What a long, strange trip it's been

I made it, but what a long, strange trip it's been.

I departed Sherwood, Oregon at 3:15 AM for Portland Airport. My flight departed at 5:30 AM to Minneapolis, Minnesota. My Mapquest directions to the off-site airport parking were wrong! I had no clue where the AirPark was. Luckily I had printed out my receipt and called them for directions. That put me about 15 minutes behind schedule. I raced to check in and to the gate. They had just begun boarding. Phew! I didn't miss my flight.

On the flight I was lucky to be in a row with only one other person so we had extra space to lounge and relax. I was half sleeping when I felt someone touching my head. I looked up and there was an older gentleman in his mid 60's and he was swaying back and forth. At first I thought he was drunk but then I started getting really worried that he was having a heart attack or stroke. I said, "Sir. Are you alright? Sir?" He didn't respond and he was white as a ghost. A guy standing next to him turned around and helped me catch the guy and sit him in the extra seat by me. The flight attendants grabbed the oxygen and some cold, wet towels and the guy started to get some color back. His brother, sister and other travel companions came back to check on him and take pictures of me and him. They teased him that he just wanted to sit by a pretty lady! It turns out he was not having a stroke or heart attack but he was borderline diabetic and hadn't eaten yet. I luckily had a Lara bar and we sat and chatted while he ate it and drank some water.

The rest of the flight went fine. My mom was at the Minneapolis Airport to pick me up. We were chatting and having so much fun that she failed to notice we were low on gas. The fuel light came on and we were in the middle of nowhere Minnesota. That means no cities and no gas stations.

I knew that there was a gas station down the road in Nodine, MN so we pulled in there, but guess what? It was getting remodeled! So we continued to drive on. We were about 3 miles from the Wisconsin border and a gas station when we ran out of gas. We started laughing but knew Dad was going to be mad.

A quick call to AAA and we patiently waited on the side of the interstate. A Minnesota cop stopped by to say hello and make sure we were okay. It was 12 degrees out so we just bundled up and waited. Over an hour later AAA came and poured some gas in so we could continue on our adventure home.

I was welcomed home by my nephews, Jamison and Sebastian. It has been 8 months since I have been home. I am happy to be home, to see my family and friends and to rest up.

I am off to Chicago tomorrow to meet up and have dinner with my girlfriends at Tango Sur. It is a BYOB restaurant as most Chicago restaurants are. Of course I have brought a couple bottles of Willamette Valley Vineyards Pinot Noir (Tualatin Estate and Signature Cuvee) to share.

Night.