It is the magic date of 7/7/7 and I am on my way back to the Bella Donna. I am sitting in the Continental Airlines President's Club in Honolulu waiting on a Hawaiian Airlines Flight to Papeete, Tahiti. There is a 4 hour layover, so I may have time to finish this post.
My one month stay at home was filled till it ran over. People talk about the glass that is half full versus the glass half empty. My experience is he glass runs over. There are several places I would love to be at the same time. Life does not support being in two or more places at the same time. Being with my grandchildren was a glass more than full. Being with Donna was more than a full glass. Then there were Kari, Colin, Kevin and Jenna. Then there is Bill, Debbie, Garret, Aunt Doris and Mema. Several glasses run over. We do so many things together. In short I lost control of my life in a perpetual state of happy events.
I have to get to Sacramento for the first leg flight to Honolulu on route to Tahiti. Yesterday it is well over 100 in Reno when Don drops me off at the airport to rent a car to drive to Sacramento. The line is long as there is a volleyball tournament in Reno this weekend. At the counter I select the cheapest car to Sacramento, $64, and with taxes, $85. The Hertz representative warns me that the cheapest car is slow going over the Sierras to Sacramento. For a few more dollars I could get a 6 cylinder instead of a 4 cylinder. She did say that the 4 cylinder uses less gas. Being a thrifty minded person, I decide to go with the 4 cylinder. She says I could probably get to Sacramento on ¼ tank of gas, but I should still fill it up before turning it as the price to fill at Hertz in Sacramento would be almost $7 per gallon. As it turns out, I fill the tank and it only took 4.1 gallons at $3 per gallon for well over 100 miles.
As I approached the car in the rental parking area I noticed it is very small, but adequate for the task. The color is fire engine red and everything is painted with very little chrome showing; even the door handles are painted the fire engine red. It does not have power windows, only cranks. Each door has to be individually locked and unlocked; there are no power locks. Suddenly I am back in the 1960s when only the expensive luxury cars had push button door locks and power windows. Next I noticed how close the driver's seat is to the ground. This coupled with the neat sounds generated by the 4 cylinder engine gave me the impression of a powerful sports car as I depart the airport. The car is so small the feel and sounds of the struggling 4 cylinder gives the experience of a luxury sports car breaking the speed limit. It is only then you realize that the aggressive speed you are experiencing is barely able to keep up with traffic; you realize the cars limitations. Nonetheless, the experience is a cheap thrill.
Today I awoke at precisely 4:27 AM when the alarm was set to go off at 4:30 AM. About 90% of the time I wake up just minutes before the time I have set an alarm to go off. I guess my subconscious mind is always awake and it knows how startled my conscious mind becomes when awakened by an alarm.
The ride to Incline took 20 minutes and I merged with highway 80 in Truckee 40 minutes after turning on 481. I think this route is faster, in good conditions, than going through Reno.
Arrival in Sacramento presents me with good news and bad news. In Sacramento I got a rare positive experience. Upon turning in my rental car a Hertz employee says leave my luggage in the car and he will take me to the terminal, good news. I get to Hawaiian Airlines and since I am going to Tahiti, an international destination, there is only one person that can check me in. I am in line behind a dozen people in one group traveling to Tahiti as well, bad news. It takes an hour to check in; it's a good thing I am early.
Well, I will document the leg to Tahiti tomorrow.
God Bless Bella Donna.
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