travelin' and such

greetings 2012!

so yes, 2 weeks ago, i spent a few days in sunny south florida with my sis and today, i'm sitting in my brother's house in southern washington state. it's exciting but.... i wish they were closer to me! it is very nice to get to visit new places.

however, i find it enviable that many people can see a lot of their family within a 1-5 hour drive. so be thankful for your nearby relatives! i tell myself that my "consolation prize" is that being with family gives me a good excuse to visit parts of the country that i've been dying to see!

i looked at my florida pics and surprise, surprise: they're mostly beach pics with a few family pics thrown in. i didn't do any real sightseeing. we visited ft. lauderdale beach and south beach in miami. both lovely! then most of the time, i was out driving around with my sis, going to lunch with her friends and laughing with cousins that i barely know! it was fun!

versace mansion

me + salt water + sand = happy place

on my way back to dallas, there was no room for my carry-on in the overhead bin. this always makes me happy because then my bag gets checked in for free!!! however, gate agent Maggie was super rude and somehow tagged my bag to go somewhere else. arrived in dallas at 8am and no bag. found out about 6pm that my bag was sent to salt lake city, utah but should be arriving at the airport in a few minutes. called baggage help people on the next morning and hmmmm.... "we're not sure where your bag is now!".

i dug a bit online {thank the Lord for google} and found the baggage claim department number for SLC's american airlines. i spoke to the lady who put my bag on the flight and she assured me that it should be in dallas. so my mother and i drove on mission to DFW airport and lo and behold! they had my bag and didn't even know. ughhhhh. but i'm thankful.

MONDAY -
the flight to portland, oregon was so super crowded that i wasn't given a seat assignment. not long before boarding, i was assigned to 7F. sweeeeet. that's the first row in coach so there's extra legroom!

so i boarded and then the gate agent lady comes to ask if the people in my row are traveling with anyone. the two next to me were a couple and i was traveling with my sister but she was further back. since they needed an extra coach seat for a latecomer, i was whisked off to FIRST CLASS. Ohhhh my word. can you say "dream come true"??? i've never sat up front with the cool kids before!

haha! i felt like a country mouse! when they came by with the hot washcloth, i watched what the other first classers did from the corner of my eye because i had no clue. i assumed it was just for your fingertips, not for your face also!

then in true jen fashion, i surreptitiously documented my meals. this was after all, a once in a lifetime occasion that may never happen again!

warm assorted nuts with my usual ginger ale

ok, i have to write a paragraph about my lunch. i recall the days when even coach class got a meal. that was a looooong time ago, seemingly. but back then i didn't appreciate it and called most of it "gross" {well, because most of it was gross}. but this was great! it was a warm chicken sandwich on flat, mediteranean style bread. the salad was boring and just how i like it {i'm not a fan of frou-frou salads}. then there were the pita chips with a dip of red bell pepper hummus!!! YUM!
 

and to top it off, one of my favorite types of cookies! oatmeal with walnuts and cranberries and maybe other stuff too. *sigh* i should've requested a glass of milk!

it was a really neat experience! after lunch, i wanted to stay awake to see what the flight attendants would do next! like what, jen? like, maybe perform a musical number or something? i dunno. anyway i drifted off into my usual fitful airplane sleep. i missed not being able to slip off my boots, though. i figured they might toss me to the back of the plane if i showcased my crazy socks.


but yeah! it was great and i believe, totally made up for my luggage incident! more blogging soon!