Not all roses, just so you know
Travel is not about everything always going well. It is about living to tell the stories, the best and the worst.
There are two stories to tell about the journey to return home again.
The first one is a confession for you. The truth is, even my husband doesn't know. We arrived at the San Francisco airport and we were at the gate waiting between flights. My name was called out on the speaker, to go to the desk of my airline. It felt so odd, of all the times I've heard all the names called on the speakers. I went to the desk and guess what?? I had left my passport on the first plane. I was in shock. The number one rule in travel is to always know where my passport is. I think I remember the point when I lost it. I heard it fall, but I didn't know what fell. I thought it was my seatbelt buckle, maybe. It is near impossible to look for or retrieve something that falls in the cramped area of the rows of seats. I shrugged it off. Whoops! I was relieved that Ron was in the bathroom at the time. I gave profuse thanks for getting back one of my most prized possessions and went to sit back down before Ron returned. I have to this day neglected to mention it to Ron.
This first event made my heart race a bit, but it was forgotten with the turbulent ride that was next. This bumpy ride was short, and in a smaller plane. I was right behind the wing, looking out the window. The wing was bouncing around more than I was comfortable with. I've had only one flight where it was so bad that I had to put my drink away. I've had several flights where the pilot has asked the flight attendants to sit down, but I was never as startled as I was on this last flight. The shaking didn't last for long, but long enough for me to evaluate my life. In those intense moments that stretched out as far as my mind could see - I thought of my two young granddaughters. I thought of their smiles and the love that flows from my heart to theirs (and back again!). I have a lot of love in my life, and their light and their future shines so brightly for me. One is two years old and the other is having her second birthday soon. I crammed a lot of thoughts into a few minutes, and they seemed to fill the sky. I thought of all my loved ones, but those two, they were the ones who would not know how much I loved them if anything happened to me. Until they grew up and read this blog.
I like travel because good or bad it reminds to not take things for granted.
I have a story too. Two years ago I booked a trip to Switzerland. Air Canada kept cancelling their flights from Victoria to Vancouver. I arrived in Vancouver with only 25 minutes to spare and my gate was a LO-ONG way down. No one around with a cart so I huffed and puffed getting there. The waiting room was empty. I rooted through my purse; could not see my passport to show the airline worker. Sat down and cried. Anyhow she looked in my purse for me and found it. Very kind. I was last on the plane to Zurich barely on time. 10 hour uncomfortable flight.
ReplyDeleteWhen I got to Zurich it was 8 am in the morning. I missed a night of sleep. Can't sleep on airplane seats. Air Canada lost my luggage; it was in Vancouver. My hotel room wasn't ready till 1 pm. All I wanted to do was to sleep but NO. An hour later the tour bus let us off for a two hour walk up and down stairs.
The guide provided us with ear buds so we could hear him as he walked ahead of us. Mine didn't fit because of my hearing aids. Up and down stairs - huff puff! Then I stopped to look at scenery, turned around. Everyone had disappeared. Like totally. So I stayed put. Half an hour later, just as I started to panic, the guide came to get me. Scolded me for not wearing ear buds. Out to dinner later. That was the longest day in my life! Two days compressed in one!
Leaving St. Moritz left my passport at the hotel. Burst into tears at the train station but luckily someone from the hotel delivered it. Luggage finally arrived on Day 3 at Zermatt, a village. WHEW!