eric read and I slept for the first half of the flight. Then, Eric slept a little and I read my magazine. Then, we both rented ear phones ($2 each) and watched TV until we landed. I watched a reality show I’ve never seen before – TOP CHEF on BRAVO. It was pretty good! That’s all I need – another reality show to watch. Like PROJECT RUNWAY, HELL’S KITCHEN, AMERICAN IDOL, DANCING WITH THE STARS, GIRLICIOUS, AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL and THE BIGGEST LOSER aren’t enough!
When we got to San Diego, we walked to the baggage claim. We haven’t checked a bag in YEARS, and we were so lucky that Eric’s bag and the little cart both arrived safely. Wheeee! We figured if they lost our clothes it wouldn’t be a big deal, since we didn’t need it for the vacation, so we took the chance and it actually worked out!
We took the shuttle home and were in the apartment by 5:30pm. We unpacked, organized the laundry for tomorrow (at least 4 loads) and then relaxed and watched TV. I tried to catch up on some of the shows I’ve missed. It was a lot of fun!
We had NUTRISYSTEM entrées for dinner and then I unpacked and set up the computer, went through my emails, and then unpacked all the receipts, maps and other memorabilia from our trip.
Oh – one thing I forgot to mention. While we were sitting in the shuttle on the way home my phone rang. It was ON CALL the agency I first went to last December – who didn’t get me my current job. They wanted to know what my work status was, because they have TWO potential jobs for me! I told them I’m not sure what my job status is, because I have to find out if they need me back at this long-term temp job I’ve been working for the past 10 weeks. I told her I would find out tomorrow, but that I’d be willing to go on interviews on Friday either way and would then decide what I want to do. I was SO excited, because I was a little worried about this job ending and now I figure I have a good chance to start another job right away!
Tomorrow I have a LOT of laundry to do. I also have to pick up the mail at the post office (I asked them to hold our mail for 10 days), and I need to do food shopping, because there’s absolutely nothing in the house but our NUTRISYSTEM entrées! Eric said he’d run all the errands with me, but I don’t know if I’ll really put him through all that! We’ll see how I feel tomorrow. I don’t know how or when, but my left elbow is killing me. I can’t even lift my drink without it hurting. My hand is finally 95% better and now my elbow really hurts. I don’t remember banging it or anything, but Eric said maybe I slept wrong. It even hurts as I’m typing this! Boo hoo!
It feels really good to be home. Eric and I are the biggest home bodies. We were both relieved to be back in the apartment, and glad that everything was fine while we were gone. We have a lot of thinking to do, but we’re not going to put any pressure on ourselves and I don’t even think we should discuss it for a week. Eric did say today that he really liked Charlotte, which I was happy about, because I did, too!