California Part 3

Saturday, May 20
After Mom’s dialysis, she and I went for more shopping. I also packed up the rest of the stuff I had bought the weekend before with her. I totally overpacked, but was determined to not bring the second suitcase. Laziness, I expect. To me it is easier to ship it to myself then lug it around the airport, taxi and drag it upstairs. I managed to pile the last of my crap into two boxes. I also packed in my birthday presents. We had some really good (but intense) talks. I do miss being able to hang out with my family. Talking with them on the phone just isn’t the same. She arranged a shuttle to pick me up for the airport Sunday morning at 3am.

Sunday, May 21
The shuttle came at 3am. Sigh. The driver was a local man, in his 60s. Been driving for the shuttle company for 3 years. We picked up three other people on the way to LAX. I was the second one dropped off. The flight to Newark was uneventful. I snoozed a bit and listened to my music. The batteries died somewhere over the mid-west. I chatted a bit with a couple of the people near me. The movie was something really dumb, so I didn’t pay too much attention to it. When we got to Newark, I had about an hour to kill before my flight to Burlington. When I got to the gate, they asked for volunteers to be bumped. I signed up just after another lady did. They came about 30 minutes later to tell me they didn’t need to bump me, but during my begging, the woman who they were going to take said she’d switch! So I got a dinner voucher and a $300 flight voucher!! The new flight wasn’t for about three and a half hours, so I went around to the food court for dinner. I had some mediocre Portuguese food with the voucher. I read a bit and went to find the new gate. At the new gate, I chatted with two mom/daughter sets who had just returned from some tropical cruise. They were so tan. Scarily so. The flight attendant made an announcement for volunteers again. I thought about it but was concerned about work. I submitted my name and called Tom to double check with him. He thought it would be okay. So, about a half hour later, the attendant came to me with the news. ANOTHER BUMP!! She told me to go to the customer service desk with the flight voucher and they would give me a hotel voucher. I met Elaine, who was also a volunteer bump. She was returning from a trip to St. Martin. She is about 60ish, skin like tanned leather from so many similar trips. She was a hoot. We decided to see if we were booked at the same hotel, which we were. Waiting for the shuttle to the hotel was about 30 other people. We piled into the shuttle, packed in like sardines. People were pushy and tired. Lots of babies and luggage. We arrived at the hotel where Elaine and I decided to meet up after we explored our rooms. She invited me over to share in some drinking. She had a bottle of rum that she got on her trip. We cracked it open and had a little. I am not big on rum (unless it is Malibu rum with Coke), but I tried it. We went to the bar/dining room for dinner. We had vouchers, so dinner was free. Ha! We chatted about her family, trip and my adventures. When I got back to my room, I washed my chonies and shirt in the sink and hung them up to dry. I couldn’t sleep, I was so tired. I think I stayed up until 1am.