my adventures ended on Monday (shout out to Mr. King, jr.!) when i spent 7 hours in 2 states, 2 airplanes, 3 terminals, 1 car and a crowded shuttle bus. i can't believe i'm saying this, but both legs of the trip were actually... seamless. my flights were all on time, 2 were even early! after the easy breezy first flight on the 15th, from williamsport to boston with 1 layover in philly, i thought for sure i'd make up for the stroke of travel luck with a wicked, nasty return flight. but no, my experience today was nothing short of pleasant, minus the stint at airport security which i will get into a bit later.
i have to say how impressed i was with the assistance i received from us airway's support staff (with the exception of the flight attendants who were their usual apathetic and bitter selves.) i even bonded with Morgan who drives one of the "beep beep" electric carts around Philly's endless terminals. (i shared with her the story of my mom wanting to name me "Morgan" which wasn't such a brilliant idea considering my last name is "Morgensen"- i don't think she cared about the story but she smiled and nodded, which classifies as polite in my book.) so either i'm getting better at this, or they're all on happy pills.
another perk of this trip was that i was able to score a cheaper flight out of Williamsport, which is only 30 minutes away from Lburg (versus the hour or more drive to Hburg's airport.) the entire airport could probably fit in my studio apartment in DC and the baggage claim is the size of a broom closet. apparently the staff are fans of Ellen since they had rocking chairs lined around the tv set, which is considerate of them since you have to wait for the security line to open (the guys that work the check in counters also double as security agents.) and by the way- they take their job as a TSA agent very seriously (because they honestly have nothing better to do.) my bags were analyzed with a fine tooth comb, disassembling my entire carry on bag. they did confiscate my Noxema... good thing since i was planning on greasing my dirty bomb with the face cream.
which brings me to the only traumatic experience- also at a security line, but this time at Logan Airport. despite best efforts to minimize the chaos and calamity that plague every airport's security stations (huge signs plastered on every surface with pictures that depict what is and is not allowed in your bags, agents blasting instructions through megaphones, lines that are qued (sp?) up and down, across and over, forcing people to assemble in a somewhat civilized manner), that portion of air travel is hands down the most stressful part of flying. i don't know about you, but no matter how prepared i am i am still struck motionless in terror when it comes to my turn going through. All my lip gloss, toothpaste and lotion are sealed tight in a quarter ounce ziploc baggie, my shoes are off and in the bin, my earrings and rings have been removed, i'm not wearing a belt, my laptop, cell phone and digital camera are in their own bin, my coat is peeled off, and my sweater is thrown in for good measure. i mean jesus, i am practically naked when i come out the other side of the xray machine! beep, beep, bipbipbip beeepepepepepppp. AUGH! the alarm is worthy of a terrorist sighting! however, since i was being taken by wheelchair to my gate (which is already embarrassing enough), i was taken to the very front of the incredibly long security line. i tried to avoid the eyes of fellow passengers waiting impatiently- i know they were eyeing me suspiciously, trying to figure out what was "wrong" with me and if i was abusing the system.
but suddenly the dude takes the wheelchair away from me, throws my cane on the x-ray machine panel (which clearly contained explosives underneath the bright turquoise sheen) and stared at me imploringly. like- go on already lady we don't have all day. so there i am, standing with horrible tremors as my legs and hands shaked uncontrollably. i couldn't even remove my earrings or strip off my sweater. finally one of the TSA agents took my hand (his palm was sweaty- eww) and led me through the metal detector- which of course went off and i had to redo the walk 2 more times. when the whole process was finished, i shakily sat down in the wheelchair and tried to assemble all my items that had been analyzed for illegal stowaways. i was incredibly embarrassed, and just stared at the ground as the attendant wheeled me away. phew, at least that process was over. (altho he wheeled me to the wrong gate. i was halfway on the way to myrtle beach before i realized the goof.)
but now i'm home, back in the real world with my real life. my very real life. (insert sigh here.) the travel hangover didn't hit me full force until yesterday- the all too familiar stabbing knife pains are back in my legs and the constant nausea has returned to plague my days. bastards. ok, regroup. focus on the positive. and there were quite a few positives during my stay in Boston- accomplishments, you could call them. most notably being that my alcohol tolerance is making a comeback. yes ladies and gentleman, prepare your vinho verde and pomegranate martinis- i was averaging 2 glasses of wine per activity (notice that i don't confine this to meals- i'm open to drinking at any point in the day, as long as it is past 11am. earlier than that and i just feel like a floozy.) another achievement was that i ate pork- and actually liked it! sheila cooked an amazing dish that featured the pork dripping with a brown sugar glaze and sweet mango salsa. oh! and i walked freely throughout both Stacie & Josh's apartment and the Gordon's house- no cane required. i even went out in public in the city once without my tacky assistant- cane-free and no falls!
