Well I've just started the first leg of my second holiday this summer. This is another one that I can scratch off of my "Cathy Conquers Cancer Tour". Tuesday we left home and drove to Toronto to stay at the Travel Lodge near the airport. As we got to Ajax we hit some major thunderstorms. It was all cleared up by the time we arrived at the hotel. We had dinner with our son and he drove back home. My husband and I decided to take a walk and ended up walking all the way to Terminal 1, through Terminal 1 and back to the hotel. It was a hot and humid walk but very enjoyable.
Yesterday morning we took the airport shuttle to the airport so we were there by 9:30 a.m. Our flight was supposed to leave at 12:35 p.m. We knew that there was going to be a backlog of passengers due to the storms on Tuesday. The flight board indicated our flight was delayed and wouldn't be leaving until 2:35 p.m. We were in the check-in line when we were told that it was for only passengers leaving before 10:50 a.m. We left the line as suggested. We rejoined the check-in line at 12:30 and when we got to the check-in desk close to 2 p.m., we were told that our seats had been sold. There was no room for us on the 2:35 flight. We were then booked onto the next flight to L.A. at 4:55 p.m. We spent the whole day at Pearson International Airport. I spent the time reading and finished my book. Finally we were on the plane and on our way! Our seats were not together. We had two seats side by side and the third seat was four rows behind. Because no one was in the seat with the other two, I took that seat and when a gentleman arrived for his seat, the one I was sitting in, I asked him if he was flying alone. He replied that yes he was so I explained our situation and asked if he could have my seat 4 rows back. It was just a matter of switching an aisle seat for an aisle seat. He was so nice and readily agreed. It was nice that we were able to travel as a family of three.
We originally were supposed to arrive in L.A. at 3:35 p.m. and our friends, who live 3 hours away, were supposed to pick us up. My husband managed to text them and let them know we were delayed and the ETA was changed to 7:00 p.m. We touched down at LAX at 7:27 p.m. We had to wait on the tarmac for an available gate to become open. By the time we collected our baggage it was about 8:30 p.m. I felt so bad for our friends. They still had to drive 3 hours home and the "man of the house" had to be at work for 7:30 a.m. today. We arrived at their home at 11:45 p.m. I was so tired I could hardly speak clearly and keep my eyes open. While my husband and daughter visited and got the house tour, I literally grabbed my pjs and dropped into bed. I was sound asleep instantly and didn't wake up until 7:30 this morning. I had a good night's sleep.
Unfortunately we didn't get to see the scenery on the drive north out of L.A. but I was able to see the jagged and rounded shapes of mountains against the "marine layer" which is a shelf cloud that comes off the Pacific Ocean. Against the black of the mountain, I could make out a light gray shade which I was informed was the limestone rock faces. As the highway wound along the coast, we could see square shapes of light off in the distance in the middle of the ocean on our left. These were apparently oil wells. The highway eventually left the ocean and wound through the mountains as we could again see the rugged shapes in the dark. The rest of the trip was following a twisting and winding road through the middle of nowhere with mountains and hills enveloping us. I'm looking forward to resting today and tomorrow. I'm hoping I'll be able to get out for a walk today. Although my body is slightly tired this morning, I'm still filled with excitement like what a child feels on Christmas morning when they are wiggly and can't wait to open their presents. I feel this way as I can't wait to see the rugged scenery of the mountains and the beautiful ocean and experience the joys of living!
Keep tuned!!
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