Oh where to start about the recent trip? I knew at the onset that traveling with Beloved Husband would be difficult. He is OCD and is like a grumpy Republican cat especially if he is no longer in his comfort zone.
I shall attack the voyage in a linear fashion and eventually get to the end. Hang in there this may be a tad disorganized.
Day one: Because there were zero seats available on Horizon Air out of North Bend, we elected to drive FIVE hours to Portland to overnight three days etc.
The drive was well done until we got to the 205 and it was slow, slow until the turn off to the airport. We crept along for at least an hour. Finally creeped past the accident that had slowed everything and we rapidly finished the last mile or so.
First bump was a wrinkle for us. The parking lot at the Holiday Inn is metered. There was one of those road crossing bars. We were stumped not having encountered this thing before. I finally had to get out of the car and read the directions. Oh, push button, take token, bar raises, drive through. Duh.
Next morning we took the shuttle bus to the airport. Got on the commuter flight to SeaTac. I have not flown since 2006. The walk from Horizon to Alaska was strange. Not too long ago all of the original carpet at the airport was taken off and people were paying to get strips of it as a momento. I looked down at the replacement carpet and unfortunately it has been badly worn and looks very shabby. That kind of heavy use carpet must be constructed with some high iron content I am thinking. Security was no biggy nothing new so far on the outgoing. Just needed to get boarding passes printed. I watched people using their smart phones to wave at the gate. So cool, I gotta get me one of those things.
But I digress. We went to Alaska Air check in, got boarding passes printed etc. Asked where to go and were told go to the N gates. Huh? Go down those elevators, way way down. We took an underground train thingy that was not there last time I flew. It was kind of fun, hang onto a hand rail cuz it took off and accelerated like a moon shot. We arrived at the proper spot and waited for the flight. The next leg was SeaTac to Dallas/Fortworth.
Tim and I were seated aisle and middle seat. Not much difference, same size seat very hard, but they now have couple portals to plug in your devices. I plugged in my tablet. I sat next to a nice young man and greeted him and he said, "I love the snow flake!" (Said snowflake carved into the back of my head by hairdresser lady) Conversation ensued. He and his husband and little boy were boarded first and he said that at first the seating had all three of them scattered all over the plane. Um, no the four year old rides with one of us. Of course, sir. Here you go.
The ride was smooth for a while, we had a snack of some sort and then turbulence kicked our butts. This went on for what felt like forever. I began earnestly praying for the pilot and wishing that I knew one of those elegant prayers. I just kept mentally singing a purely made up hymn.
"Let it be your will dear Lord, let it be your will.
Let the captain of this plane fly true...…..
Let it be your will dear Lord, let it be your will.
Let the weather not be bumpy.
Let the clouds be not lumpyl
Let it be your will dear Lord, let it be your will."
I was envisioning some Country trio singing acapella and the one with the long white beard has a very deep voice.
Eventually the Pilot announced that we would climb to 35 thousand feet to avoid the lumpy clouds. Yay! Thank you!!! Beloved Husband was very calm regarding the ride. His philosophy is that since there is nothing to be done about, do not worry. So proud, the man worries enough about minutia, but the big stuff? Not so much.
As we landed and taxied the young man asked if I had a barf bag. Urp, urp. Got another one? Urp urp. Here's a napkin. Was it the food or the flight. Flight.
I gave him my email addy and asked for a picture of he and his little boy (Wyatt) and the rest of the family.
All righty then, we switched to American for the leg to Florida. While waiting there, I saw a young black lady reading a book. When she looked up I asked her if she knew what time zone we were here in Texas? She blinked and apologized and said that she had no idea she had just come back from over seas. Oh where from? Korea. She is an English teacher to South Korean soldiers. I asked about a phrase I heard many years ago that sounded like "hopshida". She said it means, "Lets do something". Thanks, I had never used the phrase because I was afraid it was some Korean cuss words.
We landed at Tampa International Airport and took their commuter train thingy to pick up luggage. It was very late and I spotted a man who looked he might be an airport worker. Nope taxi. Goody, lets go to the Holiday In Express. Got there and fell into bed.
Now for the medical adventure part. My appointment was next day at 10:30 and another cab ride. The weather was unseasonable for Florida at this time. There was torrential tropical rain storm and lots of thunder, Temp 70 very fine degrees. I like rain. Got to the clinic and signed at least 20 pages of stuff. Watched videos of people singing the praises of the NSI stuff. One guy was a famous football player who had the joint injection for his shoulder and he could throw again. Another person talked about how much better his COPD was. Wow. And another talked about the improvement in the diabetes. A1C went from 10 to 4, she is now on zero meds.
