June « 2024 « Randys Blog

Jun 21

2024 June 21

So we arrived home to Oshkosh with little fanfare May 17! Everything was fine at the apartment, but we knew that because Mark had kept an eye on it for us. When the battery was connected to the Oshkosh car it started right up. So all was good, and then into a couple of days of unpacking and reacquainting ourselves with the apartment. We have caught up with some old friends and I have gotten some golf time in. Good to be back. Still more catching up to do but we were going to Denver for a wedding. We went to see our good friend’s, Bev and Wally’s son Travis, tie the knot in Colorado. So off we were. We booked a direct flight from Appleton to Denver and arrived to spend some time with Bev and Wally in Denver. Travis and his fiance invited us to their house that night for a grill out and some drinks. After a wonderful evening the next morning we were off for Bailey, Colorado. Chris and I booked an Airbnb near the wedding venue, our first Airbnb. There were not many options in the area and we did not want to commute the 50 minutes in from Denver. It worked out great. A very nice mountain get-away, tastefully remodeled and comfortable. We found some good food along the way (have you ever been to a place where you can get a flight of Mac n cheese?) and a winery started by a Swiss immigrant. But those were the side notes. The big event was at a beautiful site. A few drops of rain fell before the ceremony and then stopped, and the sky cleared. The wedding in the gazebo was heartfelt and we believe the couple will be together for a lifetime. A good time was had by all. Then the next morning we were back on the road. From Bailey we headed south to Albuquerque. We have driven from Denver to ABQ before but this time we were already West, so Hwy 285 goes south most of the way to Sante Fe. It was an interesting and picturesque route on a nice day in the mountains. 9180 feet and higher, so much higher than Denver or Albuquerque. We arrived at Marie’s about 7 hours later and ready for a beer. We spent a few days catching up with Marie and taking care of a few items with her. On Thursday it was time to fly again. Albuquerque is not an easy place to fly in and out of, there are not many options. So we took what we could get. An early afternoon flight to Chicago and then on to Appleton. I have avoided Chicago for over 30 years and I like to get an earlier start; but none available. Even with some gusty winds and storms near by we were off on time and into O’Hare on time. I had booked with lot’s of time to the next takeoff, knowing what things are in todays airport world and never sure we would be off on time. So we landed, but I had started receiving texts about changes to another Appleton flight, not sure why. So when we landed we made our way to our next gate and asked the question of a gate attendent who had no idea, but our seats on our original flight were still good. We went for a bite to eat and a note popped up on my American Airlines app offering bonus points for us to book the other flight. So I hit the buttom to apply for that (we were there and could leave early). While eating our snack texts keep coming changing from 6:40, to 7:12, to 7:30. Our booked flight was 8:12. When done with the snack we walked to the alternate gate, no one around so we thought we could sit there for awhile. Eventually someone showed up and when I asked if we were on the list for the earlier flight the answer was “we don’t know because right now we don’t know when either flight will leave or which one first”. So I did some research and it looked like the earlier flight plane should land around 8 and the one we were booked on around 8:40. We hung around (with no updates from the customer service desk) and a plane did show up around 8. They deboarded and cleaned and started boarding , the messages from American said they would make an announcement on the stand-bys, so I waited patiently. When it was pretty full Chris said there were two people who she thought just got added to the plane, so I listened to her and we went up and asked, again. The attendent seemed clueless, but did check the plane when I asked if it was full, and then gave us boarding passes. The hell with the luggage, it was time to take any flight out of Chicago when we could. So happily we were off the tarmac and on the way. A very short flight to Appleton and pleasant landing in small airport. Now home and having a bourbon. A long story for a short part of a great trip!