Made it to California--with a little help from one of my spirit animals!

[MorningGlow]

Hi all--well, we made it across the country, but not without incident (ahem!) The first leg of our flight left our airport late and got into Newark late. Not only did we find out that we then had 25 minutes to catch our connecting flight, but we were in ANOTHER TERMINAL! (That didn't happen last year.) It was 11:30 a.m. when we got off the plane; our connecting flight was scheduled to take off at 11:55.

We had to take a shuttle bus between terminals, but when we got to the bus holding area, we found a brazillion people there already. The shuttle bus showed up (11:45) but those other brazillion people got to go first, and the bus filled up. A second shuttle bus showed up (11:47) and we climbed aboard. The bus started rolling, and I realized the entire situation was out of our hands. Still, I was worried about all the hassles we'd have if we missed the flight. If it were just me, I wouldn't have cared, but with my mom and my son...well, that would have been a much bigger problem.

Then I heard a "bzzzt". I thought there was a bee in the bus, but when I looked over my shoulder, I saw it was a huge blue dragonfly! It landed on the window right by me! Then I knew we were going to catch the flight.

And we did! I had to run to the gate and let my mom and son catch up as best they could. The attendants at the gate were paging us; we were the last people to board, RIGHT at 11:55. Two people had bogarted our seats and we had to kick them out. But we were ON the plane. We had made it!

...The only trouble was our bags didn't.


They're coming on a later flight. So now it's 9:15 but after midnight in my East Coast head, but I have to stay up because the bags could be delivered to my brother's house anytime between now and 2 A.M. But we're here, even if we're here without fresh underwear yet.

[rumpel]

1. Great - Welcome to CA, MG & family

I hope you get your luggage in the next few hours. Amazing Dragonfly friend.

[MorningGlow]

7. Why thank you, Rumpel!

Good to be here!

The airline said the luggage would arrive sometime before 2 a.m., and they did indeed live up to their promise.

...It showed up at 1:57 a.m.

I tried to sit up to wait for it--I made it to about 1:15 and then conked out on the couch. (My SIL heard them dump the bags outside the front door but they didn't knock like I told them to.) At that point I had been up for for about 23 hours straight and was walking sideways.

[crikkett]

21. I hope you have enjoyed your stay!

How long is your visit?

[I Have A Dream]

2. So glad that you made it, MG!

How wonderful that the dragonfly was there to reassure you!

Have fun!

[MorningGlow]

8. It was a welcome sight, Dream!

I know that some people would put it down to coincidence, but it's not every day you have a large blue dragonfly land next to you inside a Newark airport shuttle bus! (And me with a dragonfly totem! )

[Celebration]

3. Thank you, dragonfly!!

At least it is just the bags and not you guys arriving at 2am......

Have fun.

[MorningGlow]

9. Exactly

Small price to pay.

When we got to my brother's house and I fired up the laptop, there was an e-mail in my inbox saying that IF BY SOME CHANCE we didn't make our flight , Continental already had us confirmed on a flight out this morning. No word on where we were going to sleep in the interim, of course. But it was nice of them to anticipate the glitch. (What, they couldn't have delayed connecting flights by just a few minutes? Most everyone on our flight was trying to make a connection, and a lot of them simply weren't going to make it.)

[NJCher]

4. What!?

Hmmmph! You were in NJ and you didn't call me?!

I'd have put you up if you missed your flight. You could have slept in the quiet woods here, an unbelievably short 15" from Newark airport.

I was feeling the stress (11:55) as I read your post.


But glad you got your message.


Cher

[MorningGlow]

10. Aw, sweet of you, Cher!

Just posted upthread that Continental did send me an e-mail that they had us confirmed on a flight out this morning JUST in case we missed our flight. But to be honest, I'm glad we didn't have to exercise that option.

[Kind of Blue]

5. Big Welcome to California, MorningGlow!

Nice feeling you so close. Where are you??? I hope it's SoCal. We're having wonderful weather here, IMO, in San Diego. June Gloom it's called - cool and sunny though.

Glad you made it safely though it was sans luggage!

[MorningGlow]

11. Thank you, KoB!

We're in Riverside. (HOT!) Hoping to get out your way to visit the car museum in Balboa. Fingers crossed!

[Cleita]

18. Yes, it is hot. I used to live in San Bernardino.

Try to get up into the mountains for a break, like Big Bear Lake, for instance. It's much cooler up there. My family and I always made trips into the mountains to escape the summer heat as frequently as we could. We went to a lot of movie matinees too for the air conditioning.

[Kind of Blue]

19. Yeah, come to think of it, I forget that I am pretty

elevated with an onshore flow that comes up over the mountains. Well, MG will be much cooler when she comes to Balboa Park, closer to the ocean and not as far inland as Riverside County.

[elleng]

6. Made it to Iowa with no such complications, and handwash underwear!

Enjoy the Leftcoast!

[MorningGlow]

12. Glad of that!

Every time we travel I tell myself to pack undies and other essentials in my carryon bag, but I never do. lesson learned!

[elleng]

14. Thinking of carrying on bag I checked thru on the way out;

really don't have extra $25s to throw away!

Have fun!

Its VERY quiet here!

[MorningGlow]

15. Phew--tell me about it!

I checked in online and didn't tell my mother that it cost us $23 for each bag (three)--she would have plotzed, even with the phenomenal discount of $2 per bag for checking in online.

Funny too--I have brought the same carryon bag to California for the past couple of years--a soft-sided bag with a lot of "chambers" so I can carry books and my laptop along with other essential stuff that I don't like to stow underneath, like my medication and my jewelry. But this year the flight attendants were ALL chasing me--"That's not going to fit under the seat. It might not fit into the overhead bin, either. You're going to have to check it." Over my dead body! $25 more bucks? I don't THINK so. I was polite most of the way, cheerfully deflecting their warnings, because I KNEW it was going to fit under the seat in front of me (as always). But by the time I was gasping for air, trying to get us to our seats on the connecting flight, and some attendant tried to insist that I put my bag into an overhead bin waayyy far away from our row, I snapped "IT FITS UNDER THE SEAT!" And we were all so harried that she didn't challenge me. Wise move on her part.

[elleng]

17. Dear MG, I'll think of you when I carry on my soft bag (and laptop).

Have to leave from bro's house EARLY to make morning flight, so hope no similar 'breathless' stuff as you've had!

Thats all, folks!

[FirstLight]

13. Well done!

You kept your cool and let it unfold as it was going to...and your spirit animal came to let you know you were being guided
how cool!

Ya, I echo the above sentiments of welcome to Cali! Too bad I am so far upland, or we'd be able to make some twin trouble!

Have a great time connecting with mother ocean, and enjoying family too...


here's an interesting Dragonfly bit I picked up this morning too:

..."The dragonfly gives us a very powerful meditation tool. Close your eyes, and focus on a thought - let it rise to the surface of your mind's ocean - see that thought float lightly up to the water's surface. Now upon the top of a smooth, calm glass-like surface - visualize that thought moving across that water - sliding across - smooth and fast.

This exercise is useful when we want to visualize positive outcomes in a situation. We see the thought of hope happily moving across an ocean of peace (peaceful mind) and skitting to a perfect outcome."

http://www.whats-your-sign.com/animal-symbolism-dragonf...

[MorningGlow]

16. I always forget how huge California really is

Sucks that we're so far away, for sure!

Thanks for the meditation--I sure can use that!

[WhiteTara]

20. have a wonderful holiday!

I hope you are in northern California...it is one of my most favorite places on earth. Southern Ca is interesting, but not magical. (IMHO of course)