Start of trip

It's amazing that I travel. I do enjoy myself when I get there, but I get annoyed easily and I worry so much about the money when working up to it. Getting there can be a problem, and this trip is no exception. Yesterday was all about the money. Last night was the annoyance.

I was really hoping that I could cancel the bus ticket (eat the $50 non-refundable deposit) and drive to the airport. However, the snow got worse as the day went on, and I ended up taking the bus. I was feeling pretty bitter about the extra expense until we turned onto the highway. However, not 2 minutes into the drive, we passed a car on it's roof, both doors wide open and apparently abandoned. I decided then that it was probably worth it the expense. Then, when the 1 hour bus ride took 3 hours, I was glad I wasn't driving.

When I got to the hotel and was checking in, the front desk phone rang. The guy who was helping me picked up, and then really surprised me by handing me the phone.

Who would phone me in Calgary? Well, apparently, my dad would. He may be way down in New Mexico, but he keeps tabs of things via the Internet. He knew how bad the weather was in Alberta yesterday. I'd emailed him that morning, and told him I was taking the bus; but apparently he was worried that the cheapskate in me would overrule the chicken poop. He wanted to hear from me that I'd made it OK. The front desk guy tells me that he'd phoned "really quite a lot". I apologized for my over-protective father. I guess that's what happens if you wait until you're 25 before you stop calling him Daddy.

The hotel was OK. Not great, but I have been spoiled by the hotels that I've stayed with through work, and through my San Diego trips. The annoyance came in that they were piping Christmas music into the hallways, and I could hear it clearly in my room. I'm all for being festive, but last night at 2:00am, I'd rather have been asleep.

Also, because I'm an idiot, I darn near froze to death. First, I'm a germophobe, so the top cover/quilt/blanket got the two-finger pull off the bed and spent the night on the floor. Then, the room was cold. It was so freezing, that I wondered if I was getting sick. I ended up getting up multiple times. First I checked out the Air conditioner in case it was a heater/cooler thingamabob, but it only cooled. Then I checked to make sure it wasn't running, which it was not. Then I grabbed the extra blanket from the closet, carefully folded it so that it was covered by the sheet and my face wouldn't accidentally come into contact. And then I eventually got up and put yesterday's clothes on over top of my pj's. Even so, I spent most of the night so cold that my teeth were chattering. Not to worry, though, because I eventually figured it out. When I woke up this morning (at a refreshing 5:30am - because I'm on vacation) I immediately sat up and stared straight ahead at the thermostat on the wall.

Which, by the way, declared that the room was 15C.

Good news, though. I made it to San Diego, where the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing and all my travel trepidations are gone. I had a late lunch of fresh greens, grilled chicken, pecans, Gorgonzola cheese and tomatoes - Yum. After last night, I'm contemplating a nap in my much nicer hotel room; but I don't think I will. I think I'm going to map out a walking route, and then get out and explore a bit more instead