Olive blocked me from packing on my way out of town.
Whenever I get my suitcase out, Olive jumps in. She does’t like it when I’m gone. Usually it means she gets boarded. When we left for a week at Christmas, we took her to a new boarding place. The one she had been to before and was kind of used to went out of business. The last place was brand new and had three-story cat condos with holes to climb through to the different levels. The top floor had a TV.
Olive freaked out. I got calls that she wasn’t eating, drinking water which meant her other bodily functions weren’t happening.
Eventually they moved her into a storage closet, away from the other cats. That settled her down.
In Olive’s mind, when the suitcase comes out, something bad will happen.
Olive wasn’t taking any chances. She slept in the suitcase for hours.
Today I’m headed home to my husband and Olive. Thank you for helping me through my week!
This photo is from last year’s Christmas in Santa Barbara.
This afternoon we check into our Palm Springs VRBO to celebrate Christmas with our two kids and our son’s girlfriend’s family. Also, my dad who is turning 91 in a few weeks lives close by. We’re going to be a smaller group this year due to two sisters in Europe and the mother not well enough to make the trip from the Bay Area. One daughter is staying home with her. All in all, with those not coming, we’re down five people. So our party of 12 is now seven.
Merry Christmas!
Who are you spending Christmas or Hanukkah with this year?
My daughter’s pug Waffles at Bette’s Oceanview Diner. Bette’s is another must.Our amazing airbnb complete with sauna and ping pong table. The ping pong was nonstop with our kids.My son hanging out in the ridiculous luxe bathroom in the airbnb. I could write a full post about this place.Down the street from the airbnb. Gorgeous neighborhood and morning glories.
Our son found the airbnb for us. It was half the price of a tiny hotel room. I can’t wait to come back. It’s the bottom floor of a two-story house in a gorgeous neighborhood and only one mile from where our kids live.
I haven’t been a fan of the Bay Area. I don’t like the homeless, the damp, the filth that one thinks of when visiting San Francisco. Fortunately, I didn’t see any of that the entire weekend. Only when we’d drive, I’d see the homeless encampments along the freeway and under overpasses. The problems exist, but not where we stayed. I think that’s part of the problem, the people who are in charge aren’t adversely affected and can look the other way.
I do want to go back. The weather, food, the airbnb and of course hanging out with our family was amazing. My view of the Bay Area has changed for the better. I can kind of understand why my kids want to live there.
What places have you visited that you never want to go back? Where are your favorite places to visit?
I can’t seem to get a grip on today. I arrived home yesterday afternoon from visiting my kids and taking care of my son. I felt exhausted from nonstop people, travel, and a sense of urgency in doing whatever I could to help out in my son’s household.
I slept soundly. I didn’t need to get up and trek to my son’s house in the early morning hours and cook his oatmeal. But today, I feel out of sorts. I have lots of pesky chores to do. Phone calls to make. Trying to get re-established in my normal routine.
I feel haphazard. I flit from one task to another, never quite completing what I had set out to do. It’s like my head is spinning, looking for that purpose I had during the past seven days, taking care of my son. Being mom. Spending time with my daughter.
The kitty welcomed me back and wanted lots of attention. My husband is thrilled to have me to talk to. But my body and soul don’t feel grounded today. I feel out of sorts and unable to feel ready for my normal routine. I think I’m still tired. I could use a day to laze around, reading a good book
Olive asleep on her cat grass doesn’t need me the way my kids did.
Have you ever felt out of sorts after traveling? Do you take time to recover from a tiring trip, or do you dive right in on your to do list? How do you best transition from travel to every day life?
Visiting Salt Lake City means I get to see Waffles, my daughter’s pug.
This past weekend, it dawned on me why I hate to travel. It all began with a too early flight from Palm Springs to Salt Lake City. When I have to get up earlier than normal, I tend to wake up every hour to check the clock. So, by the time I got to the airport, I was already tired and wondered how I’d make it through the day.
Online when I checked in 24 hours before our flight, Delta told us we’d get our seat assignments at the gate. Well, my husband got a seat, but they wouldn’t give me one. I’d been “bumped.” They said I could “volunteer” to give my seat up but I refused. My only hope was that someone wouldn’t show up or would volunteer to give up their seat on the overbooked fight. I was asked to sign a waiver that said I had refused to volunteer and I was giving up any compensation if I didn’t get on the flight.
At the last minute, someone took a $600 voucher to travel to Ontario and take a later flight, so I did get on the plane. It was a stressful way to start a long day, however! Since I had purchased our tickets more than seven weeks earlier, I wondered why I was the one to get bumped? A woman working at the gate said I must be “non-rev.” I found out non-rev is someone who didn’t pay for their ticket and they’re flying on a friends or family free ticket. That was NOT me. I paid full price.
The weekend was so much fun and I wrote all the wonderful details about it here.
Utah with my girl.
But then the problems began on the trip home when we returned the car to an offsite car rental place, Fox, which we have raved about for the past three years. We’ve never experienced anything but the best service from them. But, on Sunday night they had one employee to check in returns and check out cars to lines of waiting people. We all seemed to pull into the Fox lot at once and we all needed to get to the airport, pronto!
We had to wait and were about 10th in line returning our car and missed a shuttle driving back and forth to the airport. They had two shuttles parked in the lot, but apparently only one driver on duty. So, I was stressed again and anxious if we’d make our flight while waiting for the shuttle to return from the airport.
At the airport, finally, I was pleased that we were pre-check. I sailed through the short line and noticed Bill wasn’t behind me. They wouldn’t let him through, and unbeknownst to him, his driver’s license had expired. After a full body search—and I mean FULL—the TSA agents went through his suitcase and laptop. Then they ran strip tests to determine that there weren’t any bomb-making ingredients on him or his stuff.
Bill kept telling me to get to the plane and that he’d be fine. I refused to leave him in Salt Lake City without knowing what was going to happen to him.
Together, we made it to our gate where our flight’s boarding thankfully was delayed by 30 minutes. We made it on the plane and the plane pulled away from the gate. Then we sat and sat and sat. The pilot made an announcement that an outside sensor wasn’t working and we’d be waiting until a further decision was made. Bill and I burst out laughing. What else could we do? The plane made it’s way back to the gate and we sat some more.
Thirty minutes later we were escorted off the plane to another gate. This time the plane was working and we made it home.
I love visiting family and friends, but I do not like to travel. What experiences have you had with travel that you’d like to share?
I love these two. It was worth the headache of travel.
