I wanted an adventure so of course that's what I got.
When checking in at Monterey the system "timed out." Apparently this is when the system just doesn't want to work so it won't let them issue boarding passes. After a second of sheer panic and crazy thoughts that somehow the ghosts of NPS had messed with my reservation, the lady behind the counter asked if I had a visa. My response of yes made her day and I got a high 5 (Anna take note). I showed her that lovely pic but spared her the story of how that visa delayed me nearly 2 weeks....boarding passes issued and line started to move again.
Monterey had never looked so beautiful to me than from the air. I'm sure I'll love the view next time I fly in, but as I flew over the zip codes that were the locations for so many of my memories over these years, there wasn't a doubt in my mind that I made the right decision to take this job Yes, it was tough to leave but once I was in the air it felt like just the start of another adventure....a long one with my 3 suitcases in tow.
Next stop- enemy territory (LAX). I met a nice guy headed to Bangladesh and a group of middle aged New Zealanders and Australians as we tried to figure out which bus we needed to get to the international terminal. They were entertaining, so I trusted them that terminal 2 was where I should be....and then took a nice walk to terminal B. (Stanley was happy to move some.)
After asking 2 more people for where I should be going I found my way to the departures and then security. Ha. I took up 3 bins and then had 3 things not in bins. They guy asked if I was moving- why yes, I am! Well, turns out that my little carry-on wanted to shut down the entire security line since the computer kept wanting to scan it. No, they never did open it up but I was there for a while. Yep, I was that person.
I'm not exactly sure what took place from LAX to MUC- mainly because I slept. Before take off I had a quick flash back to my Kenya trip earlier this year when my fabulous roommate had to keep giving "how to" lessons to our row...I helped this guy turn off the over head light. Seriously, that's about all I remember. I started to watch the Tourist but woke up to credits. Oh, the landing into MUC was the most perfect one I think I've ever experienced- no loud noise, no force pulling me forward into the seat in front, no jolting.
After going through customs (another stamp from Germany---boo) and security where this time we actually got to sort through the green suitcase and get a secondary search...I rocked out in a fairly empty terminal to a play list prepared by Andie just for me. Luckily, my coworker's son had not yet figured out who I was...we didn't do that until the plane (he was across the aisle from me). Tried as I did, I wasn't able to stay awake the entire flight but what I saw was gorgeous! Lots of of rocky mountains, some still with snow, but in the late afternoon shadows it was a great view.
So yeah, eventually we landed and collected our baggage and then I was delivered to the my lodge. This place is seriously large---puts NPS to shame and that's only the little section I've seen of it in the dark. Tomorrow will be an exploration day but right now I just found a Giants game on TV so I'm going to stay up and show the guys I still love them a continent away.
Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers for my trip! And yes, I've FINALLY left the 831 :)
When checking in at Monterey the system "timed out." Apparently this is when the system just doesn't want to work so it won't let them issue boarding passes. After a second of sheer panic and crazy thoughts that somehow the ghosts of NPS had messed with my reservation, the lady behind the counter asked if I had a visa. My response of yes made her day and I got a high 5 (Anna take note). I showed her that lovely pic but spared her the story of how that visa delayed me nearly 2 weeks....boarding passes issued and line started to move again.
Monterey had never looked so beautiful to me than from the air. I'm sure I'll love the view next time I fly in, but as I flew over the zip codes that were the locations for so many of my memories over these years, there wasn't a doubt in my mind that I made the right decision to take this job Yes, it was tough to leave but once I was in the air it felt like just the start of another adventure....a long one with my 3 suitcases in tow.
Next stop- enemy territory (LAX). I met a nice guy headed to Bangladesh and a group of middle aged New Zealanders and Australians as we tried to figure out which bus we needed to get to the international terminal. They were entertaining, so I trusted them that terminal 2 was where I should be....and then took a nice walk to terminal B. (Stanley was happy to move some.)
After asking 2 more people for where I should be going I found my way to the departures and then security. Ha. I took up 3 bins and then had 3 things not in bins. They guy asked if I was moving- why yes, I am! Well, turns out that my little carry-on wanted to shut down the entire security line since the computer kept wanting to scan it. No, they never did open it up but I was there for a while. Yep, I was that person.
I'm not exactly sure what took place from LAX to MUC- mainly because I slept. Before take off I had a quick flash back to my Kenya trip earlier this year when my fabulous roommate had to keep giving "how to" lessons to our row...I helped this guy turn off the over head light. Seriously, that's about all I remember. I started to watch the Tourist but woke up to credits. Oh, the landing into MUC was the most perfect one I think I've ever experienced- no loud noise, no force pulling me forward into the seat in front, no jolting.
After going through customs (another stamp from Germany---boo) and security where this time we actually got to sort through the green suitcase and get a secondary search...I rocked out in a fairly empty terminal to a play list prepared by Andie just for me. Luckily, my coworker's son had not yet figured out who I was...we didn't do that until the plane (he was across the aisle from me). Tried as I did, I wasn't able to stay awake the entire flight but what I saw was gorgeous! Lots of of rocky mountains, some still with snow, but in the late afternoon shadows it was a great view.
So yeah, eventually we landed and collected our baggage and then I was delivered to the my lodge. This place is seriously large---puts NPS to shame and that's only the little section I've seen of it in the dark. Tomorrow will be an exploration day but right now I just found a Giants game on TV so I'm going to stay up and show the guys I still love them a continent away.
Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers for my trip! And yes, I've FINALLY left the 831 :)
