This morning we learned that our trip north to Lodi wasn't really necessary. Would've been nice to figure out before we spent 9 hours driving through insane traffic, but live and learn, I suppose.
So instead of continuing, we turned around and headed south to San Diego.
It was a long drive, but good. I finished The Waste Lands, book three of the Dark Tower series. It was good! Much better than book two.
Check out this joker. This is something that has become a pet peeve of mine over the course of this trip - cars that park in RV spots. What's this guy thinking? That he found an enormous and legendary parking spot - the most spacious spot of all, told of only in myth?! Come on! Park in a car spot, stupies.
This isn't the first time it's happened - I've run into it all over the place. These must be the same people who take a cart, full to brimming with groceries, to the self checkout kiosk. They're also almost certainly the same people who spend 30 minutes at the redbox browsing and reading every movie's description. Ugh ...
We ate dinner in Burbank at BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse! I was excited because Nealy used to work at BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse in Greenwood! This was the first time I'd been and I really enjoyed it. The parmesan crusted chicken (which I ordered on Nealy's recommendation) is excellent. Gram enjoyed a turkey club. Pop ordered the spaghetti, despite Nealy's advice to the contrary. He decided that the noodles weren't good, but the meat sauce was tasty.
We're at another Walmart tonight! This was our last big drive. We'll be in San Diego for a few nights and then we'll leave the Born Frees here and fly to Omaha Thursday afternoon.
Woke up at 4:22am, hopped in the shower, and then blearily climbed in Amber's truck.
We made it to the airport in good time - probably got there about 5:45am. The line for Southwest was out the door and down the sidewalk! It was incredible! I jumped out of the truck and asked someone what the line was for. They said it was the line to check bags and that the line inside was even longer. Fortunately, I didn't check any bags! Checking bags is for chumps - especially if you're just gone for a long weekend (ie Thanksgiving).
I skipped the lines, both inside and out, that were by now at least a block or two long and queued up for the security screening. The line was long and moved more slowly than I would've liked, but I had plenty of time.
I like to think of myself as an expert flyer. I don't arrive 2hrs early because that's ridiculous. I get to the airport an hour before my flight, and before I even get to the xray conveyor belt my shoes are off, my pockets are empty, my belt is in my backpack, and my laptop is out. I don't mess around, and I tend to get frustrated with people who aren't on their A-game. For instance, the guy who forgets to take off his watch, then has to go through the metal detector again only to discover he's left something metal in his pockets. Idiot.
So, you can imagine my chagrin when my backpack went through the xray machine and the guy operating it shouts "We've got a 29!"
Immediately, the entire security process shuts down. Not just my line - every security line in the airport ... on one of the busiest (if not the busiest) travel days of the year.
Two Dallas PD officers and a TSA supervisor come over, eye the xray, then reopen the security screening process. I put my shoes and belt back on and one of the officers approaches me.
"Sir, is this your backpack."
"Yeah."
"Do you have anything in here that you shouldn't?"
"... No."
"Are you sure? No weapons, no ammunition?"
"No, I don't think so."
"Do you mind if we look through your bag?"
I told him it was alright, and he began fishing through it. He couldn't find what he was looking for, and after what seemed like 20 minutes (but was probably only five) he started emptying all the contents. Eventually, his face lit up, and he pulled out a loaded clip ... In case you're as sheltered as my friend, the Princess (she knows who she is), and don't know what this is exactly, it's the part of a pistol that holds the bullets and inserts into it's handle.
So ... yikes. The Dallas PD officers and I had a discussion about why I was carrying a clip filled with five .380 caliber hollow points. At this point, I'm positive that they're going to "ask" me to accompany them to a small, brightly lit white room with a stainless steel table, two chairs, and a two-way mirror.
But, it actually went pretty well! I explained that it was an accident and that I didn't know it was in there and they didn't seem too incredulous. It probably helped that I didn't have the rest of the gun with me. They ran a quick background check on my name, kept the loaded clip, and the TSA agent took down my info.
One of the officers, who seemed to sympathize with my conundrum was asking the TSA agent if there would be a fine. He said that some administrative TSA agent would review the file and then decide on a fine from 0-$1500. I'm hoping for 0 :) The TSA agent told the officer that if you bring gun into the airport, loaded and with a round in the chamber, it's an automatic $1000 fine. It was at this point that I piped up ... In retrospect, I realize that (as Mike Birbiglia observes) what I should have said was nothing. But, I couldn't help myself and I said, "I suppose if you bring a loaded gun into an airport, a fine is gonna be the least of your worries!"
