The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round....

The wheels on the bus... wow.. who would have thought?

David and I left the house with good time today. We stopped at the cemetery in Vanlue outside of Findlay and watered the flowers and made our way to Columbus. It is about an hour and half drive and we thought we knew where we were going. For kicks, we turned on the GPS. BIG MISTAKE. I entered the address of the airport, we started to follow the directions. The GPS told us to take an exit earlier than the signs on the highway said. We listened to the GPS and turned. Homer's voice told us to turn left and right and so on.... and led us to the middle of a subdivision...... We re figured the directions. By then I was PANIC MODE....

We parked quickly, and ran inside dragging my 44 pound suitcase and 20 pound laptop carry on with me. I got checked in and the man checking said I was fine.... I had to go to the bathroom, and David and I made our way to the gate to say goodbyes. I took off my shoes, took out the laptop and went through the security check. After wrestling my shoes back on my feet, and collecting my laptop, I left security and got my bearings of where I was. Just about that time, I heard the loud speaker say "LAST CALL TO GATE A-6" Oh GOD, that is ME! I beat it up the terminal, laptop bag and purse bouncing wildly off my back...... I just was praying nothing would fall out of my bags..... and that I would make it on time..... I panted my way up to the stewards, they called my by name! Not a good sign. I checked in, raced down the boarding gate, and the promptly slammed the plane door behind me. My butt was in the seat 10 minutes before my flight was due to leave.

The flight was non eventful, thankfully. I had the window seat, and watched as we flew over the clouds. I landed in Newark, NJ and had time to spare. I guess it was the fact that we left Columbus 10 minutes early... I was told that I should take the shuttle to terminal C from the terminal I was in (A). We were loaded onto a regular bus and taken to the other side of the airport. We drove through underground tunnels, and secret passages and across the tarmac, to arrive on the other side. WOW.. what a big place!

My next gate was gate 71. I located where it was, and went to explore the huge airport. I went to McDonald's, and got a snack. I found an empty seat and ended up striking up a conversation the woman sitting there too. She was Scottish, but lives in Austin, Texas. We had a very nice conversation about the state of the world, economics and education. Funny, the same things that we worry about in our country are huge issues in Scotland too.

About the time, I decided to head back to the gate I was supposed to fly out of. It now said that the next flight was San Francisco... OOPS! I went back to the TV screens and the flight did not list a gate... oh no! I found the information desk after searching a while. They informed me it was 71C...my ticket did not read that. I wandered back again, and found it. There was a sign over the door for the shuttle. I realized that it was back were I was shuttled from the other terminal. I asked the woman if I was in the right place, and she said yes, have a seat the BUS would arrive soon... yes the BUS... AS IN THE WHEELS ON GO ROUND AND ROUND BUS! Heck! A bus! So I sat down with the other 4 people and laughed each time someone else came in and said 'A BUS!!!" Then pretty soon, we all were chatting and laughing and just going with the flow. We had an hour to kill, and were mostly punch drunk. At one point, I wanted to get a drink of water and I mentioned that I had a headache. The one man sitting two chairs over immediately got out a bottle of Advil and handed me two. The woman next to me volunteered to watch my laptop bag. Funny... here I was in a huge airport, and the kindness of strangers held true. Of course, the man laughed and said 'here you are, taking drugs from a stranger..." We all laughed. My headache went away.

Soon we were all loaded on the bus. I made sure I was on the FRONT of it...no carsickness allowed. Of course, the first stop was to get our bags.... oh yes, those things... had to be put on the bus too. We were driving in our little shuttle around these HUGE airplanes. At one point, we were literally under the wings of the largest airplane I had ever seen. WOW. We made the 80 mile trek from Newark to Allentown. The driver said that it only leaves 3 times a day, but it is more efficient than a shuttle flight. I arrived safely in Allentown, and met up with Marlene and John.

I am now sitting in the living room at my grandmother's, and ready to hit the sack. Somehow, those wheels on the bus tired me out!