We flew out to California yesterday and it was an experience

We flew out to California yesterday and it was an experience.

Sarah and Jack drove us to the airport so we could catch our plane, and was the airport full!

The first leg was Charlotte to Phoenix, and other than being long it was a nice flight. I mean a full plane, but a good flight. And when I say long I mean four hours. I know, that is not really very long but I confess, I am not a good traveler. But I did have a good philosophical insight concerning the phrase, “the joy is in the journey.” In life, such as marriage or raising children or even work, the joy is in the journey. When you are raising children for example, the joy of life is the raising, not some goal or destination. If you are always aiming at some destination you will miss out on life itself. However, when you are traveling, the joy is the destination itself. Or it is for me. As I said, I’m not a good traveler! Back to the trip…

As we were landing in Phoenix we started talking to my seatmate. He saw my ticket and asked, “You going to Ontario too?” I said yes and asked where he was going from there. He said, “Yucaipa.” Haha! He had been visiting family in South Carolina.

We got off the plane at gate A23 and walked to our next gate, A11. While we were eating we heard them announce that flight 618 had been moved to gate A30. Back to where we started! This plane was smaller and thankfully the trip was short. And for some reason the flight attendant was obsessed with whether or not my backpack was shoved all the way under the seat.

We arrived in Ontario at midnight. It was 52 degrees. We went to pick up our bags (which we had to check because the plane was small), which seemed to take a while. Then wait for the shuttle to take us to the car rental place. When we got there we discovered there was no one there! Three other guys were with us to also pick up a car from Hertz. We wandered around trying to find someone for a while. I finally found a number to call and called. “I’m sorry, sir, they close at 12:30.” I did my best to remind them that we had a contract – I pay and show up and you provide a car. I did my part and I expect you to do your. Alas, despite my protestations they did not fulfill their end. “I’m sorry, sir.” I did contact Hotwire and they refunded the money, but I still had no way to get to Yucaipa.

So, I called Lew and told him we wouldn’t be coming tonight but would get a hotel and come in the morning. He wouldn’t hear of it and graciously came to pick us up. So we finally arrived at our destination at 3:00 PDT, which translates to 6:00 EDT. Needless to say, it was straight to bed.

Today is our first day here. It is chilly in southern California and the mountains are green! Oh yeah, Hertz called today and apologized some more. I can get a car at a discount but I would have to go back to Ontario. But I came to see my family and that is going good so far. We are laying plans for the week. Gonna be a good week. 

See, I told you, when traveling the joy is the destination, not the journey!