Trips & travel: August 2007 Archives

I'm finally home and I am absolutely EXHAUSTED from all the travel....here are the highlights:

Pittsburgh, PA: The trip started off a little rocky - I missed my flight to Pittsburgh on Wednesday and had to catch a red-eye that arrived Thursday morning at 6am. It took 2 hours to get my luggage and a cab downtown, so I ended up changing in the hotel bathroom for my 9am meeting. I had a break for lunch (which was still 9am Pacific Time so I wasn't hungry) and then another meeting that afternoon. I stopped back at the hotel (at which I never did end up getting a room) for about 30 seconds to grab my bags and then had to rush to get back to the airport for a 6pm flight.>

I arrived at my gate to see a huge line of disgruntled passengers and worried there was a flight delay. I asked around and learned that the flight was oversold by 23 seats and not everyone would be getting on. I counted and realized there were 25 people in line ahead of me. I started calling around to figure out how I was going to make it home since it was the last flight out of Pittsburgh to Boise where my ride was waiting. I had almost convinced my friend Steve to wait for me in Portland for 5 hours while I tried another flight when the agent called my name. What was this? What was she holding? A boarding pass? It couldn't be! Me! I got on the flight! I tried not to gloat while I walked past the other 25 people but who cares? I made it on the flight! I connected through Chicago and made it to Boise where Tara picked me up and we drove home to Wallowa.

Wallowa, OR: Tara and I got home late on Thursday so we called it a night and got up Friday morning to meet our friend Bethany at Wallowa Lake. She and her fiance Dave brought their boat and took us out wake-boarding. Don't ask if I went wake-boarding, I think you probably already know the answer.

Friday night we had dinner with Beth and Dave, and then went to the Thunder Room (it's a large warehouse style building full of drunk cowboys looking for fights and drunk cowgirls looking for cowboys).

Saturday night I joined my Mom and her husband Joe for the rodeo with my nephew - he had a great time, once he woke up!

Portland, OR: After being home for several days it was time to start heading back. One of the less desirable things about living in such a rural area is proximity (or lack thereof) to airports. I needed to find a way to Portland, which is where my flight left from on Saturday. Because I had waited too long to make these arrangements, everyone who was already going that direction had left and I had no way to get there.

The worst possible scenario began to play out in real life - I found myself logging on to the computer and typing in the letters: w-w-w-.-g-r-e-y-h-o-u-n-....I'll let you fill in the rest. Yes, that's right, I was forced to buy a bus ticket from La Grande to Portland. I think I threw up in my mouth a little bit as I clicked "purchase." I printed the confirmation for my bus which left from La Grande at midnight - the beginning of a really un-funny joke. My mom and I sat at the bus stop for over an hour, convinced I had missed the bus. You see, there is no website or hotline to call and get updates on delayed buses.

I am not kidding, we waited there until 3:00am. We couldn't go to sleep since they don't keep records of how many passengers to pick up and if you miss the stop you're S-O-L so to speak. Finally, we called the previous stop to see when the bus left - perhaps the driver had just decided not to stop? No - the Baker City truck stop operator gave us the news there had been a break down and the bus had just left 20 minutes earlier. At 3:30am I boarded the bus in tears - I was frustrated and tired and worried all at the same time and it just got to be too much.

This wasn't my first Greyhound trip - I used to take the bus from Missoula, MT to Lewiston, ID when I was a freshman in college and didn't have a car. That, however, was an entirely different route full of mostly senior citizens who wanted to go to the Indian casinos but were afraid to drive on winter roads. This bus was full of all of society's rejects. That is what happens, you get kicked out of normal society for various reasons - some examples on this trip were: smelling too bad, having too few teeth, too long of a rap sheet, or too low of an IQ. Anyway, they get kicked out and then they all get on the Greyhound and make friends with each other and start their own little club of people that no one else wants to associate with: especially me.

Despite this being an overnight trip, these freaks weren't tired. I brought a little pillow and blanket, my iPod, and a sleeping mask - I should have brought air freshener, a gas mask, and a lot of hallucinogenic drugs. I couldn't tune them out - the conversation was something like:
Woman: You know how I know President Bush is doin' a durn good job?
Man: No he ain't
Woman: He damn sure is cuz he's gon' bring dem boys home 'fore you know it. You mark ma words, y'hear - we're gon' win this damn war and get all them terrists outta this country and all them other ones too
Man: He's stupid an I ain't votin' for him next time, I tell you what.

I'm not kidding. I wish I were. Next time I'll walk.

Lincoln City, OR:Once the nightmare bus trip was over, Tom picked me up at the airport and we went back to his and Jeff's apartment. I showered to get the Greyhound nastiness off of me, and then we all headed to Jeff's beach house in Lincoln City. I wish I could have stayed more than one night, but it was fun. I left in the morning to go to Portland and fly back to San Francisco for about 8 hours before catching a flight for Chicago for KPMG training.

Chicago, IL: When I woke up Saturday morning I was feeling sick but figured that was a result of celebrating with friends I hadn't seen in a while by shot-gunning beers. I got back to San Francisco late Saturday night still feeling crumby but was hoping to wake up refreshed and ready to catch a flight to Chicago. Nope. I was still very sick, I don't know if you've ever flown with a cold but it's easily one of the least favorite experiences I can remember having.

Despite being a sick all week, I managed to drag myself out for what training is all about - social networking. Chicago was incredibly hot and sticky - but also very fun. Last time I was there it was early spring and the weather was perfect - if I ever go again I'll try and time it better.

Bigfork, MT On the way back from Chicago I made a quick stop in Montana for Kim and Brett's wedding. I flew into Kalispell Friday night and Brad and I went out in Whitefish. Saturday was the wedding (which was absolutely beautiful) in Bigfork followed by a reception on Flathead Lake. Brad and I went out to the Garden Bar afterward for some fun and dancing, and then I headed home on Sunday for a much needed rest.