Travels

From my facebook page:

"So many things in life seem like a dream and yet, are real, that it creates a grey line in determining what is real and what isn't. I went to Pennsylvania, Virginia, drove through Washington DC and all I have seems like a dream. I know it was real, I know it made sense at the time, but as time goes on, it seems unreal, so far removed from my current existence as to seem as if it couldn't have been real and must have been a dream."

Now, a comparison of the airports I had the "pleasure?" of visiting.

• Wichita, for the simple reason that it is small and was so close to home when we came back, will be ranked top on my list.
• Minneapolis- far and away my favorite airport. It seemed cleaner and more user friendly to navigate. (Maybe that was because I beat James by sneaking on the tram and getting to the gate ahead of him, poor man had to carry Ellie the whole way."
• Washington Dulles- I felt like I was in a space movie with the big shuttles that took us from the baggage check-in point to the terminals. It wasn't too bad, once you got inside and were waiting at the gate, all the comforts of, well, an airport. Shops, food, books, bathrooms, you get the idea.
• Atlanta- I was just getting anxious to get home, didn't pay much attention. I will say I like the tram at Minneapolis better than the one here, you were above ground.
  

Another bonus, we had Ellie, so we got to skip the long lines waiting to get through security and take the family line. We didn't really have any hangups getting through. So, word of the wise, if you want to get through security fast, travel with kids, but then be prepared to deal with the kids later. Ellie traveled like a pro. She handled the flights better than I did. I wasn't scared, I actually enjoyed that, bit of a paradox for someone who is scared of heights and considers a ladder a height. Anyway, my ears pretty much did me in and it didn't help that I had a cold so that a couple days before we left my ears were adjusting and popping as I drove around Hays. I know what it feels like to be half deaf. For the first three days we were out there I literally could not hear anything out of my right ear.

Getting back to Ellie, she was wonderful. The aloofness of city people is no match for a blue-eyed smiling baby. I don't know how many people smiled as they walked by, or how many people had to stop and make some conversation about her. And to see their faces when she would smile back, I know she made a lot of people very happy. However, the downside is, she got so used to being with me, that she is on a bit of a mommy kick. The other night, at Blaine and Linda's, I had to run downstairs. I heard her crying and fussing the whole time I was gone. They thought she had gas pain or a burp, or something actually wrong with her. When I came back upstairs, Blaine gave her to me and presto-stopped crying. It's nice to be loved and needed. Liahna and Peter still won't leave the room I'm in during the day, other than for five minutes here or there.

It was a fun trip. I got to get to know family better, see some sites around DC, and go through the DC temple, what more could I ask for? Plus, the best part is, I got to come home.