2014--Day 9
Day 9
After a late night, it turned into a late morning (per usual). Today signals my departure. After navigating the crowd of lady Lutherans gathered for a conference, Gustavo and I enjoyed a quick repast at a chain known widely for its freakishly fast service, where I employed my skills as an Italian grandmother, sneaking chips onto Gus' plate (yes, onto his plate). Then It was back in the car heading down familiar roads to Denver International Airport, the shortest drive of the entire trip.
I was treated to a modest surprise when I reached the security line, which is often miles long. Ignoring my caftan and improvised explosives, the TSA agent directed me to the pre-check line, where for the first time since 9/11 I didn't have to disrobe, deshoe, or unpack. It was the single best airport experience I've had in 13 years. Now to buy a lottery ticket....
While taxiing in Denver, I noticed some rather impressive thunderstorms to the north. Fortunately they stayed where they were and allowed us to take off on time. Still, quite a sight. I wondered if my partner was chasing them. (He wasn't.) As it turned out, he was meeting some friends in the area. One of the people in the crowd was one of my former students, Dan Adriaansen. Oddly enough, Dan was in the audience when Gustavo gave his presentation during his Brockport interview in 2007. It's a frighteningly small world.
A while later, we landed in America's oven, known to most others as Phoenix, where the temperature was 'only' 106 F--an absolute arctic outbreak. It was the first time that I'd heard a pilot ask for the window shades to be lowered after landing. Can't imagine how much difference it really made, with numerous gaping holes in the aircraft, but I guess it does help a bit, even if it is just psychological.
I thought I had a good boarding number (B13), but Southwest has this policy of allowing families with small children between boarding groups A and B. It was like the last helicopter out of Saigon, and I was still down in the embassy (or at least its daycare center). Still managed to snag a window seat, but wound up with a young boy of maybe 8 or 9 next to me. While this is not usually a problem (he was generally quiet), he had no concept of personal space or sitting still. If he puts his knee (or the sole of his shoe) on me just one more time, I'm calling a penalty. Of course, this doesn't include all the other restless wee ones...thank the good Lord (and Bose) for noise-canceling headphones. (Of course, as I write this, one of the less happy infants has reached the perfect combination of pitch and volume that is incising through them perfectly.)
While we were near Manhattan, KS, I opened the window shade on the plane's port side to witness a very flat anvil to our north, with rather frequent lightning strokes underneath. While I couldn't judge the distance, it seemed pretty far, as the lightning bolts were fairly small. They had a way of illuminating the structure beautifully, and you could practically iron clothes on the anvil, it was so flat. What a wonderful illustration of the concept of the equilibrium level. The clear dark blue skies above the anvil was sublime. Unfortunately, I was unable to get a picture of this. You'll have to couple my words with your imagination. I thought the lightning shows we saw in the car were spectacular; this was something else entirely.
After roughly four hours in the air, we landed in Buffalo. The Bataan-like march off the plane ensued, and I was reunited with my bride and son at baggage claim. The day ended around 3:00 am eastern time, when at long last I crawled into my own bed.
To sum up, we traveled 3,752 miles across five states (Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa) in eight days of chasing, not including the modest travel today. Shorter by previous chase standards, yes, but still a success in our eyes. I hope you enjoyed reading this. See you next time!
After a late night, it turned into a late morning (per usual). Today signals my departure. After navigating the crowd of lady Lutherans gathered for a conference, Gustavo and I enjoyed a quick repast at a chain known widely for its freakishly fast service, where I employed my skills as an Italian grandmother, sneaking chips onto Gus' plate (yes, onto his plate). Then It was back in the car heading down familiar roads to Denver International Airport, the shortest drive of the entire trip.
I was treated to a modest surprise when I reached the security line, which is often miles long. Ignoring my caftan and improvised explosives, the TSA agent directed me to the pre-check line, where for the first time since 9/11 I didn't have to disrobe, deshoe, or unpack. It was the single best airport experience I've had in 13 years. Now to buy a lottery ticket....
While taxiing in Denver, I noticed some rather impressive thunderstorms to the north. Fortunately they stayed where they were and allowed us to take off on time. Still, quite a sight. I wondered if my partner was chasing them. (He wasn't.) As it turned out, he was meeting some friends in the area. One of the people in the crowd was one of my former students, Dan Adriaansen. Oddly enough, Dan was in the audience when Gustavo gave his presentation during his Brockport interview in 2007. It's a frighteningly small world.
 |
| Perfect timing... |
A while later, we landed in America's oven, known to most others as Phoenix, where the temperature was 'only' 106 F--an absolute arctic outbreak. It was the first time that I'd heard a pilot ask for the window shades to be lowered after landing. Can't imagine how much difference it really made, with numerous gaping holes in the aircraft, but I guess it does help a bit, even if it is just psychological.
I thought I had a good boarding number (B13), but Southwest has this policy of allowing families with small children between boarding groups A and B. It was like the last helicopter out of Saigon, and I was still down in the embassy (or at least its daycare center). Still managed to snag a window seat, but wound up with a young boy of maybe 8 or 9 next to me. While this is not usually a problem (he was generally quiet), he had no concept of personal space or sitting still. If he puts his knee (or the sole of his shoe) on me just one more time, I'm calling a penalty. Of course, this doesn't include all the other restless wee ones...thank the good Lord (and Bose) for noise-canceling headphones. (Of course, as I write this, one of the less happy infants has reached the perfect combination of pitch and volume that is incising through them perfectly.)
While we were near Manhattan, KS, I opened the window shade on the plane's port side to witness a very flat anvil to our north, with rather frequent lightning strokes underneath. While I couldn't judge the distance, it seemed pretty far, as the lightning bolts were fairly small. They had a way of illuminating the structure beautifully, and you could practically iron clothes on the anvil, it was so flat. What a wonderful illustration of the concept of the equilibrium level. The clear dark blue skies above the anvil was sublime. Unfortunately, I was unable to get a picture of this. You'll have to couple my words with your imagination. I thought the lightning shows we saw in the car were spectacular; this was something else entirely.
After roughly four hours in the air, we landed in Buffalo. The Bataan-like march off the plane ensued, and I was reunited with my bride and son at baggage claim. The day ended around 3:00 am eastern time, when at long last I crawled into my own bed.
To sum up, we traveled 3,752 miles across five states (Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa) in eight days of chasing, not including the modest travel today. Shorter by previous chase standards, yes, but still a success in our eyes. I hope you enjoyed reading this. See you next time!
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home