Today's the Day and Stories of Home

So today we set off, meeting at the airport at 2:30.  For me today has been laid back, as I finished packing last night, an outfit laid out like it was the first day of school.  Using my last day as one last chance to relax before the excitement of boarding the plane.  Maggie has been running errands (since 6am) and packing, putting the final touches on a years worth of stuff.

Since we left camp we have visited many friends and family, I have been to Atlanta, Asheville and ECU (including the best football game I have ever witnessed) and Maggie has been to Chapel Hill and DC.  Last Night we had a big joint family dinner, celebrating and hanging out, jon even came down for the send off!

But anyways, where maggie is the planner and experienced traveler, I am more fly by the seat of our pants, brimming with (over?)confidence that anything we decide to do will be great and will be nice and smooth.  Except for 2 things, driving a manual car and plane travel.  For me the planning of where we wanted to visit ranked far below learning to drive stick.  My thinking was, we could get really hurt if we dont know what we are doing, so before we are trying to drive on the wrong side of the road, on the wrong side of the car, better get comfortable with driving a manual.  Our first test vehicle was the 1970 Moo truck at Gwynn Valley with farmer arrington as instructor.  I can proudly say that I started it up first time running, despite numerous warnings that it was the hardest manual car to drive, ever.  Im not saying I didnt stall out some, but It was a good feeling. Then maggie got behind the wheel, also with pretty good luck until about 5 minutes in, she jammed the clutch pretty hard, and couldnt get it back into gear.  Luckily Jacob came over and saved the day, as maggie and arrington were already sweating buckets at the thought of telling Dale that they had broken a farm truck.  Lesson over.

Luckily, maggies dad also has a straight drive, a bmw wagon, which he was kind enough to let us practice (learn) on.   So for 3 days we commandeered the car and began taking laps around the neighborhood, focusing on that whole getting into first gear thing.  I think we did a pretty good job.  Soon we were tackling hills and getting onto bigger streets without the fear of stalling as we are pulling out into the traffic.  The running joke became that it was the blind leading the blind, as whenever we had a question would arise that needed answering, neither of us were much help to the other.  Generally we would just respond, why do you think I would know that?  In the end we both learned how to get up and going with enough confidence for the streets of Auckland.

Onto my other fear, airplane travel.  While watching a last bit of american tv this morning my mom came down with both maggie and my plane tickets and pointed out that in the pack they came in it says we need to reconfirm our flight details at least 72 hours in advance.  She thought it was fine that it was going to be only 8 hours in advance, but that we should still try and do it.  So i looked up the number on the usair website and called it.  So after dealing with the automated options, i get sent to an actual person because it cant even find the flight Im on.  Then after finding my flight the woman over the phone tells me that there is no registration for anyone named Howe on my flight. panic level about a 6.  Then after checking again and asking a few more questions, including making sure that Auckland NZ is not in the US, she informs me that I am calling the domestic flight number and she give me the international one.  So call the international number, and go through the same automated numbers until once again I am sent to an actual person.  She also cannot find any record of of a Howe on either the first or second flight. Panic level about 8.5.  After more talking she tells me I need to call travel cuts because there is no Howe on either of the passenger lists, and that travel cuts has somehow made a mistake.   Panic level about 12 on a scale to 10 (im starting to shake, ive already been sweating).  Luckily my persistent are you sure? and what does this mean? and what should I do? she figures out that I have a paper ticket sitting in front of me, even though I have said this a few times, and realizes that paper tickets are on some other list or something and finally reads out a number that is actually printed on my ticket.  So turns out I do have a seat on both flights and that maggie and I are sitting one seat apart on the same row.  Thank god I dont have pre-existing heart conditions.  disaster avoided.

Hours later we check in and turns out we dont even have to pay for our baggage, when we thought that we were going to have to pay 60 bucks each for our to bags.  score.  Then goodbyes to our family, where my mom held it together surprisingly well, and onto the security line.  So happy reading from outside of gate B8 at charlotte airport, we leave in 30 minutes!

also, sorry about my grammar and whatnot, I just have more important things going on than making sure all of my contractions have apostrophes in them