No one found this amusing ... even after I repeated it when one of the officers asked, "what?"
Start this video at the 3:30 mark!
But, they let me on the plane! Didn't even frisk me (though I had come through the metal detector so this probably wasn't necessary).
In retrospect, the surprising thing is that they didn't find the clip at LAX ...
I made it to my gate five minutes before the plane boarded. On both of my flights, I felt like a kid who'd been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. I felt like the flight attendants were keeping an eye on me the whole time :)
After arriving in Los Angeles at 10am without incident, I spent the next eleven hours driving ... Post-Thanksgiving traffic was so bad that we came to a dead standstill on interstate 5 several times! The good news, though, is that we had In N Out for dinner! I got an animal style burger and it was delicious! Way better than I remembered!
Everyone left Waxahachie today except me. I fly out Sunday morning.
Check out this couch full of cousins!
After everyone was gone, around 1 or 2pm, the whole place was really quiet. The kind of quiet that demands you nap. I resisted however and watched a succession of dumb movies with the cousins! Dave and I watched Centurion - bad, predictable, cheesy. But we knew this going into it and enjoyed it all the same. I have a theory that you can enjoy even the worst movie with good company! Also, we had chewy Jolly Ranchers.
Dave left in the evening to go to a concert and Amber and I picked up with Jonah Hex. I expected this to be completely awful - it got lambasted by reviewers and it was only in theaters for a week. Probably because my expectations were so low, I didn't think it was terrible. By no means would I recommend it to you, but it really didn't seem that bad.
Tomorrow morning I fly out at 7:15am, so I'll be getting up around 4:15am to make sure we get there by 6. Amber has offered to take me to the airport! Guess she must like me or something ;)
Monday, November 29, 2010
Haven't neglected the blog - just need to find some AC power!
It's Black Friday, which means I'm avoiding legitimate shopping establishments like the plague! I'm sure that by the time I rolled out of bed, Andrea and her mom had already hit about six stores and finished all their Christmas shopping!
We do have a little shopping tradition here in Waxahachie, though. Whenever we're here for Thanksgiving, all the guys take an afternoon and go on a pawn shop tour of Waxahachie (the ladies stick to more reputable stores). This year, two of our regular stops were out of business. Guess this economy is hard on even pawn shops ... or maybe Ebay and Craigslist are squeezing them out. Probably a bit of both, I suppose.
After pawn shopping and lunch at Chick-fil-A, we came home and did a little skeet shooting! Turns out I'm a bit rusty. Joe and Tom were doing really well, which makes me wonder if maybe being under five feet tall is an advantage?
The rest of the afternoon was pretty laid back. Amber studied for her physics class for several hours ... Somehow her study technique is surprisingly reminiscent of napping :)
No Nealy family get together is complete without a bowl of Grandmother's punch, so after dinner we drank punch and played cards.
Tomorrow everyone starts clearing out. Sunday morning, I fly back to LAX to meet Pop and Gram in Banning where they hopefully haven't been blown away by the gale force winds!
And don't worry - they didn't spend Thanksgiving in a campground. Jim and Roe were kind enough to host Thanksgiving the day after they moved into their new place!
It was smooth flying all the way and I was actually able to sleep on the flight from LAX to San Antonio! On my flight to San Antonio, I saw a couple with a baby that I could've sworn I know from somewhere! I didn't ask who they were cause I was too tired to spend the energy required to convince them I wasn't a creepy loon. But nonetheless, I'm pretty sure I've seen them before ... Maybe this is the beginning of my own LOST type situation - a bunch of people's lives keep intertwining before their plane crashes on a deserted island that isn't really deserted ... Fortunately, I won't be flying over the ocean on my return flight!
I was greeted at the airport by a suburban full of relatives. We headed straight to LaserWhirld in Plano. This was my first time playing Whirly Ball and I thoroughly enjoyed it! Whirly ball is basically a combination of bumper cars, lacrosse, and basket ball. It's a blast - definitely do it if you get a chance!
After whirly ball, we played a couple games of laser tag! I love laser tag - always have. It was actually a pretty decent workout! My laser tag style of play is very similar to my Halo style of play - run and gun. My team lost both times, but I definitely pwned some n00bz!
I crashed hard and early when we got home. My laser tag workout combined with very little sleep wore me out.
I'm in Waxahachie now! I'll be here for a few days before I head back to California!
, book three of the Dark Tower series. It was good! Much better than book two.
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