adventures!

Good Morning Company Girls....and a lovely morning it is here in southern Ontario....the sun is shining, a gentle breeze is blowing...the kids have been off to school for awhile so the house is very quiet....just me and the dogs, who are lying sleeping at my feet...I hear the mourning doves making their 'hooing' noise outside and a Canada geese flock chattering away in the distance as they fly up to the pond under the escarpment....yes, so far it's a peaceful morning...but then again it's only 8 a.m.!

Last I spoke to you I was in Florida, waiting on hubby working his last morning at the office there before we headed back up to Canada late in the afternoon....we got to the airport quite early...we had to check out by one-thirty...we went to the Hollywood beach and walked along the cobbled pathway til we came to a restaurant that appealed to both of us and we sat outside and had a sandwich before we continued on to the airport....it was one of those time situations...not enough time to drive anywhere else and do anything but a little too early to go to the airport....but it started raining at the beach so off to the airport we went. We were pleased that the security line up wasn't long at all and we waltzed right through quite speedily....take off the shoes, take off the jacket, take out the iPad and put it in a separate bin....put the carry on case in another bin....walk towards the metal detector...the unsmiling, bored TSA agent looked at me and with a flick of his finger, motioned towards the full body scan,..I scooted closer to him and indicated with my bent hands and arms that I can't lift them over my head so he allowed me just to do the walk thru of the older scans....back on the other side..gather your belongings, get your shoes on...get your jacket, put the iPad away...stow the passport and boarding pass back in the case....done and done...til we get home...or so I thot......

after we found our gate and made ourselves comfortable....hubby went for a walk, while i guarded our belongings (which you are always reminded to do, right...never leave them unattended the recording is always telling you...but you choose to block out after the umpteenth time of hearing it) and when he came back, I followed suit........i meandered around for awhile....the flight from Ft. Lauderdale to La Guardia was the longer leg of our journey so I thot walking around would be a good thing to do....I was in one of the shops, directly across the aisle from the security screening, when I noticed a kerfluffle going on...some big guy in a suit was talking on a phone to someone and saying about a substance being released in the area....didn't know if it was tear gas or pepper spray, but he was advising somebody that some TSA workers were having respiratory problems...I did hear someone, coughing up a lung somewhere close by....

so, I went back to hubby and said..I think there's something going on in the security area, and relayed what I had heard....we didn't think much more about it til at least a half and hour later this high pitched noise starts repeatedly going off...everyone is looking at each other wondering what the pete is going on...the TSA person behind the check in counter starts telling everybody to evacuate...some people started moving and others just looked at her and ignored her...several security people then showed up and said get out, head to an exit...so we did...herding off like a bunch of cattle, down the wide hallway...not really knowing where we were going...a sheriff came along and herded us to a different exit...while doing so, another TSA person comes along, pushing someone in a wheel chair, and is telling everyone to cover their mouths....good grief...this was getting serious....hubby and I became separated in the crowd which caused me some angst...it happens so easily when your toe to heel with so many people trying to escape...

it turns out that we were being sent to an exit, which was a gate...where the airplanes come in...down on the tarmac....there we waited for two hours....nobody could really tell us what was going on...when they finally let us back in the terminal, it was long past our flight time...which we weren't too worried about because our flight hadn't been allowed to leave....unfortunately, because they let us back in thru the baggage claim area , they said we'd have to be security screened again before we could go to our gate..

this time there were hundreds of people, converging on this one little security area...they brought more TSA people in to handle the load....but there it is...go thru it all again...shoes, jacket, iPad, metal detector...put everything back on..hurry to our gate...get on the waiting plane.....three hours late from our original departure time....

