As I headed for the airport I was filled with dread. My last 3 visits have been terrible, flight delays, huge crowds and the like. What was today to bring. I walked up to the automated machine and tried my luck, BAM! Here comes my boarding pass, and off to the security I go. Hmmm, lucky so far.
I sailed thru security and as I sat at the gate this tall, blonde haired woman approached me and sat down. She struck up a conversation immediately. Obviously not an American I thought. She proceeded to tell me her life story. She came to America from Sweden and ended up in Fort McMurray of all places when she was 21. (Fort McMurray is 500 miles north of Edmonton, Alberta and is a booming oil sands town) This was in the 70's. 10,000 men and 600 women. Not good odds. She says back in the 70's it was a rough and tumble place where women had to learn to literally fight men off. She worked as a construction apprentice for 18 months making $9 an hour.
Next month her and her son are moving to the big island of Hawaii where there is a school near Kona called the West Hawaii Explorations Academy. It sounds like an amazing school. What a treat it would have been as a kid to have snorkelling on the agenda for the day's learning. School's explanation here
After boarding the plane and having a wonderful first class ride to denver, I knew it was too good to be true. As I boarded the plane for Atlanta kid after kid boarded after me. One 3 year old had a melt down right in the aisle by my seat. "Please let you seat be in the back of the plane" I hoped. Sitting behind me were 3 kids and their mom. The little girl threw up both for take off and landing. A lovely cat ( of which I'm deathly allergic to ) made the trip 5 rows behind me. The plane smelled like cat litter and vomit. What a lovely combination. Forunately I made it to Atlanta where it is raining and 82 degrees. It's nice that it's cooler than Los Angeles.
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