That all sounds pretty incredible but how it works is that the fat cells are harvested, it takes about 4 tablespoons of fat (damn, take a pound, I got plenty!). These fat cells are given an enzyme treatment, a heat treatment, harvested into a solution and given the patient intravenously. The little cells circulate all over the body finding places to settle in and reproduce themselves similar to the cells in the locations where they land. There is also a bone marrow taken from the hip and this is used in some fashion. The process is not yet approved by the FDA, so no insurance will touch the fees. Bring cash. I brought credit cards.
Here is where it all fell apart. You do know that banks seize up when your card suddenly gets charges from way far away? Yeah. Mine were dead, dead, dead. And trying to fix it on a Friday was not working. I could not get a one day transfer from my 401k. The young lady worked with me and nothing worked. I did not qualify for their inhouse financing and I decided to cancel. Got my 1500 bucks refunded which helped get one card jumpstarted. Yay, don't have to find a pawn shop.
Returned to room to rest and mentally cudgel myself. Argh!!! We rested and listened to it rain and thunder, nice and refreshing.
We checked out next day and as we waited in the lobby a nicely dressed family entered. The bride was dressed in a pink wedding dress! It was gorgeous! Her grooms looked like her brothers nice tuxedos and orchid corsages. Pictures were taken, it took three brothers to keep her dress fluffy and up off the floor.
After they left the desk clerk explained that that was not a pink wedding gown it was a quincereana party, I probably have that misspelled. It was a 15th birthday party. I had not seen one since the 70's when the little Catholic Church in Philo, California was decorated for about 7 girls who all showed up in white gowns. Very festive!
We caught the cab back to TIA and checked in and got new boarding passes and got in line for the TSA thing. We followed lots of people and finally got to a desk and the guy, asked if we knew we were TSA precheck? No what is that? You go in the short line over there. Oh, thanks. I got to the walk through thing and it kept beeping, no idea so I got to go into the x-ray thingie and passed that. I remembered much later that yes I DO have metal in my body, a titanium shoulder joint. Duh.
Things speeded up after that. We got to ride in the train thingy again and sat in a lounge. We had a long wait for the plane, I went shopping and purchased two neck pillows. I was going to sit on mine because those seats were wearing out my ample padding. We boarded a very full plane and we were both going to be seated in middle seats. A nice young man asked Beloved Husband if we were together and offered to let him have the aisle seat, he was sitting with a couple and their baby. Ok. As things progressed, the only seat left open was next to me at the window. I asked the guy if he wanted to move over here and give the couple a little room. Yay every body happy.
It was a SIX. HOUR. FLIGHT. to SeaTac. The gate guy in TIA mentioned that connecting flights would probably be missed and to rebook with him. So I did and then. a miracle of sorts happened. The TWO. HOUR. DELAY. from SeaTac was made up by a combination of speed and a hefty tail wind. Beloved Husband noticed that our seat mate was tracking the flight on his Alaska Air app (I gotta get a smart phone) and we had made up the gap and were MINUS 30 MINUTES. Landed on time, but the extended taxi meant for sure wiped out that connection. As it was we almost missed the connection to Portland and we scurried onto an actual jet which took 25 minutes and we touched down in a very time travel manner. We eventually waited under a heater in the cold 50 degree Portland weather. Brr. We eventually got the shuttle bus back to the Holiday Inn and woke someone up by trying to get into the room we left and did not realize that we would be check into a different room. Yay, got that straightened out and fell into bed at 1:30 am. We eventually woke from a sleep deprived stupor and checked out and headed south on a Sunday and relatively traffic free drive. However, it was raining like a cow peeing on a flat rock. I drove to Albany and we switched off and Beloved Husband got us to Myrtle Point to the Cozy Kitchen and a much delayed lunch. Home then and Charlie was very vocal and cussed out extensively in cat attitude. So good to quit moving.
Conclusion: If I make another effort, I shall travel alone and hopefully closer. I did an online search and there is some stem cell work being done in Portland for arthritis. I plan to contact them to see if they are considering infusions. So the moral of the story is. TAKE. CASH. MONEY. And if anyone tries to rob you, stand up, look stupid and wet your pants which is becoming easier and easier the older I get.
