June 22, 2008

The Week of June 22-08
6/29/2008 6:52:26 PM


Chris & Patrick Off To Camp



Last Sunday I had to get Chris & Patrick up at 5:00 am and get over to Dulles for their flight to Chicago and long drive up to Camp Highlands for three weeks. I was pretty worried about Patrick. It's his first year - at 10 - and he's doesn't usually seek out social networks. If he finds them, fine, and he can be very friendly. But he doesn't need them. We were worried that he might get homesick. So I waited until I saw the plane take off before I left the airport.



VCU - Feels very odd just having Jamie and Nathan around. Jamie's gone alot anyway - and working at GEO Structures - and Nathan's always running around outside anyway. But on Wednesday the four of us drove down to Richmond for Jamie's fresman orientation at VCU. Dropped him off and ate in the dining hall. And wouldn't you know, Jamie finds the weirdest looking kid in the group - dreadlocks and piercing - to befriend. Nate, Marth and I drove around different part of Richmond and then checked in to the hotel. Watched Nathan swim in the pool -- all by ourselves. Then a whole swarm of kids move onto our floor, crowd the hallways and make a racket - forcing us to complain three times to management. Next morning, we eat at Denny's and head to the school......


The Trip From Hell

I needed to be up in Neward for an LLS Board meeting on Thursday morning. So the plan was that driving back from Richmond, Martha would just drop me off at National. Of course, just before this she asked me how I planned on getting home on Saturday night......and I had to confess; I hadn't quite thought that far ahead. But on leaving Richmond with the three of them asleep and did some quick calculations on the clock and figured I could make it all the way back to P'Ville; drop them off, hop in my car and make it down to National in time for the 9:00 flight. Traffic was light and everything worked perfectly. I checked my bag....but was told the flight was delayed until 10:20. So I went to get something to eat. When I came back at 9:40, the Security lines were closed down!! So there was no way I could even get to my flight -- and no one left at the Continental counter! I noticed there was a 7:00 am flight up there. Now, I would have stayed at my office; but they had my bag, so the only alternative was to drive al the way back to P'Ville, sleep for a few hours and get up in time to drive all the way to National AGAIN in time to catch the 7:00 flight.


Fortunately, that all worked. The meetings (new BOD orientations and SLC meetings) went fine and I walked over to the terminals after lunch to retrieve my bag -- which fortunately had come up the night before.


Saturday; there's a Board presentation that starts about 9:30 and the whole meeting goes until about 3:00. I have a 5:00 flight scheduled and get a lift from a colleague over to the terminal. The odyssey begins. First, I find my flight is cancelled. But there's another at 7:15. When I get to the head of the line, I find that there are no seats on that plane - or any other flights to National (where my car is). They've booked me on a flight at 11:00 the next morning. So I have to find a place to stay. I heave my bags on my shoulders and slog back across the parking lots to the Marriott that I've just checked out of, dripping from the 90+ heat. They inform me they have no rooms and recommend I take the shuttle over to the parking lot where there are phones for the other hotels. After getting over there, and making some calls, I find out that NONE of the hotels have rooms. So I resolve to go back to the ticket counter and see if there are flights to ANYWHERE in DC -- Dulles or BWI and I'll worry about my car later. I stopped in the "C" terminal first - Continental's main center - but the lines were so long it would take hours. So got back on the "AirTrain" and went to Terminal A, where I started. While making my way over, I figured if all else fails, I could get on the train, go into Manhattan, take a cab to LaGuradia and pay for a Shuttle flight down to National. Expensive, but I'm getting a bit desparate - so screw the cost. But as I get to the counter it occurs to me that if I can take th train to Manhattan, maybe I can get Amtrak down to D.C., then hop the Metro over to National (?!) It turned out that the ticket agent not only knew the next Amtrak train....but was able to change my ticket for Amtrak, without any extra cost. Back on the AirTrain to the RAILLink just in time and a much better way to get home....and probably still earlier that if I'd gotten on a later flight. Though there was a wicked thunderstorm raging when I got to National and my car. Through the whole event I stayed remarkably even-keeled. A little frustration and aggravation crept in, but I figured that somehow, I'd figure it out. And I think that sense of calm eventually got me to realize the Amtrak alternative....though it should have occured to me earlier.

And when I finally go home, Betsy and Alison were here visiting.....