Wednesday

I went to bed early Tuesday night (9:00 p.m.) knowing I had to wake up early Wednesday morning. I planned on 4:00 a.m., but got up and couldn’t fall back asleep at 2:00. Dammit!

So, I washed some clothes and the dishes. I also set up the cat food, water and kitty litter stations and finished packing. Then I left for the airport at 6:00 a.m.

I was well aware that it was supposed to be the worst travel day of the year, so I was shocked that I found a parking place almost immediately.  I also was pleasantly surprised that the airport wasn’t that crowded.

My biggest surprise was that they have changed the security check in. No more tray, taking off shoes and belts, etc. They just ask you to put your keys and cell phones in your carryon! Nice!!! Made the line move quickly.

The flight to Charlotte was bumpy, but not too bad. Apparently we were flying over the big storm I heard about, as it was sunny all the way down. Then we went below the clouds, so it was raining and cold in Charlotte.

I had a two-hour layover in Charlotte, so I went in search of some food. I was looking for some kind of a diner where I could get breakfast, but ended up at a walk-up Burger King, where I paid $9.00 US for a Whopper meal that should have cost, like, $5.00 on the street. And, I had to wait for a table to sit at. Sigh…

The flight to Columbia was without incident and, it was sunny when I got there. That airport was jam-packed with soldiers, heading home for the Holiday.

My bag didn’t come out of the carrousel, so Jake (who picked me up) and I went to the ticket counter to inquire. The lady said it was scanned in and should be there. So, we went back downstairs with her and, sure enough, it was spinning around all by it’s lonesome.

The ride to Jake and Carla’s was pretty as it still looks like Fall down here, with plenty of colorful leaves still on the trees.

Carla greeted me as enthusiastically as Jake had, but Whiskey was ecstatic to see me!

We mostly sat and chatted, except for some last minute prepping for Thanksgiving dinner.

I was tired, so we ordered in from a local restaurant. Carla had crab legs, Jake some spicy chicken and mashed potatoes with greens and I got a crab cake sandwich, also with the mashed potatoes and some coleslaw. The food was excellent.

We watched a little TV and started to watch a documentary. But, when Carla noticed both Jake and I were falling asleep, she announced it was bedtime.

It was only a few minutes past 9:00 p.m., so I thought I would read until a more reasonable bedtime. I didn’t make it more than 20 minutes.

I woke up around 2:00 a.m., shut off the reading light and went back to bed.