Flight into the Night

What an odd life. 

I absolutely love meeting new people. God obviously knew this, and before i left for the airport, i prayed for divine appointments and that i could meet people along my journey from Colorado to Iowa. Boy, was my prayer answered. I spent approximately 23.5 hours in either an airport or airplane, due to some minor delays, which we will get back to in a moment. 

Wednesday, the 23rd i was dropped off at the Colorado Springs airport with nothing more than my dufflebag and backpack. Having no need to check myself or any luggage in, i bypassed that part and went straight to security. Whilst going through security I was pulled of to the side and thoroughly patted down, swab tested and my duffle rampaged through. The security man finally found what he was looking for, my Bible, took it from my bag, flipped through it, shoved it back in and told me to be on my way. How odd.

{The soon to be Longest wait of my life}

I took my time finding my gate. When i found it, the screen said it was a bit late. I sat and talked to a kind old couple, who's name i later found to be Mr. and Mrs. Chuck (how adorable). I asked if she would keep an eye on my bag and i left to use the bathroom and grab some coffee. When i returned to the gate the screen had changed again and said an hour delay. This obviously was not good. I had a layover in Dallas, Texas. With this new delay, my plane in Dallas would already be boarded just as we landed. Oh joy. I was not the only facing this problem. Mr. Chuck left to find a American Airlines attendant to talk to about their flight, as their was no one at the desk and many many people were unhappy that they were going to miss their connecting flight. Mr. Chuck came back moments later, having not found an attendant but a little old man. I think he was drunk. Or delusional. He had crutches and a ukulele. A very scrawny man. I think his name was Ryan.  Mr. Chuck helped him to a seat next to me, and Ryan practically sat down on top of me. I judded out of the way and caught him as he fell into the seat. I offered to take his Uke off his back, and he let me. 

"Whats your name?" Ryan asked me, getting comfy in his seat.

 "Ellie" i responded. I had been in the middle of a conversation with the Chucks. Mr. Chuck told me he found the man confused and having trouble so he brought him back to us. Thanks Mr. Chuck. How Kind.

"Where are you going?" Ryan asked me

"Iowa" i responded. "And you?"

"I was deployed." He said. "Whats in Iowa?"

"Family.." This conversation was so choppy... it felt like i was talking to a wall. 

"I was deployed" he said again. "Tore my menisci's." He said, holding his right knee.

"Oh dear." I offered, "It that why you need crutches?"

"Yes. Tore it right in half. Need to go home for surgery. They wont deploy me..." 

"Is that a Ukulele?" I asked, pointing to the case he had been wearing like a backpack.

"Wanna see it?" He said, unzipping the pack before i could give an answer. "Its not a Ukulele. Its a mini guitar." I laughed a little to myself as he pulled out the cutest Ukulele i had ever seen. Yes. It was a Ukulele.

By this time i decided to stand in line behind the airline desk and wait for an attendant to talk to. Sometime in between Ryan's appearance and standing in line I  had walked the length of  American Airlines gates, trying to find an attendant to talk to. People were calling the airline, trying to figure out and re-book their connecting flights. My phone had no service, imagine that, so i stood in line waiting to talk to someone who wasn't even there. 10 minutes before our flight began to board a lady showed up. Thankfully i was one of the first people in line and she reassured me that when we landed in Texas i would have 5 minutes to catch my next plane. "If you run, you will make it, honey..It is the last flight of the night so they wont wait on you. So if you miss it, you will be spending the night in the airport. We have no connections to Dallas Hotels and we cannot promise you a room. NEXT!"

I walked out of line, depleted. Dallas is a huge airport. If my next gate was right next to the one we fly into, then yes, it wouldn't be a problem. But i would run anyways. There was no way i was going to be stuck in an airport over night.

While in line to board i met a guy named Ethan and later one named Gabe. Gabe noticed an arrow with the word 'freedom' inside it on my left arm that i had doodled earlier that day. He didn't say much but instead of asking me my name, referred to me as 'Freedom'. That was weird. We chatted about how we hoped to not miss our flights but it seemed unlikely. "Maybe we will end up in the same Hotel!" Gabe said to me, "If there is a pool, do you wanna go swimming!" A pool was the least of my worries. And the last thing in the world that i wanted to do was swim with this random kid. He was short (taller than me, tho) and thin. He looked like he was 14, later i found out he was 18. Ethan was tall and blonde. He told us we would not be getting a hotel unless we paid for it ourselves...kill joy.

I found my seat, and Ethan ended up next to me. "Long time no see," He said. "This is neat that we already met and now we can sit and talk like we know eacthother...." At this point i wanted to slide into the bathroom and lock myself in there away from all human contact. But i remembered that i had prayed for people to talk to, so here i was. Stuck.

Ethan and i talked most of the flight. I was interested to find out he was from Colorado, 20 or so minutes from Westcliffe (My hometown while i taught school) He talked of parties at the bowling alley he went to. We agreed we were probably there at the same time and never knew it. He also was a Skiing instructor at Monach Skii resort {which is where i had my first snowboarding experience} and a white water rafting instructor. This guy was awesome. Full of adventure. Full of experience. Going home to Ohio to be with family until going to a University in the fall. Cool. 

