Way out west Part II--Getting Home!!

My last post was from the Salt Lake City airport several hours before my flight was to leave for Chicago. Being strategically located near the baggage claim I had the opportunity to see many people arrive and meet family and friends for the holidays. It was also a pretty decent way to remain awake. All totalled I probably got 90 minutes of sleep between midnight and 4 am when the Delta ticket counter opened. Well, I was in line at 4 am but they really got rolling about 4:30.

A quick check in put me in a good mood but the TSA folks wanted to check out all their neat sniffing devices so they made me a special search candidate using the special red bins for my stuff. I also had my complete carry on stuff opened and swiped for traces of what I'm not quite sure. But they were all so fun I didn't mind and soon I'd be on a plane for home.

The time passed pretty quickly. I had Starbucks coffee and a little later something from Burger King. Promptly at 7:45 they started boarding our plane. I had an exit row seat aisle seat so that meant more room and easy to get in and out. The plane pushed back on time and we headed for our position on the runway. Just as we arrived the captain informed us that weather at O'Hare was causing a slight delay so we'd have to sit for a few minutes until a "window" opened up. OK, I can live with that.

About 20 minutes later he told us that the window never really opened and that we were going to sit there until we found out more. At that point flight attendants broke out free juice and snacks. I had a feeling we were in for the long haul. I was right. We were delayed by over two hours but finally we had clearance for take off. I could feel us getting closer.

I passed the time listening to music and talking to a lovely couple from Lander, Wyoming who was originally from Chicago. They retired in Lander and loved it. But Chicago was their holiday desination to see friends and family.

As we neared O'Hare you could tell the weather was pretty intense. Lots of clouds. Lots of clouds. We we descending for awhile and then you could feel the plane do a big turn. Apparently a lot of planes were trying to land and we got to do the "big circle" around Chicago to wait for the OK to land. One big rotation and we were headed in. Did I mention there were lots of clouds?

I have no idea how we came onto the tarmack at O'Hare because you could not see the ground until maybe 100 feet before landing. Thank God for the technology that lets airplanes see when the pilots cannot. We landed smooth and safe and had only a short time to the gate. People cheered. The flight attendant mistakenly welcomed us to Denver...then realized her mistake and we all laughed.

My bag was among the first down the beltway and within minutes I had my bus ticked for Crystal Lake. The bus arrived on time and we were headed out to I-90 and points northwest. All was well. Or so we thought!

About ten minutes down the road there was loud noise and suddenly the bus started to vibrate and shake heavily. It only took a second to realize we'd blown a tire. The driver got us off the highway and went out to look. He radioed headquarters who told us that a spare bus was on its way from O'Hare. A nice Illinois State Trooper stopped by to make sure we were all OK. We were.

After about a 30 minute wait we were back on the road again and headed home. We made it a little later than planned due to the flat and some unusually heavy traffic. But around 6 pm we pulled into the Crystal Lake Holiday Inn and Jourdan was there waiting for me. I'd phoned ahead to order a Pinemoor Pizza that was ready when I arrived. We chowed down immediately when we got home. It was the first real food I'd had since lunchtime on Wednesday at the Flying J in Rawlings.

Home never felt so good. I was tired and soon headed up to bed. I slept until 7 am and literally did not move all night long.

My first trip to Wyoming is one I'll remember for a long time. Many good experiences in spite of the travel difficulties. But in all, I am home for Chrismas. Just where I want to be.