Leave Home for O'Hare

 This is Home

Traveling is hard enough these days without being irredeemably stupid.  I couldn’t do a thing last night, so I went to bed at 8:45pm, took a pill and slept like a baby until 4am.  I know. The birds aren’t even up at that time, but what to do? I love to watch the sunrise.

Today it was more important to finish packing and try to pick up the house. So a shower and dress. Oh no, all the clothes are in the dryer.  So I go dripping wet down the stairs to get them. Then a sandwich to stop my stomach from eating its own lining.  I finish packing my bag. That wasn’t too difficult, because I basically washed everything I used in Rome and put it back in the  bag. Added a couple of t-shirts in case it was hot and that was that.

I usually have two bags: a backpack with my computer and cords, and a bag that rolls. If I decide it's too dangerous to check one of them, then I unpack my purse and put it in the bag and its contents in the backpack.  But I decided to risk checking the bag, because I have enough clothes left there to wear in India, if the clothes don’t come.  I stay with friends and leave a bag there.

I noticed that the screen on my computer is beginning to deteriorate. Well why not? It is almost a year old. Exactly the same thing happened to my last computer. I know what you’re thinking. I must be hard on my computers. Maybe, but it is packed in two bags to protect it. The only redeeming factor is that this computer only cost $200. I didn’t take the insurance, so of course it began to deteriorate. If I had paid big bucks for the insurance, it would have held on until the day the insurance ran out. That’s Murphy’s law!! I would like to get my hands on that Murphy guy.

Annie Oakley--the sweetest dog

I was done by 9:45 and needed to be off by 10. So now was the time to take our sweet little dog, Annie, to the kennel.  She loves the kennel, because the staff loves her. But I still feel a little bad, leaving her for such long periods of time. And now it is getting so expensive, it might be cheaper to take her with us. I will have to look into that.

So I packed the car and dropped her off. Then it was time for my morning coffee and I went to the local coffee shop to buy a big coffee latte. Then I dumped the entire cup into the front floor of the car.

Okay, another cup and a few towels and we are on our way. I get to the bus station just in time to buy the ticket and grab the bus, when I realize I don’t have my backpack.  How could this have happened?  What do I do now?

I called my friend Tina but she was too far from the house to be of help. So I decided to drive back and get it, and found the car doors locked—naturally. Since Dick was picking up the car I had locked my keys inside.

I went to the woman in the bus terminal and she called a friend who could break in. It worked like a charm. Do you have any idea how easy it is to break into a car? Literally two minutes.

But then I was off, but too late to get the backpack and get back in time for the next bus.  So the ticket lady suggested I go to Rockford,a place in Illinois which has a clock tower on the highway. . Another bus would stop there and I could leave the car. Ah, yes, but on the way I ran into construction. And guess what they were repairing. You got it. The exit to the Clock Tower.  Oh well ,off to Ohare.

So I am now here, checked in, even got my aisle seat and waiting for the take off. Until tomorrow.