Road trip, non-photos, part 2 of 2

post #388
       So let's take up this story in Springfield, Missouri, where my cousin Doug -- who looks just like his dad who was my mother's brother -- and his family live and share a house with his wife's mother, 3 cats and a dog. This was my first visit ever with him. We stayed there a short 24 hours, but we were busy -- Cathy and I toured the University they are connected to and the great Nature Center -- where I actually took a photo with my iPhone of a chart showing what poison ivy looks like along side plants that may think they look like poison ivy. I am no longer terrifically endangered by P.I., like I was as a child, but I do the magical thinking that the fact that I don't get P.I. any more must mean I haven't identified the plants correctly. So I now have the photo of that chart on my iPhone to carry with me. (If I have made adequate sense in this telling, it's a miracle.)
     At the house, we learned a lot from the family geneology Lois had been doing, and Doug shared his various ingenious uses of computers and speakers and devices. Awesome talent.  He says he has a t-shirt that reads "No, I won't come to your house and fix your computer." He was kind enough to answer a few questions I happened to have about my phone... and he took each of us for ride in his beloved "old car," Cathy was able to do a Walmart run with him, for something needed for her new phone, and later I got a quick tour of the neighborhood with him. I am going to show three photos that Lois took, of me stepping into the car, etc., having great fun and appreciating his patience with my "undignified" behavior. 

         That night we had a light supper and the night in Kansas City, Missouri, where Cathy's friend, Carol, joined us after arriving in town at 11 pm on the train.  Early the next morning we three drove to the Kansas City International Airport, which meant only a half hour for me in the back seat. Carol is a Union Organizer, and knows all the airports and all the tricks for mapping trips on her phone. I believe her call name must by "Never Lost." I was let off to take a plane from there in order to get back home.
          Please note that the only reason I took the plane was that there isn't any other option! Not to where I needed to go. Not even any buses. How sad. I used to love the occasional long bus ride, and I am a big fan of trains. 
          To make the rest of this story short enough, I will just add that my flight from KCI went to Charlotte, NC, very smoothly flying over Lexington, KY, where, as I wrote last week, my car was. I was supposed to catch a flight from Charlotte to Lexington, yet all of a sudden the word was that the Lexington airport was closed down and there would be no flights to there for 24 hours. So close was I to going, and now so far.
           I had no interest in staying in Charlotte, so I managed to figure out how to get on a flight that evening to Louisville. I had no idea what to do after that. Luckily I hadn't checked a bag. The supervisor at the American Airlines desk in L'ville, however, told me I had just missed their bus going to Lexington. But, even so, she managed to get me a paid taxi ride to get there! Weird but wonderful.      
          Along my way, then, to find the taxis, I had a conversation with two guys from Ecuador, one of whom spoke some English. It turned out they needed a ride to Lex. for the same reason I did, so I invited them to join me. It ended up working out even better than I expected. I was just trying to be American hospitable, but they helped me, too. Then, about 40 minutes into the hour and 15 minute drive, I found out the taxi driver spoke French and so do I. I think he was African, and his French was great. He was thrilled, as was I, since usually it's all Spanish. Then, for quite a while, we had three languages going as it got darker and darker out. I would tell the Ecuadorians how beautiful the horse country was on either side of the road we were on and it was too bad they couldn't see it. What could have been a travel stress-out turned into a lovely and very interesting experience! 
       That's enough to get the idea of things. I am glad to be home, and, in fact, I am just finishing this by sitting in a chair outside my house, watching the darkness increase. There are no bugs, and no wind and it's all very peaceful.  But for sure it's good to get out and have an adventure every now and then.