Chicago Midway Airport
Back in July I wrote about my dog becoming homeless in September. I suppose I did what I had to do, which was return to the United States to pick up my dog and either find her a new family or a temporary home. So beginning early in the morning Christine dropped me off at the TGV station where I caught a train to Paris. Although this seems like a common thing now, I can usually rely on Christine to converse in French when needed and she is more familiar with Paris. I’m not sure what the problem was, but for whatever reason the train was running late that day. I got on the train at the right time, but the train pulled into the CDG station 48 minutes late. I was counting on those 48 minutes to get through security and reach my gate with a little time to spare. Luckily I reached the gate just as they had started boarding the plane, so I waited my turn somewhat drenched in sweat from being nervous and having to run halfway across the airport to find my flight. I got on the plane and settled in to what felt like a extraordinarily long flight to Philadelphia. Similar to the train ride earlier that morning, it became apparent that the flight was taking longer than was scheduled. I suppose head winds were to blame, but again I find myself without the hour cushion time I was counting on to pick up my luggage and get through customs. I don’t know if you’ve ever been through the Philadelphia international airport, but it is huge. Another one of these airports where the terminals are spread out and you are expected to catch a shuttle bus to go from one to another. After I picked up my luggage and convinced a TSA person that I needed to get out of that line so that I could get to my gate three terminals down the road, I asked her what the quickest way to get there would be. Her answer was that I should start running, because the shuttle would take longer to return and pick me up. So there I am running again with my large suitcase on wheels and my stuffed carry-on on my back. Again with much luck and too much stress, I just made it to the Southwest gate in time to get in the C line (my ticket was marked B) and get on the plane. The Southwest way of doing things deserves its own blog rant, but for now, I’ll just skip to finding an empty seat (sandwiched between two people that were hoping they wouldn’t have to share.) I had to change planes in Chicago and even though my flight was late, I still had time to get a bite of food first. I sat at a table across from the Blues Brothers and downed my airport food. One more leg and I’ll be in Portland. I was scheduled to arrive at midnight and I still had to rent a car and drive to my sister’s. Maybe I don’t need to say it, but yep, the plane was late. By the time I reached the car rental counter there was a buzz going around that there were no cars left. I calmly waited my turn and watched the suits in front of me turn different shades of red before finally storming off, keys in hand in search of their cars. The gentleman in front of me was almost gone when he returned rather loudly exclaiming that his car was not a car, but a mini-van!! The flustered attendant-in-training told him that they were out of economy cars, and that he had been upgraded for free to the mini-van. The guy said that he had reserved an economy car and had no intention of paying for the extra fuel it would take to drive this behemoth to his destination. After some debate behind the counter I heard the attendant-in-training offer the man a free tank of gas on top of his free upgrade. I was surprised to hear them counter with this offer and was getting excited about what goodies might await me if I played my cards right. Well he got louder and an assistant manager was summoned to handle the irate customer. After all that he got his economy car; some piece of %^& that he seemed happy about (some people don’t know what battles to pick.) I was nothing but polite and ended up being upgraded to some funky thing I had never heard of, but that drove real smooth, had an iPod jack, all sorts of gizmos and to top it off some serious horsepower. After I got settled in I asked the wonderful GPS to take me to my sister’s house. Shortly after knocking on the door all the dogs started howling and my sister answered the door. My furry girl was there, nose out the door and a look on her face I did not recognize. I think she was wondering if she was dreaming. I assured her I was in fact there and I think she finally believed me as I lay on the sofa next to her trying to convince my body that it was time to sleep now. Since my internal clock said it was time to wake up, I had to force myself to get that needed shut-eye. I told my sister that I wanted to get out on the road early the next morning so if she could wake-up a little earlier it would help. I couldn’t sleep that long, so I got up and got all our things ready. I had the car packed and ready to go by the time my sister got up, so after a small chat I hit the road.
I5, north of Shasta
Here I am hurling down I5 after a brief stop in Ashland where I was unable to meet up with anyone and where I forgot to stop by the store and pick up some special Ashland hippy cream I discovered on a previous visit and had told myself to get more of as I was passing through. A full tank of gas and heart-burn is all I left with and I needed to make up some time.
I had no idea where I would take my girl, and though we were reunited in the car, she was in the back and I had ground to cover. My plan was to go to a hotel in Rohnert Park that accepted dogs, so that first thing the next morning I could start hunting and we could bond on our own for at least a night. I knew that I would be staying at friends and that their dogs and my own didn’t get along so well, so things might get a little touchy.
Mount Shasta, CA
The road trip portion of the journey is beautiful, but under the circumstances, I all can do is point the camera out the speeding window and try to capture the moment for a later time. So I’m looking at those shots now and remembering, and missing my furry one.
Sonoma, CA
The sun is going down now and I’m heading past Sonoma on my way to Rohnert Park. The sky was much prettier than it looks here and I was relieved to be there soon. I think it is a little over 10 hours to drive down from Portland and with my stop in Ashland I was pretty well tuckered. Not to mention the internal clock still being set 9 hours ahead of the local time. When I got to the hotel the Sheriff was just finishing collecting the weekly print out from the woman behind the counter. I was previously unaware that the Sheriff got a printout of everybody who rents a hotel room during the week. Not surprising, just didn’t know that’s how it happens. After moving the stuff into the room, we went out for a bite to eat then went back to the hotel and called it a night.
The Queen
No, this is not my girl. My girl is waiting for me. This one is sweet, but it’s not worth the trouble if they decide to go at it. I am testing the water, checking Craigslist, calling Veterinary offices, shelters and anybody that will listen.
I took my girl in for a whole battery of tests to see if there was anything that might lead me in a new direction. The doc said that my girl is fine, and even though she is 68 in dog years, she may very well live another 5 human years.
Back to searching for a home, or new parents.
Anyone?
Anyone?
Anyone?
I’ve used my time in the U.S. up. I’m desperate. I call the only person that I can think of that is left to ask.
Caught with me between her and the door
I called the kennel that my furry one has stayed at so many times when I have had to fly around on business trips. I explain the situation and plea my case.
A very kind arrangement is agreed upon and my furry one is left in the care of the kennel and the truly big hearts of the people that operate the kennel. Although I wish I could take her with me, I know that it is not a viable option. Now I must get everything together and make my way to San Francisco, so that I can catch a flight back early the next morning.
Since my flight back was another adventure in air travel I think I’ll save it for next time. So until the next post, I hope you are all well. Cuddle up with your furry house guests if you have any and I’ll be back soon.