Thursday March 19 - Monday March 23

Thursday March 19

It was a lovely autumn morning as I left home. I had wanted Seb to be nice to Sylvie and told both of them to be good for my friend, lol, it might have fallen on deaf ears.

In the lounge at the international lounge in Auckland I chatted to two Americans who live not far from one of the places I am visiting, near Washington DC. The flight across the Pacific was uneventful and not too bumpy and was on time, so yet another groundhog day! The queue waiting for passport control was horrendous and some people would have missed their connecting flights. I was lucky as I had a four hour layover. It actually took one hour and ten minutes to go through but after that is was quick and easy.

The flight to Chicago was another good flight although after depositing all the ice from my drink into my lap, I was certainly woken up, lol! It was also on time so a good day all in all, even if it was over 30 hours long! The Candlewood Suites near O'Hare are definitely to be recommended, clean and well looked after with good room facilities, the staff were very friendly and helpful.

Friday March 20

I got a good night's sleep although still felt a bit weary.

I caught the hotel shuttle back to the airport and a very helpful driver dropped me at the nearest spot to the train station for the Blue Line train into the city centre. Another very helpful person at the station helped me to get my ticket with my debit card, it sure makes travelling so much more enjoyable when people are so pleasant and helpful.

At Union Station, I finally got a locker organised so I could go and get my IPad set up with a data plan at AT&T. I wandered down to West Monroe Street and found the store, thanks Google! Once again I met a pleasant and helpful guy who served me. We got it all sorted and made sure my Talkatone account via their app was working with it, Eureka - success! It means I have a new U.S. number but all texts and incoming calls to the U.S. are free, while outgoing calls are one credit = one minute. I can purchase 60 credits for NZ$1.29 so I think it is a good deal. This is certainly cheaper than roaming with my NZ mobile and means I will have connectivity most of the time when I am on the trains.

I spent the rest of the day at the station until we were called for the train at 9.00 pm. The train departed on time, but would it arrive on time? During the trip I was keeping up with the score from the New Zealand vs West Indies Cricket World Cup Quarter final. What a game it turned out to be, one of the best of the whole World Cup and made even better with the right result, lol!!! A few records were set by one of the NZ batsmen and there was an incredible catch by the oldest member of the team, he is 36!!

Saturday March 21
Yes, Amtrak ran true to form and the train was late, arriving just after 2 am in Bryan! I had been in contact with Lisa so no worries. Both Lisa and Harry were there to meet me and it was so good to finally arrive. I have never been to a supermarket at 2.30 am so that was another new experience. I purchased some supplies and then we headed home. Bruno was really funny when we arrived, he started crying and looked as if he was scared of me, however when I made a fuss of Enzo he soon came round!! Niko and Guido both seemed happy to see me and there were cuddles all round! Lisa then made us some scrambled eggs before heading to bed.

I slept solidly until midday and we had a quiet rest of day. Karleen came round for dinner, a lovely chicken dinner prepared by Lisa!

Sunday March 22
I slept in again today and hopefully am now caught up! this afternoon I went with Lisa and her friend Shirley to see "Cinderella". I really enjoyed it, it was a sweet, undemanding film that followed the story line pretty closely.

I did not sleep that well so am obviously well caught up!

Monday March 23
I went to Williams County Humane Society with Lori today and she booked her young cat, Sammy, in for her spay on April 9. They are offering cheaper operations so it is a good time to do this. 

As we left to come back home there were a few spots of snow in the air. So much for Spring in Ohio! It was not snowing when we got back home.

A wee while later, Lisa called down to say it was snowing, this was heavier and blown by the brisk, cold wind. It was also settling on the ground a little and it carried on for some time. I thought winter wold be over by the time I arrived in the US this year, obviously Mother Nature decided otherwise, lol!!

I took a few photos of the snow and also caught Guido on the top level of the tree.