Back from Urgent Travel

Whew, the last week has been crazy chaos and I’m still trying to figure out what time it is and which end is up. But glad to be back home. Basically we found out hubby’s father passed away and packed at the speed of light after work Monday to catch a red eye flight to Florida. It wasn’t a complete surprise, but not something you can ever prepare for and a very tough time for family.

We planned to try to sleep during the first long flight from Sacramento to Atlanta, but it was a huge mess being 50 minutes late taking off for some reason. Then had to make a rough, unplanned landing in Oklahoma City during terrible weather for a medical emergency. We were stuck for 2 hours with the cabin fully lit and cranky flight staff and passengers waiting for a new flight plan to Atlanta, re-certification of the medical equipment on the plane that was used for this passenger, and safety checks since the plane landed with more fuel weight than planned. Once back up in the air, we finally got 2 hours of sleep or so before circling Atlanta for an additional 30 minutes waiting to land in the fog. Not complaining, crap happens, and I’m glad for all the safety precautions and fully understand. We just had to laugh at our luck.

We missed the connecting flight to Orlando and had about a 2 hour layover at Atlanta before the next flight where it was just nice to walk after being stuck sitting for so many hours. After exploring the food options in our terminal, we ended up at Great Wraps for simple veggie hummus wraps for lunch that were tasty.

And got to Orlando about 4.5 hours later than planned after getting on another flight. And our luggage got to Orlando on a different flight, luckily that worked out okay. Whew! Once we arrived at family’s house, and loaded up on food from Publix for a few days, we had veggie sushi, prepared salad, and beans and rice for simple meals.

Not having a lot of time to prepare and pack, I took my stash of Soul Sprout bars from Grocery Outlet for simple breakfasts with fruit. Since we did most of the eating at home with family, we also picked up veggie pizzas and salad fixings from Publix for simple, but healthy options.

The weather in Central Florida was interesting, it was very humid and stormy when we arrived, but chilly, breezy, and clear with low humidity for the rest of the trip. About 45 degrees during morning runs and not too humid which was fine with me. While it was great to visit family, it was a tough visit where we just wanted to be there and make things better as much as we could.

We came home yesterday and thankfully all fights were on time and much smoother than getting there. Again, there was a 2 hour layover at Atlanta where we found a simple spicy tofu dish for lunch and a great window table to watch the airport action.

It’s very easy to pass time at the Atlanta airport with tons of shopping and food. We saw a lot of ads for the Impossible Burger and noted the Blue Moon Brewhouse restaurant also had great vegan options such as a hummus platter and veggie burger.

Good thing we had lunch at the airport, because there was not a vegan meal option served on the long flight from Atlanta to Sacramento. They offered to remove the chicken to serve just the potatoes and salad (which also had shrimp in it), but I passed and snacked on a banana, vegan cookies, and Swedish Fish which wasn’t ideal either, lol.

By the time we got home late after picking up the dogs from my mom’s house, I went with a simple Amy’s frozen meal for dinner and crashed shortly after.

It’s been a trip. Life is short and we need frequent reminders of that to appreciate and make the most of it. But we really need good health to make the most of it which isn’t easy in an economy that profits from selling and treating poor health. Yeah, I get I’m preaching to choir and most of us are trying to live healthy, eco-friendly, and compassionately and make it more socially acceptable. It’s not easy, but it’s worth it.

Today it’s relaxing, running, laundry, and preparing for the work week tomorrow as we get back to the grind here.