~Friday, June 17, 2022~
Day 733
Finally, I heard from my hubby where all’s good in Whitefish, MT. The worsening weather at Goose Bay (where we were when I flew out to California) made it easy to leave, but with a few challenges mixed in. I’d been paying attention to the weather forecasts for Jeff and knew he’d be in for some heavy downpours and lightning, which proved accurate. From the moment he left Goose Bay to his arrival at Whitefish, the bad weather never let up. I’m sure it was challenging to say the least, not having another set of eyes to keep a lookout on things, especially when it came to backing in the trailer. And wouldn’t you know it…..the back in was on the passenger side which is like backing up blind. But of course, my husband always finds a way with his cleverness…….orange leveling blocks. He simply lined them up just enough to be able to see them on the passenger side and followed that line in, perfectly between the trees; the one time a pull-through site would have been nice. And with the boggy mess, he’s happy he didn’t waste his time in cleaning the trailer the week before.
I was delighted to hear that Shane and Trevor made it safely to Whitefish after all. They were able to get the same flight out of SFO the following day, and I learned the real reason why they missed their plane in the first place. Not because of ill-planned time on their part, but for reasons beyond their control involving TSA. Evidently, low staffing issues are affecting many airports, particularly security check-points where what used to be up to a 2-hour wait, can now take up to 3 hours for domestic flights. I can only imagine the stress and anxiety with each passing minute, slowly realizing that the plane you’re supposed to be on will be leaving without you. And they weren’t the only one’s. Dozens of people missed their flights. With no other flights to Kalispell (near Whitefish) that day, they would try again the following day, but with a slightly different scenario. Arriving 3 hours before departure, anticipating the same agony, they were in and out of security in 5 minutes. Ugh!!! You just never know.
Meanwhile, back in California, I have the pleasure of a lovely trip to the local DMV office. Since our trailer registration happens to be expiring upon our entry into Alaska, I decided to pay it early and get the tags in person, especially since we have very limited options in receiving mail. Just what I want to do…..stand IN line for something that I can do ONline. Anyway, did you know they have kiosk machines at the DMV that expedite the registration process? Not completely convinced that this was a reliable alternative, I stayed in line anyway to at least get a “number” in case the kiosk didn’t work (about a 25-minute wait). It pays to listen to your intuition as I learned the machines are unreliable, not to mention expensive as they tag on a high processing fee. So I’m glad I didn’t give up my place in line. And lucky me for having a checkbook on hand which seems to be the only way, aside from cash, that prevents an even higher processing fee. I’d rather keep that $10.00 for a few future Starbucks visits.
By the time I got back, my mom’s “mow and blow” crew had shown up a day early. I wouldn’t say their timing was ideal since I had quite the mess of trimmings out front that I had planned to clean up before their regular arrival on Saturday. But it all worked out in the end and things are looking quite nice. I just wish I had more time to help in the backyard as well, so it looks like that project will have to wait until our next trip (sometime late Fall). But who knows. Maybe the yard crew will step up their game between now and then.