California dreamin--Tuesday

My co-worker/friend and I went to lovely Anaheim, CA. for the Children's Pastor's Conference held by the INCM (International network of children's ministry). We stayed at the lovely Anaheim Hilton. Literally right around the corner from California's Great Adventure and DisneyLand! We could see the fireworks at Disney every night from our room!

Anyhoo--we left at the crack of dawn on Tuesday (5 a.m.) and as we were about 10 minutes from Dulles Airport a United Airlines agent calls and tells us that our flight ahs been cancelled. Hmm...ok? So we ask what flight they are putting us on instead and they said "sorry we can't do that". So taking our chances, Lisa and I went on to the airport and stood in the "special" line with about 200 other people who were also "special" as the one agent helped us. While standing in line I started to call United and talk to an agent to get us on any flight leaving anywhere from the Washington DC area to anywhere in the LA area. The newly trained phone agent, who was doing a suberb job of reading his script word for stinking word, kept asking me if I could be put on hold and then would come back tell me how sorry he was but the only flight he could confirm us on would be the Friday flight! Um, that won't work! Then he was very so helpful as he told me that a flight would be leaving from Reagan in 15 mintues and oculd I make it? Um, no!

So as I watched people trying to finagel (sp?) the system to work in their favor, i.e. the lady who tried to cut in front of 200 people so that she could check her precious little yippy sweatered dog on the plane, I went over to the man at the United informaiton counter and guess what information he had for me....there was no way to confirm Lisa and I on any flight except until Friday! Our best chances were to fly stand by. We decided that this was our fate for whatever reason and God was trying to tell us something so we took the stand by tickets.

By this time the security line was out the front door of the airport!!! We take our stand by tickets and wait and wait in line to be scanned. It actually wasn't that bad until we get up to the scanner thing and our tickets are marked so that we are pulled aside and scanned extra! Yes, I do look like a terrorist! I know, many people wonder about me and my loyalities! Me and my lily white skin and complete american features! I wanted to scream..."Excuse me! My father lost 46 men in the Pentagon that day! DO NOT question my loyalty to the USA!!!" I didn't. I stood there as the lovely lady (thank God) ran her hands up and down my body to find...whatever seh was looking for....I guess I needed to have worn my I "heart" America shirt. Anway, taht goes over fine and we head to the terminal. ON the litle shuttle thingy there were 2 I am guessing Marines...they were very young so they may have been in a military school but anyway, they did not give up their seats to any women! That is another blog...

While waiting at the terminal...well I guess I better back up and say that Lisa and I have a few traditions when we fly. One is that we ALWAYS buy a cinnabon to eat on the plane. So we wait to buy one until we get to the terminal. Guess what Terminal D doesn't have....yes, that is right, a Cinnabon. So I go to the stupid Dunkin Donuts and buy a stupid and not good bagel and donut. Apparently that was the only vendor open because everyone in the terminal was there to get their not so good bagel and donut and coffee.....ok.....so I am in line waiting and I get my stuff after telling the new guy at teh cash register 4 times what I wanted and then he charged me the wrong amount and didn't give me my donut! I turn around and Lisa is in line....I look at her funny and she says with a big smile! We are on the plane at 8:25!!! You see unbeknownst to us there is a trick to flying stand by...."Be standing by the ticket counter when they call names" Yeah for Lisa standing by!

So we get on the over booked flight and fly over 5 hours in a very cramped and small plane to CA. We did get to see a movie! Another thing that Lisa and I pray for on long flights! We LOVE to watch movies!

We get to CA and our luggage made it!!! Some famous child or a child of a famous person was picked up by his driver! Not sure who he was but interesting all the same. We head to the Avis place and we got an upgrade for a convertible!!!! hee hee a red 2006 Chrysler Sebring convertible!!!! We put down the top and put on our sunglasses and headed to the beach! Ahhh...we love conferences!