Sometimes journeys can be LOOOOONG!

Friday I finally arrived in Birmingham six hours behind schedule, and can I just say that the Houston (George Bush) International Airport is STUPID!  You have to go through security to change terminals.  I mean, come ON!  This is after I sat on a plane on the runway in San Antonio for an HOUR before they decided to let us know that they were cancelling our flight.  Thanks for that, Continental.

Today I arrived at Birmingham's airport at six thirty, was laid over in Dallas for three hours.  Get on board the flight to Eagle County Airport (closest to Vail) and they discover that a cargo net is ripped.  So we sit there while that's repaired.  Then when we started making our descent into Vail, it's snowing so badly there (they got 13" last night) that we can't land, so we circle.  This has happened to me a few times before, and I know that eventually we will probably divert to Denver.  I should have advised our captain, because he decided to just flip u'ies in the sky for an additional hour.  At this point, I've already tired of the wonderful book I'm reading ("Ahab's Wife" by Sena Jeter Naslund) that I'm basically just sitting there getting myself more worked up, primarily because of Collins.

Collins is "Sewanee folk" and currently resides in Fort Collins (I'm serious), CO.  She decided to drive down with her skis and hang out with me.  So when we land in Denver it's after four and Collins was all set to pick-up me up at two.  I phone her immediately and explain what's happened, and wouldn't you know it, Collins was also unable to get into Vail.  What was originally reported as a 75 car pile-up later turned out to be 40 cars (+ fatalities :-(  )  No one was getting into or out of Vail, and Collins was not getting out of Copper.  She had finished her run at Copper, was taking some sort of shuttle, and an eavesdropping bus driver divulged the secret of an alternate route.  Sat on the plane in Denver while we refueled and waited for someone to tell us what was wrong.  Renewed interest in my book for lack of anything else to do.  Ate some granola bars.  Waited a little longer.  Made it into Vail before Collins and took a shuttle to my resort.  The drive was absolutely breathtaking, especially because we took the backroads 'cause the Interstate was still not accepting traffic.  Saw deer.  Saw elk, saw the sun set on the mountains at 9,000 feet.

This is when I remembered what Mama had just told me a few minutes earlier when I called her with a travel update.  "You know, you taught yourself to read when we drove through those mountains."  I remember that!  Stuck in the middle seat of the Aerostar Minivan on the drive to Lancaster, CA from The Farm, IA.  I was determined to read, being the middle child and never appreciating feeling left behind (Brooke could read!)  So I did.  I taught myself to read.  I even remember the book and the word that I had a complete come-apart over.  "Could" was the word I just could not get.

Anyways, I'm safe and snug here at the Vail Cascade and Collins and I are enjoying a bottle of Pinot Noir, complements of the property (I guess?)