My Vacation Part 3

I guess I should finish up this saga..on the last day of my trip I began my ardurous journey back to the Back Forty. My sis drops me off at the Robert Q bus station at 4:30 am on the 18th, and we headed out to TO in the dark. On the way we stop in Woodstock to pick up a couple of passengers. I am a person who is sensitive to scents, and buddy who squeezed in next to me must've been chewing some really strong minty gum..normally this wouldn't bother me but I dunno..maybe I was overtired or it was really strong, but he just reeked of this stuff, and it began to give me a super massive headache. I cover my nose with the sleeve of my coat and breathe through the fibres for the rest of the trip to Toronto Pearson Airport.
We arrive, and the driver, who was super nice, drove right up to the terminal doors and unloaded my heavy suitcases for me. Talk about top notch service. Beats having to fight with Grey Dog passengers to find your luggage under a bus. Anyhoo, I get to the Westjet desk, and pick up my ticket. I make my way through security, which never takes me long because I'm smart enough not to wear shit that beeps through the detector. All those other hapless sons of bitches ahead of me though beeped, and had to go through the long process of the metal wand, plus they had to take off their belts, and their shoes. I was happy to note that it was mostly white people who had to go through this rigorous inspection..no racial profiling here, and I was pleased to note that there were ethnic minorities that were running the machines..some who were obviously Muslim. But they did their jobs well, and waved me through without any holdups.
I make my way upstairs so that I can find the nearest Tim Hortons to get some breakfast and a coffee, as my stomach started growling, and I had about 3 hours to kill before my flight even thought of taking off. I get my food, and am making my way to a smoking section I'd remembered the last time I'd been there, only a year ago. I find much to my dismay, that it has been overtaken by the non smoking majority. Thinking that somehow the room had been moved I went up to a security guard, and politely asked him where I could find the nearest smoking room. He politely informs me that there is a tobacco ban throughout the entire facility, and if I needed to smoke I'd have to leave the terminal and go outside to partake of the cancer stick. I sat. I thought maybe Icould handle not smoking before the flight, then about 1 minute later changed my mind and went outside to have a cigarette. I then had to go back in through security and go throught the metal detectors, which took a little longer due to the fact a mom ahead of me had to take off her belt, and her shoes, and had her bags opened and carefully inspected by the staff. I then had to wait while the lady put her shoes and belt back on, then wrestle her baby carriage ahead and all the whie try to carry her carry on and a baby diaper bag. I go thru in 1 minute. I then went upstairs again and sat and waited for the flight, noting with amusement that a toddler was smiling and pointing at me. I gave her a little listen on my headphones my tunes on my MP3. She then wanted to practice her walking, and so her dad, holding her hands above her head, let her practice walking down the hall. The lady next to me told me the kid was great on the flight they'd just been on. I envied that woman, as I thought back to various trips I've taken over the years with a screaming toddler or infant. Anyhoo...finally the flight is announced, and I scoot in to be the first in line for general boarding. I get in the plane and take my seat. Am instantly more scared of flying than when I flew down. So I said a mental prayer, and crossed myself as the plane began taxiing down the runway. Hey..I never take chances...if theres a time where I need the man upstairs to keep a watchful eye over me its when I travel..regardless of the mode of transportation.
The plane is beginning to ascend, and I'm feeling the gravity pull sinking me into the seat, which is a very disconcerting feeling. I try to control my breathing..in through the nose..out through the mouth..relax. I felt extremely lightheaded and felt myself on the verge of fainting before the plane was even 20, 000 ft. I make it though, and I did manage to sleep for about 15 minutes, then was awakened with the sensation that my ears were ready to pop..painfully...And they did. Quite painfully. I grabbed some gum out of my purse and began chewing furiously, all the while riding turbulence from hell, and feeling like either I was about to faint again, or I was about to make good use of the complimentary barf bags convienently stashed in the seat pocket ahead of me. After a tense few moments..the plane lands, a little bumpy..and puts on its breaks. I give a mental prayer of thanks that I was back on firm ground, and begin the process of leaving the plane. I made my way down to the luggage area, and a few minutes later I retrieved my luggage and went outside for a smoke. There is a glass walled contained room for smokers, but I decided I didn't want to look like a freak in a freak show with people walking by and looking in at us poor rejects. So I sat on a bench, had my smoke, and talked briefly to a security dude who told me that Manitouwadge had a big snowstorm a few days previous. At that moment, was feeling glad that I'd brought my winter coat. Finally the transit driver from my town popped by to pick me up and we began the journey back to Manitouwadge. I was a little concerned that mom would yell at me first thing when she saw my chopped locks, but I figured she'd get over it soon enough. I finally got to the restaurant at 6:30pm, and when I walked in, yes mom did yell...but calmed down after I gave her a hug and told her what I did with the hair. I then put my suitcases in the back room, and put on an apron and worked until 10pm so mom could get some rest.
So there you have it...my trip. Hoped it was interesting. I have to say my trip was great, and even though a week has passed since I arrived home, and aproximately 5 days since mom left to go back out west, I still feel rested and good. Nothing much interesting has happened since..just work and sleep mostly. So I shall end the blog entry for tonight. Starting............now.