July 12, 2012
Scrambled Eggs
I knew this week was going to be
messed up when one of my reps called last week and asked that I change my plans
to be in San Diego all day Tuesday, no problem, they’ll get better use of my
time that way. He suggested I rent a car and drive to San Diego
Monday night and then leave at lunch to drive back to Orange
County to catch my evening flight to Sacramento
No sweat, better yet, I’ll change
my flight Tuesday to fly from San Diego to Sacramento rather than from Orange
County , and I’ll take a
train to San Diego
so I don’t have to rent a car.
I literally jumped on a train in
the parking lot of the Angels with a ticket I hurriedly purchased in a kiosk
outside the station. Not everyone speaks
English here so I asked a couple of people if indeed the train went to San Diego , because it
left the station heading east. No problem, I’m on the right train so sit and
relax. Nice ride down the coastline to San Diego ,
I knew it was time to get off because the next stop was Tijuana . No, just kidding, the old station
downtown was the last stop. I got to my hotel and sure enough, no reservation.
I told them I prepaid for the room (trying to save $20, remind me not to do
that again) After a 30 minute telephone conversation the clerk let me have my
room, and told me I’ll have to fight out the refund with Hilton. Thanks Dan, if
that’s your real name…………..We’ll have to see how if the customer is always
right.
All seemed well until our
breakfast meeting on Tuesday, my rep told me he had been sick early in the
morning, then proceeded to get sick outside during our breakfast. Yeah, he
excused himself, fortunately I hadn’t checked out of my room so I went back to
my hotel and cooled my heels while he went home in anticipation of feeling
better, and making calls in the afternoon
About 10:00 I left the hotel and
walked one block over to the harbor. Lo and behold there sat an old friend of
mine, the Surprise, formerly called the HMS Rose. Still not sure exactly how
she got there, but after Master and Commander the studio decided not to film a
sequel. One of the guides knew a little about the ship and asked if I
remembered the captain Richard Bailey. I replied “dick” and he said he thought
he went by Richard. I told him I remembered him as being a dick……………
Anyway they let me on despite my
attitude and it was good to see that old lady again. The galley had returned to
a gun deck, and they let me look in the food prep area where I fondly
remembered working with a piece of dried ginger in my mouth to help with the
rolling sea. The crew quarters looked, well in a word………..unbearable. I’m still
not sure how I got into that top bunk, always stopping to visit the young lady
who slept below me while I took the time to apologize for stepping on her hand,
again. Good times and a good trip with Jay some 14 years ago.
I knew Southwest had an
earlier flight to Sacramento
so I left downtown bound for the airport on a rickshaw. Yes, first time for
that, I felt like a genuine dingbatter. My driver missed a turn, that’s hard to
believe isn’t it, but we got to the terminal and he charged me twice what a cab
would have been; that’s OK, now I know why he pulled up in front of the cop to
let me out. Karma
Into the airport to see if I can
fly standby on the earlier flight, no problem sir, that’s +$80. To fly
standby…………….what happened to changing a flight? Wish I’d just stayed uptown
and walked around
Time for a little lunch and hey
look, there’s only one seat open at the Chili’s Express and there is a beautiful
young lady sitting there with an odd shaped pocketbook. “May I sit here?”
“Sure” The next thing I know Cujo is coming out of the pocketbook trying to
bite me. “He never does that”……………….My thoughts were that perhaps that little
Chihuahua (who I called Chi Chi for the rest of my adventure) must be a pretty
good judge of character
And so the plane landed safely in
Sacramento and I got a call from home telling me that it rained and we have water coming
through the sheetrock in the kitchen…………..again. Turns out it was the AC unit drain, or non-drain causing the problems. Some days, I tell you, some
days………………..
Then the hotel tells me that yes, a shuttle
goes to their hotel, but not “their” shuttle. I need to book a reservation with
the Shuttle Express……………..
Worked around northern CA and got
a few things done, and it seemed as though my luck was turning, right up to the
point when TAR texted me that United called and told her my Friday flight home
is cancelled. Wonder how that will turn out………..
It upsets me to waste time and
money like this but maybe just maybe I got all of my scrambled eggs out of the
way for a while. Man I sure hope so.
Now for your viewing entertainment and to preserve what's left of my sanity something lighter: pictures and videos from my past week in the great state of CA:
HMS Rose, renamed the Surprise:
My new friends, courtesy of the Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza in Irvine, CA:
Ever ride in a rickshaw? Save your $25, here's your view:
The 12 meter Stars and Stripes, I think was a later version, I think Connor's winning boat was a lighter shade of blue, but still majestic to watch this old beauty stretch her legs
Napa Valley at speed, all of the farmers came out as we rode by and yelled "thank your wife for us!"
And not a bad shot of San Francisco from the Bay Bridge, especially considering I was in a car.... Alcatraz can be seen through the fog bank, the city is on the left
My favorite restaurant
Does the word "Trion" look familiar to you?
A fond farewell to the Edwards family is scheduled for this Sunday, we will miss each member of that family and wish them well in Lynchburg VA.
