Day 8: Coming Home

Sorry this has taken awhile to post.  First, I was too tired and unable to stay awake to do any blogging.  Then all day today, I have been unable to get into my blog... on Firefox, at least.  I finally had to open it in Internet Explorer.  Don't know what's up with that.

Anyway, we had checked the weather on Tuesday night, and in some strange twist of fate, it was to be 59 degrees and raining in LA when we left and 75 degrees and sunny in Atlanta when we got home!!  And the weather was true to its word!  It was raining when we left the motel.  We were fortunate, though, that we only had to get out in the rain at McDonald's to get our breakfast.  Our car was parked in the parking deck at the motel and the rental car return was covered with the shuttle van right there.  Also, the van let us out right on the curb at the airport so we were good to go!

We got to our gate about 2 hours early.  We read for awhile, grabbed something to eat at the only place available at that terminal (Again, Atlanta has it going on at the airport!), Burger King, gobbled that down and it was already time to board the plane.  It was another uneventful trip.  It was a full flight, though, so VERY crowded.  There is definitely no room to stretch out.  They pack you in like sardines!  However, because it was a full flight, Mom got to check her carry-on for free!  Since we already had checked bags, it was a no-brainer for us.  Made it easier on me and Mom not having to carry that extra bag on the plane and (me) not having to lift it into an overhead bin.

We left LA at about 11:35am PST and actually got into Atlanta 30 minutes early - at 6:30pm EST.  I was so psyched to be home!  Our bags were already coming down the baggage claim when we got there, and we zoomed out to find the shuttle van back to my car.  He was waiting for us!  It was great.  Got to the car fine... and then we tried to leave.  Well, there was some idiot (I'm sorry - I couldn't think of a nicer way to put it.) in a truck at the window that didn't have his ticket.  An instead of having him pull over and waiting on the car ahead of us and us... no they made us wait.  and wait.  and wait.  For so long, that I honked the horn.  A female employees stuck her head out the window and held up her index finger like, "Just one more minute." Well, that minute stretched into 2 to 3.   FINALLY, the line started moving.  When it was our turn, the male manager that was at the window by this time, apologized, and I told him that they should have had the difficult customer pull aside while they waited on the others.  Of course, he made some excuse why that wouldn't work.. but you know what?  This guy showed great customer service skills.  #1 - He apologized... that goes a long way with me when someone screws up, but a lot of people won't apologize for anything anymore; #2 - He never got mad or upset.  He was upbeat and smiling through the entire thing.  He even diverted me by asking about our trip and expressing that he knew we were ready to get home.; #3 - He thanked us.  All of that EXCELLENT customer service (which we rarely see anymore) diffused the situation and will make me give them my business in the future.

Anyway, we got out of there and I very quickly re-adjusted to driving in Atlanta!  That is to say I did about 80 MPH all the way home!  LOL  I couldn't wait to see my babies!

Tracy went and picked up hot wings for our dinner, and (perfect timing!) we pulled into the driveway at the same time he did!  I didn't have my house key with me so we had to wait for Tracy a whole minute or two, and Daisy was barking up a storm on the other side of the door!  She was very impatient to see her mama!  She was very happy to see me, as was Gracie.  Trixie hid because Mom was here, of course.  And surprisingly, Zeus kept his distance until I went to bed.  He's been sticking close to me ever since, though!  Daisy wouldn't hardly let me out of her sight.  When I finally went to bed (about 2AM!!!), she jumped right up on my side of the bed so that I had to angle and squeeze my way in between her and Tracy!  She wasn't about to sleep too far away from me - I might disappear again!  LOL

You should have seen how happy she was to see my mom leave the next morning!  She knows that every time Mom comes, I leave.  So once Mom was gone, I guess she figured I was home to stay!  She's so funny!

My friend who came over and let Daisy out a couple of times a day while I was gone called me and said that Daisy was a different dog on Wednesday.  Every other day, she had just scooted outside, did her business, came right back inside, no playing, no nothing.  On Wednesday, Daisy met her at the door with a toy in her mouth and was all happy cause she just KNEW her mama was coming home that night!!!

I am waaaayyy jet lagged, but I am glad to be home... though I'm not too thrilled with doing laundry, cleaning house, or paying bills.  It never goes away.  ;)