I got up early because I hadn't finished packing everything up the night before. Yikes, my back felt like it was going to split open with molten lava. I haven't had
a real sunburn in years and this little reminder will have me slathering up for sure on next trips. http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a163/SPrestegard/100_2148-2.jpg
You men should be thankful you don't have to deal with bra straps on sunburned skin! Got things under
control and then roused everyone and we had our last coffee and pastries out on the balcony. It's always so bizarre
for me to start out my day in PV and end it in my own bed. Seems like a world away once you're home.
We were picked up on time by a suburban we had requested the day before.
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a163/SPrestegard/100_2161.jpg We wouldn't have been
able to fit all the luggage into two taxis.
There was hardly anyone in line at the Alaska counters when we arrived (11:00 a.m.). The security
procedures are still fairly relaxed compared to the states, it seems. We were departing from a gate in the new part of
the airport. It is very nice. I picked up 3 big bottles of tequila and a super
sized bottle of Grand Marnier.
We touched down in L.A. and had to go through the whole thing again. Repacked the booze and hoped for the best. Going through security here was much more involved. They took Kevin right away. It's that leg that resembles a pipe bomb. I do not recommend trying to go through security with any body part that resembles a pipe bomb. Riley went to one line and I had Ashlenn, Kyli and Brysen with me in another. We hadn't been required to remove our shoes in PV but here, we were. So, Brysen takes off his shoes - shoes that I had begged him not to wear. He had a brand new pair but wanted to wear the shoes that were comfortable, the shoes that he'd been wearing for 6 months, the shoes that he'd worn in a pond. We're waiting in line to put our belongings on the belt and I smell something horrible. I think it was Ashlenn who first said "OH MY GOD BRYSEN! IS THAT SMELL YOUR SHOES?" I can't even describe the stench. I was horrified. I started laughing. We all started laughing. The reaction of the woman that was sitting at the x-ray machine was priceless. She said "what the hell smells like sh*t?", then gave us a really bad look, shook her head, picked up a can of air freshener that she had sitting there and sprayed it around herself. She sat there for another minute, then got up and walked over to where we were and sprayed all around us. I was in hysterics at this point. I had just been doused by a security worker wielding a can of Renuzit. I'm thinking if she had a can of air freshener sitting there, it wasn't the first time she's had to deal with stinking, rotten shoes. I threw those damn things away as soon as we got home!
It was a successful trip. The weather was wonderful. No one got sick or injured. More wonderful memories were made and, the booze made it home all in one piece.
