I am generally blessed by the travel fairies. I have been ubber late for flights before and still made it onboard, I usually get a great seat, have been given free hotel rooms, dinners, upgrades, and free drinks. I really feel like I am blessed. Today it is a little harder for me to see it this way. I suppose I may still be blessed, perhaps some terrible calamity lay ahead, all these obstacles which I have experienced today could have been to protect me from some bigger travel folly.
I didn’t pack last night, my flight was later in the day today , so I made the uncharacteristic decision to pack the day of travel. I was ready more than an hour early. We went down to town for coffee and even spent some time chatting since we were way ahead of the game. With time to spare, and plans to use that spare time shoe shopping, we, Michael and I, headed for the border. One forgotten passport and an unexpectedly long border crossing wait meant I missed my flight, but would be put standby on the next flight. One colicky starter engine later, I sit at the airport with a ticket for a 7:10 flight tomorrow morning...sigh...where are you travel fairies? I took a cab to the airport, a 23 dollar expense in order to save myself 104 dollars. If you miss a flight Southwest Airlines will fly you standby on the next available flight so long as you show up within 2 hours of your scheduled departure time. I got here with 20 minutes to spare and am waiting to hear from Michael, who is in the parking lot of Huckleberry's (a natural foods grocery store) waiting for the darn car to start. We are going to meet back up soon, and find a place to stay, maybe with my friend Arika, who once told me “If you ever get stuck in Spokane.....”; we are stuck in Spokane. My friend KD was suppose to pick me up in Oakland, actually my plane is landing there as I type this. When I called her she informed me that today is Ekadasi, a day in Vedic astrology which is reputed to be a terrible time to travel. I will have to consult her in future when I book travel dates.
I do trust it all, you know the old “everything happens for a reason” mentality. I know this experience has lessons and opportunities, potential for growth. What I am wondering is do you think it is an opportunity to go stay at a swanky hotel, learn a lesson about great restaurants in Spokane and a growth opportunity in that I can eat a pint of ice cream while sitting in bed watching TV, try to put back on some of the weight I lost in the last month? If only I was still doing the indulgence commitment!
“Have you ever been on a trip that went very differently than it was planned?” is the question in 12 days journal #185
Oh yes! My last trip to Ottawa, a friend offered me a flat that wasn't being used to stay at. She knew I was trying to travel as cheaply as possible, and the flat would give me two free nights' worth of lodging, as well as a kitchenette to make my own meals so I wouldn't have to spend as much money on food while I was there.
ReplyDeleteLong story short, the flat was uninhabitable, shall we say? LOL. I ended up only spending one night in Ottawa, and the only place was that still had a room that night that wasn't a dive was over $100! BUT, it was posh...it was one of those suites they have for business folks who stay for extended periods of time, so my friend and I had a bedroom, each with our own BIG bed so we could sprawl out, a bathroom, a living room/dinette area, as well as a kitchen stocked with everything you could possibly need except for the food itself. It was gorgeous! And it had a balcony overlooking Ottawa...great place for smokes and/or coffee! I still cringe a little over the expense, but wow, it was gorgeous and we had a great night staying up chatting for most of it. LOL. I don't so much about indulgences, but there is something to be said for making the best of a wrench in the plans! LOL.