The Trip West

I'm currently hanging out at an oh-so-fascinating terminal in the Nashville airport waiting out a weather delay. Thus far the trip west has been a classic study in air travel. Let's see, first there was the emergency pit stop for my Mom on the drive to the airport which put me behind, but not so badly as to be unrecoverable, usually. Today, however, just had to be the day that I experienced the worst security lines I've ever seen at Tampa International (the line snaked all the way back to the shuttle doors after zig-zagging like an oversized, coiled up, sleeping python and moved about as fast). The stewardess was making the final boarding call for my flight when the lovely security agent decided MY backpack needed a second look due to my offending (but empty) Nalgene bottle. After she studiously ascertained that my Nalgene was in fact empty, I was allowed to collect my various checked luggage and made a haphazard dash at full speed to the gate trailing personal items in my wake. All the running I've been doing lately must have paid off as I made it before the doors closed! I was then sandwiched between two rather large men as only middle seats were now available but as I was actually on the plane I didn't mind all that much. Just outside of Nashville the weather gods decided to frown on our flight and we were placed in a holding pattern, circling aimlessly round and round for about forty-five minutes until it was deemed "safe" to land. When permission was finally granted we of course passed through the offending storm to fairly substantial turbulence...at which point the little girl in the seat in front of me began throwing up...and continued to do so until we landed. This same beautiful weather has now also delayed my outgoing flight to LAX. Ah...air travel, how I have sooo missed you!