Sheri

I hesitate to write this entry because the last time I did an "I wish I could stay in LA longer" entry... well, I did! ;P I'm looking forward to going home, though because I really miss Mark & my little fuzzy dog! :( My flight leaves LAX at 3pm... I CANNOT miss it! ;P

Yesterday I spent the entire day rushing around buying omiyage (souvenirs) for my family and friends. :) Went to Trader Joe's and nearly bought the store out ;) - I got specific instructions from my co-workers, Mark, and my Mom on what they all wanted from there. ;) I usually bring an extra bag with me, just to carry home TJ stuff when I travel. ;) Really wish we had one in Hawaii. :(

Went to Petco and PetsMart to buy puppy omiyage for Sydney and Susan's dog, Toby. :) While I was browsing around in the store, I saw the strangest thing... there were Star Wars doggie costumes! :O I actually had to take a picture of it because I know you all won't believe me unless you saw it. ;)

( Collapse )

Went to Boston Market and ate away my diet. :( That's another thing I wish we had in Hawaii... :( We have the Boston Market frozen entrees in our local market, but they're just not the same! :P All in all it was a pretty relaxing day, but I am SO ready to come home!!

It was such a lovely trip and so nice to see so many people: Linda :), Carrie, Laura, and Roger :), Daniel and his family, and Steven. My only regret is not getting to see Doug and Lily... :( Well, I'm off to pack up all of my stuff and catch up with all of your entries! Hope you all have a lovely Tuesday!! :) *HUGS*

Things never go as expected when I travel... never! I took a flight out of LAX at 3pm to Oakland (don't ask, it was cheaper...) then a 5:45 flight out of Oakland to Honolulu... When I got to the Oakland terminal, the lady at the ticket counter asked me if I would mind giving up my seat because they were incredibly over-booked. :( How is it that I always end up on overbooked flights?? I told her I really needed to get home and she reluctantly gave me my boarding pass...

About 5 minutes before boarding time, my name was called on the loud speaker and I was told to go to the service desk... In all my experiences with traveling, getting paged to the ticket counter has never been a good sign. :P I reluctantly went up and the lady asked to see my boarding pass. :P I was really hesitant to give it to her and I almost felt like Whoopie Goldberg in the scene from "Ghost" where she can't let go of the check she's giving to the nuns... I just had to be on that plane! :( I was SO sure that the lady at the counter was going to kick me off the flight and I was already envisioning having to explain why I couldn't come back as planned a SECOND time to my bosses at work. :P

I was halfway through deciding what I was going to say to my boss, when the lady at the ticket counter asked, "Do you mind if I upgrade you to business class?" I couldn't believe my ears... I just stood there for a while not processing what she was saying... And I guess I must've been staring at her blankly because she said, "You're a frequent flier member and we need seats in the main cabin - would you mind if I upgraded you?" I nodded, but I'm quite sure that look of blankness was still on my face. Stuff like this NEVER happens to me!

So, the flight home actually ended up being one of the nicest that I've ever had! In addition to the LARGE seats in business class that recline really far back and the foot rest (which I was too short to reach anyway) the flight attendants came by at least four or five times taking orders for drinks. It's kind of a shame (though not really...) that I don't actually drink. ;)

But I've made it home and I was SO happy to see Mark & Sydney, I couldn't begin to tell you!! I love traveling and I love seeing shows in LA, but there was something so special about coming home tonight - even just seeing the laid back local people at the airport and feeling the humidity in the air... I complain about Hawaii a lot, but I realized tonight that I could never leave here... Hope you're all having a nice evening - I'm going to collapse now, but I'll be back tomorrow with a couple of trip pictures. :)