Back to the Real World - Can You Ever Go Home Again?

They say you can never go home again and for some of us the return from St. Croix seemed to prove it. My flight to Orlando from San Juan was delayed several hours and I would have missed my connections. I was rerouted through Miami to Charlotte, NC. Wouldn't you know it, that flight was also delayed and I spent the night in the Airport Days Inn in Charlotte, NC. I have to say, the personnel in the hotel were just as friendly and accommodating as they can be, but the room was terrible. My first room had no heat and I was moved to a second one that had some warmth (eventually) but was very shoddy, otherwise, right down to a blanket full of holes. The hotel is undergoing renovations at the moment, but I say they should have started with the linens.

I was also very well treated by the gate and ticket staff of American Airlines in San Juan and Charlotte, who worked cheerfully to solve my travel glitches.

I'm happy to report that I remained cheerful, too, and took the delays and even the “holy” blanket in stride. I reminded myself that it is a miracle that we can travel so easily ... it might take a full day - or even closer to two, but modern travel really does get us from Point A to distant Point B awfully quickly and with relatively little effort on our parts. It was also a lot of fun to run into dance buddies in the airports ... I enjoyed seeing Linda Eastman and John Brady again in Miami and hanging out with sisters Ann Tidwell & Mary Lynn Dobson and Jim Felling & Bev Cowdrick of Charlotte, NC. Bev’s business is nursing home administration and we talked about the possibilities for intentional retirement communities for folk musicians and dancers.

My travel woes were hardly the worst ... Sarah Jane and Steve Bye left Sugar Beach at 5:30 am and had still not left San Juan nearly 12 hours later when we boarded the flight for Miami.

How was your trip home?