Arrival

I realized as I wandered around O'Hare for 3 hours yesterday that I had forgotten how great airports are for people watching. Especially big city airports. 

I had great fun roaming the concourses taking in the sights of well dressed business people, one lady with some snazzy blue suede shoes that tempted me to ask her if she was headed to Memphis. There were many Southeast Asian men that were probably sharply dressed for the streets of Singapore, but looked somehow out of place and slightly uncomfortable in an American airport. A large population of Orthodox Jewish men in their black with their more relaxed dressed young sons in their yamaka's. I'm not sure which was my favorite though between the Amish woman resplendent in her calico dress, snood, and sensible shoes pulling a leopard print suitcase with wheels or the flamboyant European gay male in his purple with green paisley's pants and matching mauve cashmere twin set buying chocolates at the "haute chocolate" shop on the H concourse. 

I know this would be so much better with pictures, but I find snapping pictures of strangers to be somehow rude. They don't know me, and to take a picture to talk about them on my own blog seems crass and disrectful. So I'll just talk about them instead. I know, there's a lack of logic there that we are going to overlook. 

After sitting with a Chatty Cathy from Grand Rapids to o'Hare and then next to a child from hell and his worn out mother from Chicago to Anchorage, I was ecstatic to get off the plane before I spanked a strangers child for them, but it was a close call. As I pelted down the hallway I couldn't wait to get fresh air and feel a breeze on my face. And let me tell you, have I missed my view of the Chugach mountains. As you can see here, I still miss it because the clouds hung over them, but it was still wonderful to see what I could. 

Right off we hit REI so I could grab a new pair of hiking boots since my last set of Merrils never really worked well for me, and then hit the Bear Tooth for lunch. Ahhh, how I've missed my spicy bear wrap. I also hadn't eaten since 4am eastern time and it was now 2pm Alaska time. Okay, the beer doesn't count, and why does the airlines offer a menu if they aren't going to have any of the food on it? Anyway, it was time to eat before hitting the road north to Palmer. 

All in all a pretty good day and I was out like a light come 9pm. I can still fall asleep regardless of the sun shining in the windows. Good training as a kid I guess. But, I better get up out of bed and stop writing this to get showered and ready to do Mom's chore list for me before I get to go play.