we were glad to get on the plane and get going....unfortunately, our connecting flight at La Guardia for Buffalo had already left...when we arrived in New York...wow, the lights at 11 p.m., flying in low over the top of the city were amazing!.....when we deplaned...well, New York wasn't so amazing....well, the terminal we were at, anyways.....everything was closed up, tighter than a drum...the gate keeper said we were booked on a flight for the next afternoon...AFTERNOON!....it was 11 p.m.!....I asked if there was anything sooner (it was a holiday weekend in Canada last weekend and our van was sitting in a car dealership in Oakville, (about a half hours drive from our house....our house is about an hour and a bit drive from Buffalo airport)...it had been having work done on it while we were away and if we didn't get it on Saturday than we wouldn't get it til the following Tuesday, after the holiday! Good grief....so...the agent got us on an 8:45a.m. flight the next morning....meanwhile, all the hotels close to the airport were booked up...they could have put us at a not so nice sounding hotel by JFK airport, and then rerouted us departing from JFK in the morning...but hubby decided we should just stay at the airport....

Thus started the night of the longest night ever.....we were sent down to baggage claim to get our checked piece..trouble is, once you leave arrival/departure..which was nicer than baggage claim...you can't go back...til you GO THRU SECURITY AGAIN...which of course was all closed up for the night....my suitcase wasn't in baggage claim...course not...it was going to Buffalo! So we were stuck in baggage claim...it was not a nice place...the carpets were dirty, the walls bare, the cushions on the chairs, which were few, were split and some taped over, they had metal handrails between each seat area, so you couldn't even lie down...there weren't even any vending machines, so you couldn't even get a chocolate bar, a bag of chips or something to drink...hubby and i hadn't had anything to eat since lunch time..and no promise of food or even water til the next morning...now, myself...I can stand to lose a few pounds but hubby hasn't been well...he's been losing weight this past month and really couldn't afford to lose more....

Do you know that even though NOBODY but a handful of us, who were stranded in La Guardia there, in the baggage claim area...that they still have those stupid recordings going off at timed intervals telling you to watch your bags..or the other one was to be careful about which bag you picked up off the carousel because so many bags look alike...ALL NIGHT LONG...so even if you were able to contort your body on the difficult chairs to get any rest....well, the recordings woke you with a jolt...they're REALLY loud when the terminal is empty...and the terminal also gets very cold when there aren't a lot of people around to warm it up...

Around 4 a.m., I went for another walk...this one to try and get warm thru movement...I went up on the floor above, where the check in was...I saw a TSA guy by the closed up security area and asked...'when does the security area open'? He said around 4:30...so I quickly went down...got hubby,...gathered up our stuff and we got in line for another security check. Security check meant arrivals/departures lounge, security check meant food and water...per chance a cup of tea,,,,

went thru security again...you know the drill....and then sat and waited for the food services to open at 5 a.m. We didn't need fast food McDonalds at this point so we went to one of the restaurants...a little pricey but justified that it was supper and breakfast and enjoyed it....

After that we went to our gate and hubby dozed til it was time to board....
I'm not a big Buffalo fan but I was very glad to see it come into view from the plane...we quickly got my checked bag, which I was thrilled had made it to Buffalo...(it had my quilt in that I had been working on!)....found our car in the parking area and quickly drove over the border...all the way to Oakville (going past our house to do so) picked up our van...headed home...and collapsed....I don't think we left the surface of our bed all afternoon....

It was an adventure to remember, that's for sure!

On the home front...Maya started college this past week...I think I told you...it's a 6 month course for a personal support worker....so far it's been quite hectic for her....leaving at 6:15am to catch the bus...school all morning, taking the bus home, going to work at the coffee shop til 9 and 10 pm....long days...good thing she's young!

Emma's still saying she's pregnant, so maybe she really is...

Hubby's test results came back and the ultrasound showed Inflammatory bowel disease...not nice but at least you can work with it...next is a cat scan scheduled to get a better look I guess...after a month of him being sick, I will admit that we're kind of relieved to have some kind of diagnosis...

So, that's been what's happening in our life at the moment....take care...and have a good weekend!

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