{My long awaited Sunset Flight}

If you've never had a sunset flight i suggest you go book one right now. Its amazing. Thankfully i had the window seat, but Ethan gawked over my shoulder at how beautiful the sunset was. We began another intelligent conversation.

 "Flying is both terrifying and reassuring," i said, going along with our conversation about the world and who created it and figuring out what to do with the rest of our lives.

"Hows that?" 

"Reassuring because you can look down at the world and it doesn't seem near as big and scary as when your in the midst of it.."

"And terrifying?"

"Terrifying, because you've never seen the pilot and still, you must put your faith in the fact that he supposedly knows what he is doing...." We both laughed at this. It had been a very sketch flight and neither of us were very confident in the pilot. The fact he had called over the intercom in a very panicked voice "Everything is going to be okay. Just stay in your seats and keep those belts buckled, may have been a warning sign.

The plane landed and Ethan wished me luck as i ran off the plane. I glanced at the Flight Screen. My flight to Des Moines was leaving out of gate 21C. I was in terminal A. I ran. The fact that my bladder was about to explode did nothing but slightly slow me down. I was not about to miss my plane. I ran down the gates like a mad-woman. Jumped onto the train-tram that takes you terminal to terminal. Had an encounter with a kind man, who realized he was on the wrong tram, swore a bunch, wished me a safe trip and took off running in a different direction. Jumped off at the C terminal and continued running full force, past masses of people until my feet hit the floor of my gate. As i ran up i saw my plane leave. Its beautiful self rolled away, heading for the runway. I wanted to dramatically drop my bag and switch into Jim Carey mode. Dramatic sobs and hand motions and embarrassing gestures letting everyone know that my plane had just left without me. I refrained. Tho i was gasping for air. It was evident i was out of breath and flightless. The people waiting for the next plane watched me with amusement as i sadly watched my plane leave. I turned adult mode on and found a Flight attendant the next gate down, i told him i had been an hour delayed and missed the last flight out. "Oh, Honey." He said "You ran from terminal A?"

I nodded my head.

"That's a mile and a half you ran... By the time your COS plane landed, this one was already boarded and shut... you didn't have a chance."

A mile and half.... no wonder my lungs felt like they were playing patty cake with each other.

He kindly booked me for a 11:30 flight the next day and hooked me up with food vouchers and a hotel, all compliments of American Airlines. He also walked away before i could ask how i was suppose to get to the hotel. After relieving my angry bladder, i found a phone number for the hotel, which turned out to be the beautiful luxurious Wyndham Gardens Hotel. It took a VERY long time for me to convince the lady on the other side of the phone that i was at the Lower Level waiting to be picked up for the Hotel. A Shuttle bus drove up, eventually, and i quickly jumped on. Immediately i saw Mr. and Mrs. Chuck and sat down right in front of them. Ethan was behind them. They greeted me and informed me they had missed their flight as well. The bus was dark, but after a quick conversation with the Chucks, i recognized the man sitting next to me. It was Ryan. 

"Hello," I said to him.

"HI, whats your name?" He responded.

"Ellie. Do you remember me from the COS airport?"

"Where are you going?"

"Iowa...." i said, thinking he must have forgotten our previous conversation.

"Whats in Iowa?"

"Family....." This seemed familiar.

"I was deployed. I tore my menisci's."

"Yes, i remember..." i said blankly

"You DO!?  Do i know you!?"

"No, we met in the airport..."

"Do you wanna see my mini guitar?"

By this time Mrs. Chuck had a question about what time their flight was going to leave, so i helped her. We stopped to pick up someone else before heading to the hotel. It was Gabe. He smiled at me, and said "HI FREEDOM!" very loudly, and found a seat. I

 wanted to hide.

"Whats your name?" Ryan asked again.

"Ellie" i said. Repeating it for the 3rd time..

Our conversation went exactly like the one above 3 more times in between the time span of driving to the the hotel. 

"What time is my flight?" Ryan asked me... i was surprised. This was a different conversation, finally!

He handed me his ticket and i found where it said 6:00.

"6:00" i told him.

"He needs to be on this shuttle at 4:00 in the morning" the bus driver called back to me. So i relayed the message to Ryan.

"Did you hear what he said? You need to make sure your on this bus by 4:00 in the morning..."

Ryan didn't comprehend squat that i said. I handed his ticket back to him and noticed it was 6:00 P.M not A.M. before i had a chance to correct myself Ryan responded. 

"Can i buy you a drink at the bar?"

"What, no...." i was caught off gaurd

"Whats your name?" He continued for the 7th time. 

The bus stopped and i bailed asap. I never did tell Ryan his flight was suppose to leave in the evening, not morning. I decided if he had it together enough to wake up at 4:00 A.M for the shuttle it was probably for his own good.

