a travel day...

so today . . . we flew to portland. for christmas :)

we have never flown to portland for christmas before. usually we drive. even though we moved to southern california, which is about a 17 hour drive away, still we drive.

but this year, because of some last minute scheduling issues, we realized that we were either going to spend most of our vacation riding in the car, or we needed to get on a plane...

so i spent last saturday on the internet, trying to find a flight that would work with our time schedule, had three seats available, and didn't require us to sell a car in order to purchase the tickets! considering that it was just a week before christmas, this proved to be an almost impossible task, but finally, southwest airlines came to our rescue.

we got tickets. but that was just the first of several problems... the next problem was packing. because when we drive, we drive our suv which has lots and lots of room. and we take way more stuff than we need. and we have plenty of room for bulky presents. and we take lots of snacks (because we are in the car for 17 hours!) but when we fly, we have limited space.

do you remember what i bought my nephew for christmas?

yes, this was going to be a problem. probably the decision to drive or fly should really be made before any of the shopping is done. because if flying is going to be the mode of transportation chosen, we either need to buy small gifts (dvds for everyone!) or shop online and have everything delivered to my mom's house (thus requiring her to stay withing 50 feet of her front door for a month, just in case something has to be signed for...)

and then there is the issue of boots and coats. in southern california, we wear boots and coats for fashion. but when traveling to the north, boots and coats become a necessity if we don't want to turn into popsicles. and so packing becomes a battle. we are conditioned to think, "these boots go with this outfit, and these other boots go with this other outfit..." and pretty soon we are looking at taking five different pairs of boots for a week long trip. which is ridiculous. especially since we also have to make room in our suitcase for a warm coat. and five scarves.

i managed to narrow it down to only two pairs of boots. but the turtle pillow pet still had to fly to portland in rollie's bag...

this morning we arrived at the airport, checked our luggage, and headed to security. let me just say, security is a whole different ball game than it was last summer. we took off our coats and shoes first, which seemed reasonable to me. and then the tsa agent said to diandra, "do you have a shirt on under that sweatshirt?" i thought that was a little personal, but they told her she either had to take off the sweatshirt or get patted down. she took off the sweatshirt.

then it was my turn. they made me take off my extra sweater AND the scarf around my neck. really? what could i possibly hide in my scarf?!?!? i guess i am not creative enough to be a terrorist, since i couldn't think of a thing... but apparently this was not obvious to the tsa agents. i made it through the scanner without incident, but my carry-on bag did not. "they have to search your bag," diandra said. "ok," i said. i wasn't worried. i figured i was just passenger number 25 or something. but that tsa agent opened my bag and went into it like he had a treasure map! he held up my brand new bottle of hand lotion--the new bottle of lotion i had just received from one of my students as a christmas gift. "this exceeds the acceptable limits for liquids," he said. i couldn't believe it! he was going to confiscate my brand new bottle of lotion! i said, "but i just got that!" "do you have any checked luggage," he asked? "you could put it in there." well yes, of course i have checked luggage! it is christmas! i am traveling to oregon, where the high temperatures in the next week might not exceed 60 degrees!! i had to pack boots and coats and sweaters! and christmas gifts!!!! besides, that wasn't going to help me--my checked bag was probably already on it's way to the airplane...

i had no other option than to say good-bye to the lotion and be glad they weren't confiscating my apple bread...

we still had a couple of hours to kill before our flight left. we went to our terminal, laid claim to a couple of chairs, and then rollie and diandra went off in search of food. i tried to sleep. i had only slept two and a half hours the night before, so i put my purse in my lap, my feet on my carry-on bag, my other arm through rollie's back pack, and used his coat for a pillow. no one was going to walk off with our stuff, even if i fell asleep!

i didn't fall asleep.

i was soooo tired, but sleep just would not come. maybe it was the incessant security announcements ("don't leave your stuff unattended, blah, blah, blah...") maybe it was the crush of people trying (some with limited success--there were a lot of delayed flights) to get home for christmas. maybe it was the hunger signals my stomach started sending me right after rollie and diandra left. maybe it was my brain, which would not shut up!!! maybe it was all of the above. but my nap never materialized...

when diandra and rollie came back to guard the stuff, i went for food. i almost stopped at mcdonald's. but, being me, i had to see all the options before i made a choice. so i walked clear to the other end of the terminal. back past security. and there was my favorite tsa agent. with my lotion. he was tossing it up into the air and catching it. tossing it up into the air and catching it. tossing it up into the air and catching it. over and over again.

clearly, it was not a bomb...

it was quite a day.

our plane was late.

our luggage was wet.

our flight attendant was bald. (but it's ok, because he had a selection of hats--santa hat, reindeer antlers, and a lighted christmas tree with micky mouse santa ornaments--yes, he wore that on his head!)

but we made it home safely. and quickly.

and the good news is, at least in portland, it wasn't raining...