Need a nap.
I shall attack the voyage in a linear fashion and eventually get to the end. Hang in there this may be a tad disorganized.
Day one: Because there were zero seats available on Horizon Air out of North Bend, we elected to drive FIVE hours to Portland to overnight three days etc.
The drive was well done until we got to the 205 and it was slow, slow until the turn off to the airport. We crept along for at least an hour. Finally creeped past the accident that had slowed everything and we rapidly finished the last mile or so.
First bump was a wrinkle for us. The parking lot at the Holiday Inn is metered. There was one of those road crossing bars. We were stumped not having encountered this thing before. I finally had to get out of the car and read the directions. Oh, push button, take token, bar raises, drive through. Duh.
Next morning we took the shuttle bus to the airport. Got on the commuter flight to SeaTac. I have not flown since 2006. The walk from Horizon to Alaska was strange. Not too long ago all of the original carpet at the airport was taken off and people were paying to get strips of it as a momento. I looked down at the replacement carpet and unfortunately it has been badly worn and looks very shabby. That kind of heavy use carpet must be constructed with some high iron content I am thinking. Security was no biggy nothing new so far on the outgoing. Just needed to get boarding passes printed. I watched people using their smart phones to wave at the gate. So cool, I gotta get me one of those things.
But I digress. We went to Alaska Air check in, got boarding passes printed etc. Asked where to go and were told go to the N gates. Huh? Go down those elevators, way way down. We took an underground train thingy that was not there last time I flew. It was kind of fun, hang onto a hand rail cuz it took off and accelerated like a moon shot. We arrived at the proper spot and waited for the flight. The next leg was SeaTac to Dallas/Fortworth.
Tim and I were seated aisle and middle seat. Not much difference, same size seat very hard, but they now have couple portals to plug in your devices. I plugged in my tablet. I sat next to a nice young man and greeted him and he said, "I love the snow flake!" (Said snowflake carved into the back of my head by hairdresser lady) Conversation ensued. He and his husband and little boy were boarded first and he said that at first the seating had all three of them scattered all over the plane. Um, no the four year old rides with one of us. Of course, sir. Here you go.
The ride was smooth for a while, we had a snack of some sort and then turbulence kicked our butts. This went on for what felt like forever. I began earnestly praying for the pilot and wishing that I knew one of those elegant prayers. I just kept mentally singing a purely made up hymn.
"Let it be your will dear Lord, let it be your will.
Let the captain of this plane fly true...…..
Let it be your will dear Lord, let it be your will.
Let the weather not be bumpy.
Let the clouds be not lumpyl
Let it be your will dear Lord, let it be your will."
I was envisioning some Country trio singing acapella and the one with the long white beard has a very deep voice.
Eventually the Pilot announced that we would climb to 35 thousand feet to avoid the lumpy clouds. Yay! Thank you!!! Beloved Husband was very calm regarding the ride. His philosophy is that since there is nothing to be done about, do not worry. So proud, the man worries enough about minutia, but the big stuff? Not so much.
As we landed and taxied the young man asked if I had a barf bag. Urp, urp. Got another one? Urp urp. Here's a napkin. Was it the food or the flight. Flight.
I gave him my email addy and asked for a picture of he and his little boy (Wyatt) and the rest of the family.
All righty then, we switched to American for the leg to Florida. While waiting there, I saw a young black lady reading a book. When she looked up I asked her if she knew what time zone we were here in Texas? She blinked and apologized and said that she had no idea she had just come back from over seas. Oh where from? Korea. She is an English teacher to South Korean soldiers. I asked about a phrase I heard many years ago that sounded like "hopshida". She said it means, "Lets do something". Thanks, I had never used the phrase because I was afraid it was some Korean cuss words.
We landed at Tampa International Airport and took their commuter train thingy to pick up luggage. It was very late and I spotted a man who looked he might be an airport worker. Nope taxi. Goody, lets go to the Holiday In Express. Got there and fell into bed.
Now for the medical adventure part. My appointment was next day at 10:30 and another cab ride. The weather was unseasonable for Florida at this time. There was torrential tropical rain storm and lots of thunder, Temp 70 very fine degrees. I like rain. Got to the clinic and signed at least 20 pages of stuff. Watched videos of people singing the praises of the NSI stuff. One guy was a famous football player who had the joint injection for his shoulder and he could throw again. Another person talked about how much better his COPD was. Wow. And another talked about the improvement in the diabetes. A1C went from 10 to 4, she is now on zero meds.