stacie & josh were amazing hosts during my 2 days in the city*. they treated me to a food tour that could rival the restaurants i remember from DC (they were basically a walking, talking, breathing Zagat book!) after they rescued me from baggage claim at Logan airport, we went to the top of the Prudential building to have a few cocktails at Top of the Hub, a restaurant on, as the name top floor of the building. the view was nothing short of amazing. i know this sounds like a stretch, but it reminded me of our view from the second platform of the Eiffel Tower- in the restaurant, Jules Verne. you could see the entire city, as much as your eyes could take in. josh is basically a walking encyclopedia of Boston- pointing out various landmarks and neighborhoods, along with historical tidbits here and there. we ate dinner at the italian restaurant in the North End where they ate the night josh proposed ("awwww!")- btw i think the owner was definitely in the mafia. (i've apparently watched the Godfather way too many times.) the weather was freakin' frigid but we still braved the wind to meet the seals at the Boston aquarium. they were so cute! but how they swim with that cold as hell wind whipping through the air- every time their heads popped up out of the water i wanted to scream "go back down! your whiskers are going to snap off!" (i think seals have whiskers... hmmm.) i figured since Lewisburg has the monkeys, it was only natural that i had to see Boston's seals.
i have to admit that a couple rebellions landed me in some discomfort during my stay- i was tempted by that damn bread served at every second of every meal in every restaurant. every basket contained a delicious ensemble of slices in a delectable array of flavors... the gluten filled goodness defeated my willpower and i gave in. once i started, i couldn't' stop- i had at least 3 or 4 pieces of bread at dinner, and again during lunch the next day. um, yeah, that car ride back was unpleasant. poor josh- stacie said she knew we were in trouble when she heard my seat belt click off in the back seat. i was angling myself appropriately for a "head out the window" vomit.
*(note: i don't have any pictures b/c i didn't bring my camera- i know, this is shocking. but josh snapped a few so i'll make sure to update this post.)
but then it was time for part II of my trip- Girls Weekend 2008! it is our 3rd year of going to scottie's house on the Cape (Falmouth, MA) over MLKjr. weekend- myself, scottie, marylee and elle. (last year we extended the invite to our mothers, so ml's and my moms have each tagged along.) since elle has vanished into the black hole of no cell phone service that is the Oxford countryside, i practically jumped her when she walked in the door. with all my issues, i'm used to having her as a sounding board and am now reduced to leaving rambling venting messages on her cell. her voice mail and i have gotten to be quite close. hahahah. she had a major announcement for me- they are getting a land line at their little house! how quaint and antique- jk! i haven't used one of those in years and i can't wait to try it out.
we had a newcomer to Girls Wkend this year- a woman who worked at the spa with scottie when she escaped to Brevard for a few months last year. kim rocks- she is now the newest member of my posse of cool people. she wormed her way into my heart with her magic hands. you see, my joints throb constantly, especially if i have been using them for any fine motor skills (ie typing, writing print, buttons, brushing my teeth, etc.) you may have noticed that i wring my hands quite frequently- it's a habit i have picked up in an attempt to force the pain out (no idea how i came up with that wacky solution b/c it clearly doesn't help the situation). but kim noticed and immediately started a mini massage- i never thought of having someone do that! i was in heaven.
i think that this is the first year we actually left the house to do an activity- we saw Atonement at a small theatre about 15 minutes away. (us and the entire population of Cape Cod) i have not cried so hard at a movie since we went 
through a box of tissues at Pride & Prejudice. the rest of the weekend was spent in our yearly tradition of eating, drinking wine, reading the newspaper by the fire, making omelettes out of ziploc baggies, watching football, downing mimosas, gossiping about Britney (duh- it's not a conversation without a c
elebrity breakdown), and eating. did i mention the food? sheila served her signature Williams & Sonoma chocolate croissants- i eyed them enviously. mmmm that flaky bread and ooozing chocolate looked so delicious. but, i refrained, and settled for the 4" slices of gluten free raisin bread. unfortunately, the weekend was tainted by some major sports disappointments. it wasn't the best weekend for my boys- both UNC and the Packers lost in overtime games. during tv time outs and halftime we pumped ML for all the juicy details of her new Philly romance-with a younger man mind you. (that's my girl!) we really gave her hell when we discovered she had packed a framed photograph of the 2 of them- despite her insistence it was purely to show us his picture, i still reserve the right to tease her mercilessly about that corny move. but in all seriousness i am so happy for her- joe cool sounds like a good kid. i look forward to defending her honor in a future trip to the city.
we have now come to the end of this Survivor episode. i see many more in my future, and i'm crossing my fingers that i will continue to master the art of airport maneuvering. (and no, scottie, i still don't have your cold! so stop worrying! xo)
remember, you can view these postings directly on kit katchat's blog
http://meggerv2.blogspot.com/
http://meggerv2.blogspot.com/
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