Reunion with Anita

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Off to JFK
Flight to Washington, DC
Missed Atlanta flight!

Maria helped me to arrange a cab to pick me up this morning to go to JFK. It was only $23…only $10 more than if I had taken the LIRR and the Airtrain. Plus I didn’t have to wake up quite as early.

I was at the airport about 2 ½ hours early so there was plenty of time just sitting around. Once again it gave me a chance t update my journal. I’m happy to report that I’m actually writing this entry on September 1st! I’m up-to-date…until tomorrow. Lol

My flight from New York City to Washington was delayed on the runway for about half an hour. Hmm, this is gonna make it a close call for my connector flight down to Atlanta. The very tall flight attendant on our plane was very, very humourous which totally makes a difference on a flight. A couple of examples, during the safety demonstration he showed us how to buckle up but did it in super slow motion. It was hilarious. He then asked us if we were hungry. Only a couple of hands went up. His response was, “Good! Because we only have eight packets of pretzels to share amongst us.” (Each bag was probably about 15g each.) lol It was really nice to see such an upbeat and positive attitude even with all the delays.

We made up some time in the air but still didn’t touch ground until 12:01. I was off of the plane by 12:06. At the shuttle bus that would take me to the G gates by 12:10. At Gate G26 at 12:16…one minute too late! So I had to go to Customer Service where I was reissued a new ticket relatively quickly.

So my new flight takes off about 3:15. I’ve been waiting almost two hours now. I have been watching CNN and the coverage on Katrina and New Orleans. Now that is crazy. Just one year ago I was down there…

Earlier it was quite interesting to watch some irate and flustered fliers…
• The woman yelling at the ticket agent because the gate was closed five minutes before take off.
• The guy who was getting upset and then stormed the gate.
• The couple who were supposed to fly to Cleveland but missed their flight and then got onto a Columbus flight instead.

I must give the United staff credit for being so patient with such hot headed flyers. But I’m guessing they go through this everyday since as soon as 12:40 passed, the terminal has been pretty quiet. It was just me and my fellow flyers also waiting for their 3PM flights. So the craziness must go by in waves.

So instead of getting into Atlanta in the mid-afternoon, taking the Marta to Brookhaven and then walking a couple of blocks to the local Starbucks to wait for Anita, I did all of my waiting in Washington. My flight from Washington to Atlanta was pretty uneventful but I was getting more and more excited as the minutes ticked by. My bag eventually showed up on the carousel and I was on my way to the Marta to catch a train north. It was about 40 minutes or so on the train and in that 40 minutes I managed to befriend three women. First it was Elaine who had just moved from Florida to be closer to her daughter and grandson Logan. She was fascinated with my travels and I think I have inspired her a bit to take off on a Round the World Adventure of her own. Then there was a girl in her mid-20’s that is currently living in NYC. We started talking about the high cost of living of NYC. She then proceeded to tell us that she’s in a one bedroom apartment in Manhattan and is spending $1800/month on rent!! Yikes! The third woman was in town visiting her friend as well.

Once I got to the NE8 stop I dragged my stuff down the stairs and found myself a payphone to call Anita. Not too long after that I saw Anita drive up to the Marta Station and there were hugs and high screechy and excited hellos abound. Lol We were both famished and headed to Sweet Tomatoes for some dinner. Sweet Tomatoes is buffet style eating so there were lots of salads, soups, pastas, breads and desserts like the soft serve ice cream machine, brownies and cookies. This sounds like training for the cruise. Lol

There’s nothing like a walk after dinner so we headed to a park that is not too far from where Anita lives. Who do we see there but Anita’s ex-boyfriend and his room mates. Finally, I get to meet Jaime! Anyhoo, Anita and I take a walk around the lake. We intended to do two rounds around the lake but about half way around the first round it was getting pretty dark in the trees so we decided to only walk one round. Plus, near the end of our walk all of the mosquitoes and other bugs were swarming around everywhere. Not a good thing.

So we decided to head back to Anita’s place before we were eaten alive! Anita moved to this apartment earlier in the year so I haven’t seen where she’s been living the last few months. It’s an awesome one bedroom apartment that is sort of on split levels which in my opinion makes it seem pretty spacious. Anita was curious to see how heavy a 46lb backpack feels so she struggled up the short flight of stairs with my pack on her back up to the living room. It was quite an amusing sight and I was thankful she did not injure herself! Lol Once Anita got her wind back I unpacked my bags. Or more like they exploded! Lol More chit chat and then it was time to hit the hay. It sure is tiring doing not much of anything all day!

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