That all sounds pretty incredible but how it works is that the fat cells are harvested, it takes about 4 tablespoons of fat (damn, take a pound, I got plenty!). These fat cells are given an enzyme treatment, a heat treatment, harvested into a solution and given the patient intravenously. The little cells circulate all over the body finding places to settle in and reproduce themselves similar to the cells in the locations where they land. There is also a bone marrow taken from the hip and this is used in some fashion. The process is not yet approved by the FDA, so no insurance will touch the fees. Bring cash. I brought credit cards.
Here is where it all fell apart. You do know that banks seize up when your card suddenly gets charges from way far away? Yeah. Mine were dead, dead, dead. And trying to fix it on a Friday was not working. I could not get a one day transfer from my 401k. The young lady worked with me and nothing worked. I did not qualify for their inhouse financing and I decided to cancel. Got my 1500 bucks refunded which helped get one card jumpstarted. Yay, don't have to find a pawn shop.
Returned to room to rest and mentally cudgel myself. Argh!!! We rested and listened to it rain and thunder, nice and refreshing.
We checked out next day and as we waited in the lobby a nicely dressed family entered. The bride was dressed in a pink wedding dress! It was gorgeous! Her grooms looked like her brothers nice tuxedos and orchid corsages. Pictures were taken, it took three brothers to keep her dress fluffy and up off the floor.
After they left the desk clerk explained that that was not a pink wedding gown it was a quincereana party, I probably have that misspelled. It was a 15th birthday party. I had not seen one since the 70's when the little Catholic Church in Philo, California was decorated for about 7 girls who all showed up in white gowns. Very festive!
We caught the cab back to TIA and checked in and got new boarding passes and got in line for the TSA thing. We followed lots of people and finally got to a desk and the guy, asked if we knew we were TSA precheck? No what is that? You go in the short line over there. Oh, thanks. I got to the walk through thing and it kept beeping, no idea so I got to go into the x-ray thingie and passed that. I remembered much later that yes I DO have metal in my body, a titanium shoulder joint. Duh.
Things speeded up after that. We got to ride in the train thingy again and sat in a lounge. We had a long wait for the plane, I went shopping and purchased two neck pillows. I was going to sit on mine because those seats were wearing out my ample padding. We boarded a very full plane and we were both going to be seated in middle seats. A nice young man asked Beloved Husband if we were together and offered to let him have the aisle seat, he was sitting with a couple and their baby. Ok. As things progressed, the only seat left open was next to me at the window. I asked the guy if he wanted to move over here and give the couple a little room. Yay every body happy.
It was a SIX. HOUR. FLIGHT. to SeaTac. The gate guy in TIA mentioned that connecting flights would probably be missed and to rebook with him. So I did and then. a miracle of sorts happened. The TWO. HOUR. DELAY. from SeaTac was made up by a combination of speed and a hefty tail wind. Beloved Husband noticed that our seat mate was tracking the flight on his Alaska Air app (I gotta get a smart phone) and we had made up the gap and were MINUS 30 MINUTES. Landed on time, but the extended taxi meant for sure wiped out that connection. As it was we almost missed the connection to Portland and we scurried onto an actual jet which took 25 minutes and we touched down in a very time travel manner. We eventually waited under a heater in the cold 50 degree Portland weather. Brr. We eventually got the shuttle bus back to the Holiday Inn and woke someone up by trying to get into the room we left and did not realize that we would be check into a different room. Yay, got that straightened out and fell into bed at 1:30 am. We eventually woke from a sleep deprived stupor and checked out and headed south on a Sunday and relatively traffic free drive. However, it was raining like a cow peeing on a flat rock. I drove to Albany and we switched off and Beloved Husband got us to Myrtle Point to the Cozy Kitchen and a much delayed lunch. Home then and Charlie was very vocal and cussed out extensively in cat attitude. So good to quit moving.
Conclusion: If I make another effort, I shall travel alone and hopefully closer. I did an online search and there is some stem cell work being done in Portland for arthritis. I plan to contact them to see if they are considering infusions. So the moral of the story is. TAKE. CASH. MONEY. And if anyone tries to rob you, stand up, look stupid and wet your pants which is becoming easier and easier the older I get.
Need a nap.
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