Texas Bound
I arose at the crack of dawn (before 5 a.m.) to get ready for my journey to Dallas. My flight was scheduled to leave at 10:45 a.m., so in order to get to Manchester airport by 8:45 a.m. the taxi company said they needed to pick me up at 6:30 a.m. And then he shows up knocking on my door at 6:20 a.m. Gack! It was smooth sailing to the airport. I was hoping we'd go the back way but the driver said at that time of the morning it was best to go through Leeds. I've had the same guy take me home from the airport before and he is a real talker...he will talk about anything but seems to especially love politics. Usually I'm too tired to hold up my end of the conversation and this morning I had trouble staying awake during the ride. We made very good time to the airport, arriving at 8 a.m. The driver is very knowledgeable about flights and airlines at Manchester airport. Based on the airline I was flying he knew what the flight number was and was able to tell me exactly how to get to the ticket counter.
Everything went smoothly from Manchester to Chicago where I had to change planes. I thought I'd grab a bite to eat at O'hare and was appalled at the prices of take away food. I hate the way airports gouge you for every little thing you might want to buy. I ended up eating the power bar I had brought with me and got a banana and an iced chai latte from a cafe. The latte was supposed to be lightly sweetened but was sweeter than a bottle of pop.
It was a short hop from Chicago to Dallas where it was sunny and hot (91F at 6 p.m.). Once at DFW airport I caught the shuttle bus to the rental car center. That is where JoAnn and I decided to meet up. She flew in from Baltimore that afternoon. I was at the rental car center no more than a few minutes when JoAnn walked in. Perfect timing!
JoAnn got behind the wheel of our Nissan Accent and we were on our way to Lone Star Ranch, Bing's ranch near Mt. Vernon, Texas. JoAnn said the ranch was supposed to be about a two-hour drive from the airport. I scanned the directions and thought no way! We were to be on I-635 for about 27 miles and then 10.7 miles on I-30. Turns out it was more like 107 miles on I-30. Guess they were Texas miles. It wasn't too bad getting from the airport to Bing's place but that drive to the ranch house seemed to take forever...it was the longest leg of the journey for me...but we finally pulled up in the drive sometime between 8 and 9 p.m.
We were surprised to see how many folks were already there! Aunt Domenica, Mary Lou, Ed, Hans, Jessica, Ella, Ian, Dawn, Mitchell, Emma, JL, Sally, Joe, Phyllis and several members of Jan's family were all sitting around circular tables set out on the patio. They'd just finished eating but Bing said the steaks were still warm and he fixed me up a plate of steak, baked potato and salad. Delicious!! I was delighted to finally get to meet my grandniece Emma who was sound asleep when we got there. It was also wonderful to see Ella and Ian again, each a bit taller and, incredibly, cuter than the last time I'd seen them at the reunion in Baltimore. We hung around for a little while then followed Mitchell to Deer Lake cabins where the Genovese clan would be staying. It was a short drive in pitch darkness now. There were a couple of scary looking beetles and lots of little flying insects hanging out in front of the door to the cabin.
We were staying at Allen House a cabin with three bedrooms as well as kitchen, dining room, living room, sunroom and deck. Dawn and Mitchell were staying at another cabin nearby and Joe and Phyllis and JL and Sally were in another area. JoAnn and I picked out the room we were going to stay in -- we chose the room with twin beds -- and sacked out. By then I'd been up for more than 24 hours, not having managed to sleep on the plane at all, so I was certainly ready for the blanket show.
Everything went smoothly from Manchester to Chicago where I had to change planes. I thought I'd grab a bite to eat at O'hare and was appalled at the prices of take away food. I hate the way airports gouge you for every little thing you might want to buy. I ended up eating the power bar I had brought with me and got a banana and an iced chai latte from a cafe. The latte was supposed to be lightly sweetened but was sweeter than a bottle of pop.
It was a short hop from Chicago to Dallas where it was sunny and hot (91F at 6 p.m.). Once at DFW airport I caught the shuttle bus to the rental car center. That is where JoAnn and I decided to meet up. She flew in from Baltimore that afternoon. I was at the rental car center no more than a few minutes when JoAnn walked in. Perfect timing!
JoAnn got behind the wheel of our Nissan Accent and we were on our way to Lone Star Ranch, Bing's ranch near Mt. Vernon, Texas. JoAnn said the ranch was supposed to be about a two-hour drive from the airport. I scanned the directions and thought no way! We were to be on I-635 for about 27 miles and then 10.7 miles on I-30. Turns out it was more like 107 miles on I-30. Guess they were Texas miles. It wasn't too bad getting from the airport to Bing's place but that drive to the ranch house seemed to take forever...it was the longest leg of the journey for me...but we finally pulled up in the drive sometime between 8 and 9 p.m.
We were surprised to see how many folks were already there! Aunt Domenica, Mary Lou, Ed, Hans, Jessica, Ella, Ian, Dawn, Mitchell, Emma, JL, Sally, Joe, Phyllis and several members of Jan's family were all sitting around circular tables set out on the patio. They'd just finished eating but Bing said the steaks were still warm and he fixed me up a plate of steak, baked potato and salad. Delicious!! I was delighted to finally get to meet my grandniece Emma who was sound asleep when we got there. It was also wonderful to see Ella and Ian again, each a bit taller and, incredibly, cuter than the last time I'd seen them at the reunion in Baltimore. We hung around for a little while then followed Mitchell to Deer Lake cabins where the Genovese clan would be staying. It was a short drive in pitch darkness now. There were a couple of scary looking beetles and lots of little flying insects hanging out in front of the door to the cabin.
We were staying at Allen House a cabin with three bedrooms as well as kitchen, dining room, living room, sunroom and deck. Dawn and Mitchell were staying at another cabin nearby and Joe and Phyllis and JL and Sally were in another area. JoAnn and I picked out the room we were going to stay in -- we chose the room with twin beds -- and sacked out. By then I'd been up for more than 24 hours, not having managed to sleep on the plane at all, so I was certainly ready for the blanket show.
posted by lenora at 5:29 PM
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