It’s Travel Day back to Indiana. Our visit to NYC has been fun. Sandy is anxious to get back home to her comfort zone of living in the midst of 15 acres and taking care of the house and grandkids. But she has had a great time and is very proud of herself for making the trip and getting a little vacation time.
We didn’t have to leave the hotel until noon, so we lounged around the room and ate our last breakfast. I had oatmeal and Sandy had left over tortellini. We finished up the last of the packing and moving things from one suitcase to another trying to figure out if we were okay on weight. We did good. We watched some HGTV of homes worth millions of dollars. Some were pretty and some were weird. I just kept thinking about how many families could have lived in those homes of over 10,000 square feet.
We checked out at the front desk and the doorman got us a taxi to the airport. Very quick and uneventful. We went across town and over some streets and eventually highways that we hadn’t seen. The weather looked a little cloudy, but mild. Sandy was a little worried about the plane ride, since she doesn’t fly much and doesn’t like it. But I told her it should be fine.
We got to the airport by 1pm. Check in at curbside was fast and easy, security was fast and easy. I hadn’t flown out of JFK before and was happy that everything was close by, since I didn’t want Sandy to have a bad experience.
We found a Chili’s to have lunch. We had the hot spinach/artichoke dip and I had grilled salmon, rice and broccoli. Sandy had a spicy grilled chicken breast, rice and broccoli. We were both happy with our meals. We could relax and sit there as long as we wanted, since it wasn’t too busy. We talked about our trip and the things we enjoyed doing.
As we were walking to our gate, I grabbed a Chai Tea Latte from Starbucks. I love those and haven’t had any since getting back in the states 4 weeks ago! It was really good. We got to our gate about 3pm and they were supposed to start boarding at 3:30. A flight that was supposed to leave at 3pm from our gate was delayed waiting on their plane to show up. I thought we would be delayed waiting for them to leave, but their plane arrived and then the passengers had to wait for the new flight crew to show up and do their safety checks. They were still waiting at the gate after we boarded. It was interesting that Delta boarded 3 flights all at the same time from our gate. Once we walked through the doors, the long walk way just kept going. There were turn offs for the 3 different flights. One of the door people told me that they liked my haircut. I thought that was random but nice.
We got on the plane and it was before 4pm, which was our takeoff time. The plane was only half full. We got settled in and Sandy was trying not to be nervous. She was doing pretty well. There were 3 seats in our row. Seat A was on the left, then the aisle, then me and then Sandy by the window. A guy named Joe sat in seat A. He was from Brooklyn and was very outgoing and friendly. We had a great time chatting with him. He was on his way to Louisville to look at houses. He is thinking of relocating from NYC to live a slower paced life and look towards a family in the future. He got a kick out of how opposite his life in the city and Sandy’s life in the middle of 15 acres in the country is. He couldn’t believe that she can only get dial up internet and that she can’t get cable TV. Using an outdoor TV antenna blew his mind. When he asked why I had moved to Arkansas 22 years ago, I told him I wanted a slower paced life. He incredulously asked ‘more laid back that Indiana??’. Haha. Then I told him I now life most of the year in Nicaragua and he didn’t know what to think. He was really funny and I enjoyed hearing about his life and his rescue dog and such. It made the time pass by much quicker while we sat on the plane for 2 hours before taking off.
The Captain announced that the airport was using one runway for the traffic that would have used two. It took a long time to get airborn, but once we were up and above the turbulence, we were okay. Sandy was a little more relaxed by then, too. Since the plane was half empty, I moved to the seats behind us so that I could stretch out and so could Sandy. I moved back next to her for touchdown. The flight was fine and we made it to Louisville only hour late. Joe said he would friend me on facebook and I encouraged him to look up the Voice of Hope Ministries website to see how his donations (he likes to support good causes) would feed many, many children. I hope to hear from him so that I can hear more about his house search and relocation. I love meeting people while traveling. It’s a little gift that God brings into our lives if we would just pay attention.
Terry, Sandy’s husband, was waiting for us at the airport. We loaded up the car and then headed for a steakhouse for dinner. Yum! I was in the mood for a plain old steak and baked potato. I got some greenbeans for my side item and was very satisfied. We then headed home. It was almost 10 when we got home and we all headed for bed. Sandy and I just left our suitcases downstairs by the laundry room. No sense in hauling them upstairs just to bring the majority of stuff back down for washing.
I read a little bit before falling asleep. It was a nice trip, but it doesn’t seem like we were gone a whole week. Life starts back as normal tomorrow for Sandy and I resume my vacation in the states. I’m so thankful for God’s blessings of the trip.
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