After spending the night in Sious City, IA, we drove toCouncil Bluffs, IA where we decided to do some sightseeing in this area with its rich history.
The first stop was at the Mormon Trail Visitor's Center at Historic Winter Quarters
We were briefed on the religion and lifestyles of the Saints and their travails getting to Utah. Though I had read a lot about this era in history, it was interesting to see some of the artifacts from the trek. Our guide was a LDS missionary.
Following that tour, we drove to the Western Historical Trail Center. This is a museum that has a lot of promise. It is in a lovely setting surrounded by fields of grasses. The walkway to the front door is made of slate engraved with names of tribes and people who contributed to the travel westward in the 19th century. Inside there are displays depicting the life on the trail.
After we left there and got a bit of lunch, we headed to Platte City and the trip home. This had been a great vacation. I was sorry to see it end.
Merry Weather really took to life on the road. She found that the night table between the beds was the best place to stay so that she would not get stepped on.
The next morning our flight took off at the crack of dawn. We were up and packed in plenty of time. I dropped Emilie, Merry Weather, and the luggage off at the Kansas City airport and drove to the car dropoff place. Arriving back at the airport, we got in a long line to checkin. There was a troupe of gymnasts in front of us, so the line was very long. On the Departure display, I noticed that our flight had been cancelled. I immediately called U S Airways and found out that we had been booked on a Northwest airlines flight that was leaving in about 3 hours.
The KC airport is made up of three unjoined pods. The only way to get from one pods to another is the airport shuttle. Emilie, MW, the luggage and I went to NW to get our tickets. I didn't know that,if you have an "E" ticket, you cannot just exchange it for a ticket on another airline. You must get rerouting ticket from the previous airline. Leaving Emilie, MW, and the luggage, I got on another shuttle and travelled back to the US Air terminal where the long line was still there. I got in line with some others who had been on our original, not cancelled, flight. I told them to call the airlines to find out where they had been rebooked and then get a rerouting ticket for their e ticket. Tired of standing in line, I went to the clerk and somehow got our tickets changed.
Back on the shuttle, I returned to the rest of my weary band. I exchanged our U S Air tickets for Northwestern. We got something to eat and made the decision to sit in the gate terminal while waiting. This is important because the gate is open for a short time to allow passengers in and then is closed down. I don't really remember the flights back, probably because of the trauma on our arrival at BWI.
We landed at BWI and got our luggage back. Emilie was going to stay with MW and the luggage. The ticket I got when parking my car was yellow, so I thought that I was in the yellow lot (this is how it is done at Dulles Airport). There was no yellow lot. I remembered it was near a red lot. I couldn't get a cabby to drive me to the yellow lot which one of the bus drivers said was the employee lot. I found two BWI policemen who give police officers a bad name. They laughed at me and said my car was probably towed away because it had been there so long (15 days). They then told me to use the courtesy phone to see when the next employee shuttle was coming. I got a recorded message. I then decided to jump on a red lot shuttle and walk to my car, since no one would help me. The driver on the shuttle recognized me from before and found a bus driver who would help me find the correct lot. The first thing he asked was what was on my ticket stub. I was in the Express lot. Once I knew that I got on the correct shuttle bus and retrieved my car. I picked up a weary Emilie, MW, and the luggage. The trip ended on a sour note, but at least we had the trip.
I know that the trip wouldn't have been half as much fun or anywhere near as enjoyable without Emilie. Emilie is very calm and sensitive, whereas I am volatile and selfish. Plus we like many of the same things. In September 2001, we are planning to go to the Pacific Northwest to visit the Mesicks and do some genealogical search and volksmarches. Emilie is going to the same area and Alaska in June for the AVA convention. In February 2001 we hope to go to Floribama where we will get IVV credit for Florida, Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina.