Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

steak and eggs at the Spotlite Cafe

Travel Day Home From Salt Lake City

Dallas Airport

We were up early Saturday morning, and after a breakfast of peanut butter toast and yogurt, we were off to the airport. TSA went smoothly, and soon we were on the plane, with a scheduled stop in Dallas before heading to Minneapolis.  

We had a little time before our connecting flight, and decided to split a burger and fries at the Shake Shack. Then we headed to our gate to wait until boarding. This is where things went downhill. 

Our heads were just not in the game. We were tired, and not paying attention as we should have been. Then we got into a discussion about something not helpful, and when we next looked up at the gate destination sign, we noticed that Minneapolis was not even listed there! Trying to find more information on the flight status board was tricky, too, as it moved so quickly. We finally saw that they had changed our gate to another, 20 gates away! We got there as fast as we could, but when we arrived, we saw that the doors to the plane were shut. The airport staff person said that it was too late, they'd given our tickets away. I showed her my ticket, but she said that gates change all the time, and sorry, our tickets were gone. We could go to the service desk and see what they could do for us.

Riding the Rails

And, so began our riding of the rails throughout the airport. We eventually found the service desk, and the woman working there did try to be helpful. She looked at her computer a good 45 minutes for other flights but found nothing. The next flight available to Minneapolis would be Tuesday morning. Would we like to fly to Charlotte and maybe eventually get on a flight to Minneapolis? Or, Philadelphia? Of course, there were no guarantees of getting a flight to Minneapolis soon in those places either. We decided to just stay put where we were. She then placed us on standby for an evening flight, and we'd be numbers 3 and 4 on the list, with no promises if we'd even get on the plane. 

Up and Down

She also gave us some really helpful information. Did you know that if you google your flight number an hour before take off, it will tell you the final, updated gate for your flight? I wonder how many people actually know this ... 

So, back on the train we went to find our gate, and wait for our possible seats. As we waited, we looked at the sign with the standby ticket names, and saw that we had dropped to #5 and #6. I was too worked up to walk around or look for a book to read. I talked to Mark on the phone, who tried to comfort me. Eventually we struck up conversations with standby #3 and #4, who were quite relaxed (they'd just had a flight of wine at a restaurant across from the gate) and who were confident that we'd all get on. We met standby #7, a young woman who had been on three flights that day already, and was so tired. Her eyes reminded me of an old friend of Katie's. I heard a gate attendant say that they were down one seat because it was broken.

The moment arrived. When standby #1 and #2 were walking to get on the plane, I called out to them, and said I was happy for them! Standby #3 and #4 also made it on the plane, but then the gate keeper said that only Bruce or I could get on the flight, but not both. Make up your mind now, he said. I looked at standby #7 and said, you go ...

We were then back on standby for an early Sunday morning flight, and this time we were at the top of the list. What to do now? It was not appealing to leave the airport just to return at the crack of dawn, and have to go through TSA all over again. Standby #3 (I wished I'd asked her name) had mentioned that there were suites down the hall where you could stay 8 hours for $179 (plus tax) so we decided to check that out, and eventually we decided that was our best option. We booked a suite for 10 PM, and went to look for food.

Jazmin took our picture

We found a Mexican restaurant, and ordered shrimp fajitas and a bottle of wine. Our server, Jazmin, was so cute and nice to us, and I started to feel better about our situation. Then we googled our flight, just because, and found that the gate had changed again. The guy at the Minute Suites said that they also had another place right across from the new gate, and transferred us to that one. Back on the rails we went.

As it turns out, the suites were cramped, the day bed not comfortable at all, and even though we tried to adjust the thermostat, it was still pretty cold. I told myself that at least we were in a safe, private place and could lay down. Sleep would be a bonus. Morning eventually came, and as we checked out, the guy asked if we'd enjoyed our stay! I just looked at him, and he nodded his head as if to say, yep. 😂 

Please don't bump us down

The gate was already filled with people, but we were still #1 and #2 on the standby list. As we waited, a pilot strutted up to chat with the gate attendant, and I wondered if he would bump us down the list. Bruce called the Park and Go in Minneapolis to tell them we were stuck in Dallas, and they said, no worries about our car. 

And, then, we made it on the plane! 

I can't believe we're on the plane!

Home to hot coffee and a shower. 💕

Twist was so happy to see us

And what have I learned from all of this .... 1. Always pay attention  2. Google your flight an hour before take off for any gate change  3. And most important, always book a non-stop flight!

Trip To Salt Lake City (Day Four)

Friday morning already. Funny how when you get somewhere, it seems there's so much time to be had, and then all of a sudden, it's almost time to go home! 

Dan made us waffles with boysenberry syrup for breakfast, then off in the car for more scenery to see, and into Big Cottonwood Canyon with a stop in Brighton to visit their favorite solitude bench. Chippy the Chipmunk made an appearance, and I walked up a hilly part of the mountain (not very far) to try to identify some trees that we thought might be Quaking Aspen. 

Chippy

I've became a little obsessed with Quaking Aspen. They're so beautiful, with white bark and trembling leaves that turn yellow in the fall. I had to read up more on them, and discovered that a grove of quaking aspens in Utah is the largest living thing on Earth! There is a single root system for the entire plant, that covers over 100 acres. Also interesting to read was there were religious beliefs that the leaves of a Quaking Aspen shook with fear because Christ's cross was made from Aspen wood. And since there are Quaking Aspen in Minnesota, I will be on the look out.

Quaking Aspen

There was also discussion of V-shaped canyons versus U-shaped canyons. V-shaped canyons are formed by a river, and U-shaped canyons are formed after a glacier carving. We'd then try to decide if a canyon we saw was either V-shaped or U-shaped. 

V or U Shaped Canyon?

We had a late lunch at the Red Iguana 2 in Salt Lake City. The restaurant was featured in Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives in the past, and is known for their Mole. Dan ordered the sampler plate for us, and we also had shrimp fajitas, which were excellent. By evening we were still full, but did manage to eat a piece of peach pie.

Mole!

Nice picture of Bruce...

We had a chance to meet Rosie's artist son Jim, and grandson Luigi in the evening. Jim has painted most of the art on Rosie's walls, including the one of the sunflowers I posted from Day One of our trip. He's a very talented guy!

Apricot Chairs in the sunroom

Sunroom off the living room

Such a pretty home

Off to bed not too late, though, we have an early flight home in the morning.