It's good to be back home again...

Most of today was spent preparing for and traveling to Midway Airport in Chicago, flying to Austin, TX, and getting back to the rig at Balcones Canyonlands NWR.  My thanks once again to Paul and Peggy, fellow volunteers, for picking me up at the airport in Austin.  I, thankfully, took them to lunch at the True Grit Bar and Grill on our way home.  The food was good, but I would have liked smaller portions.

There has been a cold and wet spell here at the refuge while I've been gone.  I had pulled in the slides, shut off the water, and lowered the thermostat to 40* before I left, so it was a bit chilly as I opened the rig this afternoon.  The first order of business was to set the temp at 69*, turn on the water,and open the slides.  I think unpacking after a trip is a pain in the neck, but I made myself do that straight away and then gave the rig a good vacuuming.

It sure feels good to be home.  I pulled a muscle in my back up in Chicago, and it has been really painful.  I'm hoping that being back in my own bed will help that situation.  I'm sure the pain was exacerbated by the stress involved in the reason for this journey.

Tomorrow I'll be picking Emma up, and things will return to normal.  I tried contacting Robyn this afternoon via Skype, but couldn't get through.  It's foggy and overcast, so I'm hoping I'll have better luck when the weather improves.

That's about it for today.  I'll spend what's left of the evening checking out everything that was recorded on the DVR while I was gone.  Then I'll crash for the night.....it's been a long week.

Thanks for stopping by....talk to you later,  Judy

10 degrees...Ugh!

That's right, it was 10* when I landed at Midway Airport in Chicago this evening!  It's cold enough to make your nostril hairs freeze!  When I lived in Minnesota, this was a common experience in the winter, but I really didn't want to ever deal with these kind of temperatures again.

The flight from Austin, TX, late this afternoon, was uneventful, and quicker than anticipated because of a strong tail wind.  Even though the flight started 15 minutes late, we arrived in Chicago ahead of schedule.  My winter coat was packed in the suitcase, but I did wear a sweatshirt and wind breaker on the flight.  Thank goodness, Dennis had the heater roaring in the car when he picked me up.

It was a long travel day since I arrived at the airport way ahead of my departure time, but I am thankful that Peggy and Paul drove me in.  I spent several hours playing spider solitaire on my laptop while I waited for my flight.  It's a lot different these days at the airport.  Everyone seems to be "connected" to some kind of electronic device.  It does make the waiting time go faster.  There was one slip up by me at the security check-in though.  I had my laptop in a backpack and didn't know that you have to take it out and send it through the scanner separately.  The inspector got a little bent about that.  I apologized and said I didn't know I had to take the laptop out of the bag.  There was no signage telling me to do so.  I calmly waited while everything was sent through again, and busied myself with putting my shoes on and tying them up.  Sorry about that.  :(

The grand daughters were already in bed by the time we made it to the house, so I'll have to wait until morning to see them.  I could use a heat wave about now......

Thanks for stopping by....talk to you later,  Judy