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My trip home from Arkansas was a bit different than expected. Mom got me to the airport plenty early for my 7:25 flight to Oakland. Good thing I was early because the security line was long. But, it did move pretty quickly, and I was through security and the Starbucks line in plenty of time to get a good spot in the 'A' line at gate 11. This is where things began to change. It seems this flight was oversold (how does that happen???), so they announced that they were offering the face value of the ticket + $200 in a travel voucher good for a year to take another flight. After a quick call to Virginia, I decided to take them up on the offer and settled in with my book to wait for the 10:00 flight... to Chicago.

Well, the flight to Chicago Midway was only about 90 minutes. The 63 other passengers and I enjoyed the snack, and I especially relished having a whole row of seats to myself... although I sat in only one.

Chicago Midway is a neat airport... not too big, but with a great foodcourt. I strolled around, got something to eat, finished my book, and started a 2nd. The 3 hour layover was more than ample to get a good start.

Chicago to Oakland (even non-stop) is a pretty long flight. I was more than ready to get my feet on the ground and my legs moving by the time we landed. However, the 5 or so hours in a totally full plane weren't without pleasant distractions. Let's see, there was that book to finish, my row mates sleep-jerking to observe, the gourmet snack pack to get the gastric juices flowing, that line at the aft restroom to meet people, the more humorously clever than usual flight attendant to keep the mood light, and, of course, that slightly harder than expected landing to make sure everyone was awake to de-plane.

One real plus was that because my bag was on the original flight, it was waiting on me when we landed. Virginia picked it up and met me as I entered baggage claim. We were out of the parking lot before the other bags hit the carousel. Of course, I did get in a bit later... 5:15 instead of 11:00. All in all it was a good choice, but I was plenty tired when I got home.

Sunday was a blessing. Worship was rich; one of our teens was baptized by her grandpa; some of the young professionals hung out at our place for lunch. Good stuff.

Today was Monday... all day long. What more can I say?!? Oh, I did squeeze in time for a much needed haircut, losing the beginning of a 70s look I was in danger of cultivating. Tomorrow is Tuesday. Hope yours in blessed!!