2014 Deb's WEST COAST Drive 11 - Homeward Bound

The flight I was shooting for left at 7:20am. So my get up was officially 5am, but I tossed and turned all night with flight fright. Would I get on or not?

Again I was ecstatic to see my name KIL/D appear on the cleared seat board. I got a window seat (my fave) and there was even an empty seat between me and my row partner. The weather outside the window was foggy and cold as we left the terminal--typical for SFO in summer.

My connection city today was DTW (Detroit), rather than Minneapolis. The ride was pretty bumpy and we had to skirt south nearer to St. Louis because of thunderstorms on the traditional air route. It is always a thrill to cross the mighty Mississippi (pix below), be it over a bridge or in the air.

Not sure where, but I also saw a wind turbine farm from the air. That was cool.

The movie was Million Dollar Arm, but I was busy finalizing paper notes for this blog. You could buy a sandwich if you wanted, but I figured I could wait 4.5 hours rather than get airline food. The time went by fast.

I did have a bit of luck in the beverage department though. One of the first class flight attendants came walking down the aisle with a glass of red wine asking if anyone wanted it. I piped up pretty quick to say, "Me, me!" Apparently he had poured the wrong color for an up front passenger and rather than throw it way, he passed it on to the lowly economy folks. Actually no one else spoke up, but I'm not proud!!

After a short snooze I opened my eyes. The movie was over and there was a travelogue thing showing. Moments later they were showing the famous Bixby Creek Bridge (in lots of car commercials) and then cut to an aerial view of Half Moon Bay beach. I almost jumped out of my seat. A cool good-bye treat to end my trip.

At DTW, I transited through a colorful tunnel to my next terminal building and gate which, again, was quite far away.

We had been a little late arriving here because of the detour, but I still had time to pick up a Caprese (sun-dried tomato and fresh mozzarella) sandwich.

I wasn't at the gate two minutes when I saw my flight had cancelled due to heavy thunderstorms in Kalamazoo. And they were headed this way. There were two more flights to AZO, but both around 8pm. I had no hope of getting on standby, because all these cancelled revenue passengers would be put on first.

I called Mike with the bad news. I was stuck in DTW. I had a couple of choices--rent another car or Mike could drive the two hours to come pick me up. He opted for the drive.

We were not really familiar with the nuances of DTW, so I took the Sheraton shuttle to the hotel. We had stayed here before and it was a way easier way to meet-up for the pick-up.

I sat in comfy seats in the lobby, sipping ginger ales, reading my camera manual. I was sure I was going to get kicked out at any moment, but I guess they took pity on me for whatever reason and did not grill me as to why I was there for so long. I for sure did not look like a hooker or a homeless person, but someone in between that seemed OK, I guess.

The normal 2-hour drive took Mike three hours as he traveled with the storm every mile of the way. Traffic was heavy and slow, roads wet or semi flooding, winds fierce. 

The Sheraton has a tall glass atrium and I could see and hear the intense downpour on the windows above. Leaves and branches were flying around and hitting the glass. I was surprised there were no leaks, it rained so hard. 

I was so happy to see Mike's smiling face when the car pulled up. I was worried because of the storm, and his marginal eyesight did not help. We kissed and hugged. Happy to be home.

I drove the miles back, but not in rain. It was all behind us now. It was fresh and clean and sunshiny. It was perfect. Home sweet home, as they say. And it is true.