Greetings from LAX

Yesterday was a quiet day. Only a few people came by. Could be due to the weather. Banning is a constant wind tunnel and, as it was overcast yesterday, it was very cold.

I had the chance to chat with Eve (or was it Eva? Sorry ...). If I've got my story straight, she's German and came to the States from Poland. She looks and sounds like Edna Mode from The Incredibles! She's a lot of fun and quite the talker! She, Gram, and I had a spent a good hour or so in my 24ft Born Free talking ... Well, I mostly listened. She and Gram had the conversation well under control without my help.

Gram and I hit up the outlet mall again and I got some new Reeboks! I love Reeboks. Assuming it was going to be warm in the south, all I packed in the way of footwear was flip-flops (or thongs as Gram calls them ... but that doesn't sound quite right ...). My feet have been freezing, so I'm glad to have some new kicks!

After dinner at Sizzler (where Pop claimed he was going to pass on the sundae bar, but I knew better - should've put some money on it!) I headed to LAX to catch a flight to Dallas. On the way, I stopped to see Jim, Roe, and Briell in Santa Ana!

The California Dodgens (as they've come to be known) are moving today. I have the dubious distinction of interrupting their last night of sleep in their Santa Ana home. But they were good sports. After Jim and Roe retired to bed, Briell and I went out grabbed a quick bite ... Two hours later, at 1:45am, I was back on my way to LAX. I told Briell that if she gives me whatever malady stole her voice, she's done.

I spent the night in Lot C (gotta remember G15 ... gotta remember G15 ...) at LAX. You were right Jim (Downing, not to be confused with Dodgen)! It was Lot C.

After a solid (read with exhausted sarcasm) three hours of sleep, I got up, threw my things in my duffel bag, and went to wait for the shuttle. I got to the shuttle stand at 5:30am because I've been to LAX before. Getting through security here can be a nightmare, and I figured that the Weds before Thanksgiving weekend would be no exception. I stand corrected! I don't know if it's because I arrived two and a half hours early or if it's because LAX beefed up their staff for the holiday traffic, but it was a breeze! From the time I left the RV and went to wait for the shuttle, it only took me 35 minutes to get through security! Well played LAX ...

Now I'm at Southwest's gate 14. I've got Matt and Kim playing on the ol' Zune (yes, I'm one of the 14 people who own a Zune) to drown out the inane phone conversation of the woman with dyed-so-red-it's-purple hair sitting to my right. We'll be boarding soon and and an hour from now we'll be taking off.

I'm spending Thanksgiving in Waxahachie with the Nealy clan, so the blog's narrative will bifurcate here. I'll have to rely on Pop and Gram to give me updates on the state of affairs in California!

Oh - I almost forgot! There's a map in the blogger program that shows me in which countries people are reading my blog. After my post about submarines, someone in Russia started reading the blog! KGB maybe?

And speaking of subs, one of the people who came to visit us yesterday is a former submarine captain! I'm beginning to think that by the end of the trip I may be able to recruit an entire crew.