December 2014 will go down in my personal history as the most-traveled month of my life. Someday, I’ll have to add up the miles. I flew to Portland, Oregon; Port of Spain, Trinidad; and Los Angeles, California, and drove to State College, Pennsylvania, with a stop in York on the way back. Those are some diverse places! It was cold in Pennsylvania and hot in Trinidad, and both Portland and L.A. were cool. We went from northern skies threatening snow to equatorial skies beaming down endless sunshine.
The Portland trip went smoothly. We had good food and conversation with the members of the church there. The problems started once we arrived at the airport to return to Charlotte. The line to check in for our U.S. Airways flight looked longer than it should have been, but we dutifully got in it. After a few minutes, word passed down the line that the plane would be five hours late: The co-pilot had become ill overnight, and his replacement would have to be flown in from Phoenix! So, we waited. At the counter, where mayhem reigned, we found out to our surprise that we had already been reassigned to the next available flight and upgraded to first class! That was fine by us, and we enjoyed all the amenities of front-of-the-bus service on our first leg home to Charlotte. We had to suffer coach on the longer leg, but we endured with stiff upper lip.
The very next Thursday, Beth and I boarded a plane for Miami and then on to Port of Spain to visit the brethren in Trinidad. What delightful people they are! They really took care of us all weekend long, from Friday evening dinner with the Laydoo ladies, Sabbath services with the group, Saturday evening dinner with the Thompsons and Wendy James (with homemade ice cream from a cart!), and Sunday afternoon at Mr. Lee’s place. Our accommodations at L’Orchidee Boutique Hotel were quite comfortable, and even our taxi driver was pleasant and helpful. The only thing that may have made it better was another first-class upgrade, but I don’t have the pull that my dad does with the airline.
We did have long waits at immigration and customs in both Port of Spain and Miami–about an hour and a half (or more) in both places. In Trinidad, we arrived late, just when another flight landed, so all those people had to be processed at the same time, when they would normally have been one then the other. In Miami, it was waiting for our luggage to hit the baggage carousel, then customs, the baggage drop-off, then security. Talk about a hassle.
A couple of days after returning home, we jumped in the van and headed to Pennsylvania, where our nephew (Beth’s sister’s son, Aaron) was graduating from Penn State University and being commissioned into the U.S. Army as a Second Lieutenant (Infantry). We attended the commissioning ceremony and enjoyed a dinner and a lunch with Aaron and his parents. We also got to meet some of his ROTC buddies; they seem like good kids and should do well.
Friday afternoon, we headed south to York, slogging through Harrisburg traffic, to stop for the Sabbath and another church visit. We had a fine time with the Mountville group, and after church, we all headed to Ruby Tuesday’s for dinner. Beth got to go with the Zachs to Evey’s gig, while Jarod, Aric, and I went back to the hotel to watch football. Fair trade, although we would have been just as happy listening to Evey sing.
It was another short week after returning home. Christmas day saw us relaxing at the theater, watching the latest–and last–installment of The Hobbit. The next morning, I was in the air again, flying to Los Angeles–a blessedly direct flight into LAX. Because it was the weekend after Christmas, it was a madhouse there. Rental cars were being advertized at $200/day! I had reserved ours a week early, but even then, it was the most we have ever paid for a rental vehicle–and we used an off-brand company! We drove up to another Southland airport, Burbank (Bob Hope Airport) and checked in at the Marriott there. Dinner at Taylor’s Steak House in La Canada-Flintridge, courtesy of Gloria Stumpf, was enjoyed by dad, Barbara Keegan, Austin del Castillo, and me. Thanks, Gloria!
We expected a good crowd at services the next morning–maybe 25 or 30 at most–and were we surprised that 41 showed! Fort Mill had only 42 that day. People came from various church groups, and everybody seems to have gotten along just fine. As usual, dad gave the sermon and I gave the Bible study, then we had a potluck, which though I ate, I did not get enough. And I missed dessert! Talking too much, right through clean-up.
Anyway, we met some fine people who seem to be of a similar mind, and that is always a good thing. The one downer is that one of the boys there may have broken his nose while playing with another boy after services. We hope he’s okay this morning! [Update: A EENT doctor pronounced him essentially unharmed. Just a bad bump that caused a nose bleed. Good news!]
We got another nice surprise when we checked in at LAX for our return flight: Yep, we’d been upgrade by the airline to first class again! Woo hoo! That is where I am at the moment as I write this, 30,000 feet up over Arkansas, just west of the Tennessee line north of Memphis. We enjoyed a hot breakfast onboard, wide seats, plenty of legroom, and attentive service. Nice.
We should arrive back in Charlotte with plenty of time to get home to watch the Panthers-Falcons game that will decide the horrid NFC South Division, and if I can stay awake, I will also watch the Steelers beat the Bungles this evening.
This month’s travels—managed!
