Traveling Nightmares

Well, last week was a ridiculously busy week for me (Lori). On Monday I flew to Philadelphia for a meeting with the Sesame Workshop (developers of Sesame Street) to advise them on a project they are developing to instill Healthy Habits in preschool children...neat huh? I felt like royalty...they had a limo service pick up all the advisors (about 11 in all), and they drove us to Newark, Delaware for the meeting on Tuesday. They put us up in a really fancy hotel, with plush bathrobes, chocolates on the pillows, and Fiji water on the bedside table! I felt like a queen. After Tuesday, I flew back to State College and the reality of making my own bed and doing laundry and dishes set it. I was no longer in Kansas.

I had a bunch of meetings on Wednesday and then I was taking the Amtrak to New York that evening for 2 back-to-back conferences...the first in New York City (Friday and Saturday), and the second in Washington, D.C. (Sunday and Monday). I was giving a lecture at the meeting on Saturday...the last session for the entire conference. Much to my surprise, people actually showed up, and were wonderful. My lecture was about race and obesity. Everything went well in NY. I spent Wednesday night and Thursday morning with my parents. They're so wonderful - I'm never hungry when I'm home...my mother makes sure to keep me well-fed...or overfed! Meanwhile, my dad always finds ways to give me a little money "for a rainy day." My sister Andrea took me bargain shopping on Thursday - I realize that I hate shopping. It seems so monotonous. I did find a great blazer for $10 and awesome bag for $16, so my labor was not in vain. J

I visited with my good, tried-and-true friends on Friday night and we had a great time over a fancy West Indian meal in Brooklyn. I also saw a girlfriend of mine that I was very close to in College (Michelyn - she is so beautiful and I'm her son's God mother). I'm a terrible Godmother. On Saturday, I had tea with an old College roommate (Tamika) who gave me the low-down on what it's like to be 2 working parents with 2 small children. What a reality check. I have so much respect for parents who have to balance work and family. I was so moved by her admiration and respect for her husband Sean, and the wonderful support he is for her.

On Saturday night I hopped on an Amtrak bound for D.C. My ride was relaxing and uneventful. I got in around 11:30pm, so I was ready for bed when I got there. The Sunday meeting was about advocating to the House and the Senate for public health issues. We learned how to talk to politicians and their staff about the issues we are focusing on this year, which include focusing on (1) health and physical education as part of the No Child Left Behind Act "qualified teachers" requirements, (2) increasing funding for school health programs, and (3) increasing funding for efforts to eliminate health disparities. On Monday we actually had appointments with legislative staff on Capitol Hill to highlight what we are asking the legislators to do. It was really neat - we met with the legislative aids for Senators Allyson Schwartz (Pennsylvania) and Edward Kennedy (Massachusetts). We also met with the senior public health policy aide in Congresswoman Donna Christensen's office (U.S. Virgin Islands). It was nice being in her office, because it seems like she employs many folks from the Virgin Islands...the sounds reminded me of being at home with my loud Jamaican family.

After the hill visits I packed up to come home, and this is where the drama begins. My flight was scheduled to leave D.C. at 5:25pm so I caught a cab around 3:30pm to head to the airport which I thought was 15 minutes away. The fare would have been a flat rate of $14.50. Well, turns out I was flying out of Dulles (45 minutes away) and not Reagan airport (15 minutes away). The fare suddenly jumped to $55.00!!! Thank God my dad slipped me a little extra cash, because the taxi did not accept credit cards. So needless to say, I'm already irritated at this point. I checked in fine and waded through an extremely busy, tiny terminal for United and finally boarded my plane. The plane was a small jet, but the air was so thick and hot that I seriously thought I was going to pass out. After everyone boards and fastens their seatbelt, the captain welcomed us aboard and told us that we are going to be delayed for and hour and 40 minutes, so we needed to de-board. I had a connecting flight in Philadelphia at 8:40pm, so I knew I was going to miss the connection. Turns out that we were able to board and take off earlier than the pilot anticipated, so I would have plenty of time to make my flight. Once I got to Philadelphia, the flight that was supposed to be leaving at 8:40pm was now scheduled to leave at 11:59pm. So, I went to the US Airways Club and a nice lady (Gloria) let me in for free. I relaxed on their comfy couches and watched TV until after 10pm. After a 50-something-year-old creepy man tried to pick me up, I went to talk to the agents at the counter, and they informed me that my flight had been cancelled. The airline was going to put me up in the Ramada at the airport for the night. After trying to get the free shuttle to the hotel, the driver told me they were completely booked, so I had to go to the Ramada in Glouster City, NJ...about 30 minutes away. Well, the hotel promised to send their free shuttle for me, and after waiting for them for an hour and a half, I paid $20 for a shuttle to the roach motel. Seriously, it reminded me of the hotel from the movie Psycho...scary. I called Anthony who tried so hard to send me hugs and kisses over the phone and then decided to get a few hours of sleep. Eventually, I made it home this morning, Tuesday, and arrived to see Anthony in the airport with the look of "I feel so bad for you honey" all over his face. I went home and took a long, hot, much-needed shower in my own house. I love traveling, but I am SOOOO happy to be home.

Sorry for the storybook...this is why I need to write more often!

Lori