Graduation Part 2: Let's Try This Again!

Buzzzzzz.  How do you feel about your alarm clock when it goes off at 2 a.m.?  Do you love it? Or do you feel such intense hate you could tear metal with your teeth?  I DO NOT like waking up at 2 a.m. to the sound of BUZZZZZZZZ.  Neither does the rest of the family.  So the grumpy Strawberry gang gets their stuff together and heads out the door to try to get to VA once again.

We arrive at our little airport and Hubby drops us off at the terminal and goes to find a parking space “close” to the airport.  We see and smile at familiar faces from last night and stand in line once again to check luggage.  We still have the tags from last night; we still have the receipt that said luggage has been paid for.  We are good to go.  And now we wait.  For although the ticket counter is open, TSA security is not AND the snack bar isn’t open either.  No coffee….no water…no nothing except CNN broadcasting the latest middle east report. So depressing at 3 a.m.

Skip to: we are on the plane. Happy faces just praying

a) the plane takes off and we make our connection,

b) we aren’t rerouted to O-Hare!

Happy to be on the plane!

Praise God! We've landed! The first leg of the journey is a success.   

Hello, DFW!!!

Added bonus: our daughters flight leaves from this airport so we take the tram and go to their concourse and catch up with them.

escalators....great inventions for tired travelers

I was so busy "catching up" that I forgot to take pictures of the girls visiting with us!!!  Here they are on their flight to Richmond with a stop in O'Hare!  Poor babies.  :)--- We have not had luck with connecting flights in O'Hare.  As a matter of fact, two of the four have had to sleep at O'Hare waiting for an available flight.

Wave to Career and Grad Girl! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Safe travels, my precious..es!

 Um, why had I not noticed these little beauties beforehand?  Several chairs let you kick your feet up?  I love America (not american airlines....just so we're clear about that!!!).

Happy Feet

 Time to plane.  A little light reading to pass the time away...and possibly some money!

Come to Momma!

This is going to be a good day!

Can you see the green mountains?

LANDED IN VIRGINIA!  HALLELUJAH!!!!

The family is together.

sorry to Hubby and college man for cropping their faces out! HA  #workingmachineryonlittlesleep!

Unfortunately.....

And this is how I roll.....(or don't roll since my rolling luggage didn't make it).

Remember Day 1 when I said we could only make it to Dallas and we would be spending the night there?  Remember Day 2 when I said I gave the "pre-checked luggage" (tags and all) to the ticket booth and said "we're good to go?"  Well, yes.  Guess where our luggage stayed?  Dallas.  Oh poop!!!!  Never put me in charge of anything at 3 o'clock in the MORNING!!!!!!! poop, poop, poop!

So luggage not in VA?  I will not let it get me down. Retail Therapy!!!!

My housing for the past 7 years has bounced from one house to another.  I decided to stay at the old house I would trek three (or four- depending on what door you came through) floors. The Strawberry Gang occupied all three rooms on the third floor of Thompson House.  What great family time.

 

Here's a story about a lovely lady....

 Since we didn't have luggage, the trip up the stairs was fairly easy. HA, she laughs. Those 4 flights of stairs still wind me, but it's good exercise.

We ate at a local restaurant, shopped for toothbrushes and deodorant and then turned in for the night.  Day 2 done and I had high hopes for our luggage reuniting with us by the next day.

Favorite Union Seminary restaurant

Grad Girl getting creative with The Momma's camera

An ending to a "perfect" day.... the girls' room would not lock. How could it? Their key was uncut!! They would probably want me to include that not only could I NOT get the door to lock from the outside BUT I was trying to get it to lock with the uncut key upside down (no, I did not notice the key was uncut at the time and no I wasn't listening to career girl tell me it was uncut! Yes, I was focused on the task at hand....mainly the key in my hand!).  Now in all fairness, it was past my bedtime Central Time so I was WAY over my bedtime Eastern Time .....   AND........ I had been up since 2 a.m.!!!  just saying. (That's my story and I'm sticking to it!)

you just THINK you are gonna lock that door, missy!