Meandering Missive: Las Vegas: TUESDAY Oct. 18 (Part 3 of 3)

Monday, October 24, 2005

Las Vegas: TUESDAY Oct. 18 (Part 3 of 3)

The last of the blog trio on my trip to Las Vegas for the SPJ journalism convention! *cheer* If you haven't read parts 1 and 2 yet, I highly suggest you read them first. Otherwise, the rest of this won't mean much. (They're also more amusing and more illustrated than this one)

I forgot to mention that by the time I went to bed on Monday the 17th, I had broken out and I don't know why. I had red, relatively small, mildly itchy welts on my neck and upper and lower arms. Because I wanted to KEEP them small and mild, I took an antihistamine before bed. I can't believe my absent-minded brain even thought to bring antihistamines with me! Fortunately when I awakened Tuesday, I was no longer bitchy (I mean itchy, LOL). However, then I felt kind of stuck-up (I mean stuffed up, LOL again!)

For what it's worth, I took a picture Monday night of my sleepy/tired eye, after I took off my make-up and washed my face. I cringe at the thought of posting it here, because I think it looks so bad. But I also think it's funny, and it made me laugh. So here it is for your shock and amusement. Remember: you're laughing WITH me, not at me *smirk*!!

Anyhoo, the first set of programs began at 10 a.m. (not counting a special panel from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. -- too early for yours truly!) Some of the set sounded interesting, but none were particularly pressing for me and my situation. That was good, because it gave me time to dress, eat and pack up all my belongings by my 11 a.m. checkout time. It was rainy and very overcast Tuesday morning, and I was not encouraged by the view from my window, part of which included the now almost invisible McCarran Airport! See for yourself....

I then lugged my 500-pound carry-on piece of luggage to the 11:15 program: "Where Do You Get Your Ideas? Freelance Writers' Salon." The presenters were two freelancers: SPJ Freelance Committee chairperson Wendy Hoke again and Roberta Wax. ( Creative Ink is Wendy's blog). This program was very good, but its focus was more on how and where to find/develop story ideas, whereas the previous day's freelance-themed program gave actual resources freelancers could use/visit. But this program was still inspiring, interesting and valuable, and I certainly took notes.

There were one or two afternoon programs I would have truly liked attending, but unfortunately I could only get a 3:15 p.m. flight out of LV's McCarran Airport. That meant I had to arrive at the airport by 1:15 p.m., which meant that I had to get on my way soon after the 12:15 p.m. program conclusion. (I didn't know how long I'd have to wait at The Aladdin for an airport shuttle, and I KNEW I wouldn't be able to walk quickly around the airport, since now my luggage was even heavier than when I arrived (a few souvenirs make a big difference when you have chicken wings for arms! *chuckle*)

But first, a quick backtrack! On the way to The Aladdin on Sunday, we passed the Hard Rock Cafe. Part of the landscaping was a very long line of very tall date palms. One palm caught my eye because its "head" was crooked and looked like it was about ready to fall off! I wanted to take a picture but we went by it too fast. WELL, on the way to the airport on Tuesday, where should my shuttle stop but right in front of the gimpy-headed date palm! The window was spotted with raindrops, but you can still see the palm clearly in the photo below. I suspect it was damaged by careless pruning. However, its fronds seemed as lush as its neighbors'....

When I got to the airport I was so hungry that I didn't even go through the security checkpoint and find my gate. All I did was get my boarding pass at the self-service kiosk, verify my plane was still leaving at 3:15 p.m. (it was, but that changed later), grab an errant luggage cart that some guy didn't return to the locking mechanism, and proceed to the nearest restaurant. It was a Tex-Mex place called Don Alejandro's and it barely even seemed like an airport restaurant. Great menu, nice ambiance and fast service. All I had was an iced tea and their light lunch special of vegetable soup and a tuna salad sandwich (not very Tex-Mex of me). The soup was one of THE best veggie soups I've ever had, and I told the host so! :)

Long story short, here's what happened at that airport as a result of air traffic delays and inclement weather in LV as well as in L.A. That's right -- I had to fly to Los Angeles and then catch one of American Airlines' American Eagle "shuttle" planes back to San Jose. My plane was supposed to leave LV at 3:15 p.m. By the time I left Don Alejandro's, I saw on one of the flight monitors that it was pushed up to 4 p.m. Not bad, I thought. :) However, by the time I got through the security checkpoints and found the right A.A. gate, it was changed to 5 p.m.!

When I told the lady at the gate desk that I was supposed to catch a 6:15 p.m. plane in L.A. to S.J., she printed me another ticket/board pass. It was good for the LAST American Eagle out of L.A. at 7:45 p.m. If I missed that one, she said I'd have to wait until the next day. Yikes! :( I threw away a little money gambling in the airport (which always struck me as weird), and I caved in and bought another frosty Starbucks java chip frapp to drink while reading a magazine and eating one of the high-protein Balance Bars I always take with me on trips. I also made phone calls and/or text messages to L/Milgwimper, Tony and my folks, and almost called Becky too but realized she was still at work. I was so bored (and overtired at that point) that I would have chatted up a stranger, but there was no one right near me! *chuckle*

My plane didn't leave LV until after 5:30 p.m.! I think some folks at other gates actually had their flights cancelled (to other parts of the country). I felt so bad for them!! What a day! I obviously didn't get to L.A. in time for my 6:15 p.m. American Eagle, but fortunately I had enough time to grab dinner to go from the airport's Burger King Express and get to my gate. I could have had to drag myself halfway across the huge airport, but another fortunate thing happened: my gate was quite close! :) I was also EXTREMELY happy that I decided not to check my luggage through, because with all the delays leaving Vegas and the missing of my original connector in L.A., who knows where my luggage might have ended up?! (LOL) Probably not in San Jose by the end of the night!! Timbuktu is more likely -- or at least Dubuque, Iowa! *snicker* So, despite the fact that I got major hand, arm and back fatigue from my leaden luggage, I was very glad I chose not to check it through!

Oh, before I forget, here's a picture I call "pastel sky", because that's how it looked on my late-afternoon flight from LV to LA. (The flight from LA to SJ was totally dark).

This was much prettier in person...

All's well that ends well! :) Even though I didn't get to SJ Int'l Airport until several hours after my originally projected time, I did make it! And boy did I sleep well -- no insomnia for me that night!! I also had a wonderful time on my first flight and hotel trip taken totally by myself. It's still more fun travelling with others, but this was an enjoyable and memorable experience and I'm very glad I did it.

And now, in the words of pioneering broadcast journalist, the late Edward R. Murrow, I will say: "good night, and good luck."

Today I am feeling reminiscent

posted by ScaryShari @ 3:33 PM

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