{A small part of Wyndham Gardens Hotel, Courtesy of American Airlines}

I checked into my room. Dropped off my bags and went to the built in restaurant for some supper. My voucher covered $12.00 worth of food, which was more than enough for me. I got my food to go, and as i was leaving the restaurant i ran into Gabe and a nice waitress. Gabe began to talk to me again, eventually asking me if i wanted to "Meet him at the bar and grab a drink." Keep in mind this kid is 18. The confusion on my face was evident and the waitress responded. "Are you crazy kid. No, she doesn't wanna drink... She like, Grab my food n go. She aint gonna drink wit you!"... I agreed with the waitress and said no again and hightailed it to my room to be a little hermit for the night. As i rushed away Gabe called after me, "See you around, Freedom!" This kid had no filter.

The Hotel was beautiful but i was glad to leave it. For breakfast i had a voucher for $7.00 which fed me well. Gabe came and chatted with me as i was almost finished. He told me his life story (it was short, considering the fact he is only 18). He also told me how many shoes he packed. I wasn't sure why he felt the need to share that. There was an pause in the conversation and Gabe said, "Where'd you get the tat?"

"What, this?" i said holding out my left arm, motioning to the arrow doodling.

"Yeah, that tattoo, where'd you get it done?"

"I drew it." i said "Its not real."

"Oh, REALLY?!" {this kid was very expressive} "I thought it was! My dad is a professional tattoo artist!"

I would have thought he could tell the difference between an amateur doodle and a legit tattoo. i was wrong.

After gathering my things i waited in the lobby for the shuttle bus to arrive. it was suppose to be there at 9:00, it was more like 9:30 when it arrived.

I met the kindest lady, Unabon, from South Croatia and her 9 year old girl, Verushcia. Her accent was thick and she taught me how to say, "Keni një ditë të këndshme" in Albanian. It is 'Have a nice day' in English. She told me she had a Husband waiting at home for her. She is a Hotel Room keeper and they have one daughter. Her Grandpa came from a family of 20. Her Mom from 11. She only wanted one kid, so that's what they had... how  handy.

While talking to Unabon i met another lady as well. Cathy, from Alabama.  She was 57, but she looked like 30. Her accent was just as thick and she tried to set me up with her teenage son. Awkward. She also showed me pictures of her brother who use to be a professional wrestler. Also awkward. Cathy was a dear thing. Right before she got off the shuttle bus at her gate, she handed me her vouchers and said, "I want you to have these... buy your self somethin' yummy. Dear, you are just the most darling girl i ever met. Such a sweetheart!" Thank you, Cathy. I ended up getting a free Starbucks drink and some snacks from that voucher.

I went through security with minor issues and found my gate in good time. I was relieved to be finally heading out, yet slightly sad. The last 20+hours been proven to be a wild adventure. I prepared my heart as i boarded my flight to Des Moines. 

My sister, Heidi, picked me up from the Des Moines Airport. It had been such a long span of time since i had been in Iowa. I sneezed right away. My other sister, Emily, flew in that evening. We talked on the way home from the airport and i zonked out almost as soon as we got back to the house. I was tired. That weekend i saw all four of my sister as the same time. This is a beautiful and odd occurrence. I also saw my mom, which was the reason i flew back to Iowa. All six of us girls went to a Bed and Breakfast in Amana Iowa for her 60th Birthday. I cant believe she is that old. I usta think 60 year olds were ancient grandparents... Well, She is a grandma. Just not the ancient part. 

Friday evening the 25th while we were partying in the Bed and Breakfast we found out our Sister in Law, Christina had our 3rd niece, Zoey Ann. That was a great way to end the day.

{My 60 year old Mother and her amazing offspring}

Today is Wednesday. Friday i will be flying into Florida. This week i've spend in Iowa was good. I got to see faces and hear voices that i haven't seen or heard for years. 

Today i went to dear dear Wanda's house for a quick chat. For more that a split minute i forgot how to get to her house. That is so sad. I usta drive that route for Bible Study every Wednesday evening with my sisters. I was reminded today at how much Leon and Wanda mean to me. They made such a huge impact on my life while i was still in high school. God used them to reach out and veer me towards Him, and for that i am ever grateful. I know God is all powerful and He could have used someone else to do what Leon and Wanda did, but i am convinced it would have been a  much longer painful process without them. Thank you, Wanda. I still love sitting and talking life and plans with you. And i am so pleased with where God is leading you guys and doing with your lives. Your such an encouragement to me.

Now i must edit this whole thing and find a title for it. Add a few pictures for your pleasure and go back to the house to finish packing my things. 

I sat outside this morning, the bench right across from the old library. Its been my favorite spot ever since it was put there. You can watch life go by and observe. That building is now a rec center i believe. There is construction going on and i'm so behind times here i don't even know what their making it into. I usta play Volleyball Leagues in that gym. And before that i useta go read books in the library and play with the huge lego's and get lost in the book shelves. Times change. Now there is a memorial thing built outside of it. The bakery isn't here anymore either. That is weird to me. I never thought it would go away. What an odd life.

{Reunited with my Family}

{Reunited with the town i did my childhood years in. Kalona.}

{The weird Christmas store we walked through in Amana, Iowa.}

{Our pile of food at the Bed and Breakfast while mom opened a few gifts}

{The Building that has served as many things. Including a old Library and Volleyball Court}

{No matter what they do to it, it will be remembered as this.}

That's all i've got. Adios.