Leslie's LA Adventure!

Leslie’s LA Adventure!

My first flight- I sat next to a lady who works for YSD district office. That was fun because we definitely had stuff in common to talk about. My flight from Seattle to LA- I was in a back row. No one was in the middle seat. However, there was a girl going into 5th grade in the aisle seat. She was by herself, so it was like I became her entertainer (the flight attendants were relieved I bet!). This kid! Cracked me up. So many questions from her! She even tried to force feed me fruit snacks and beef jerky. I was thankful the two flights went well. I felt like God orchestrated where I sat and whom I was with for sure. Once I got to LA, Kristi and Whitney met me at the airport. So good to see them! They whisked me off to the Santa Monica Pier. We ate, played and enjoyed the ocean. Once we got back to the loft (an old UPS building!) we had just enough time to relax. We then walked to the main movie theater and saw Tarzan in 4DX! 4DX= 3D glasses, bursts of air and water and moving seats!

The week was a blur! We had a few days where we stayed home and worked on schoolwork (or I watched Netflix when Kristi and Whitney were at school!). Some of the many adventures:
• Birdies, a place that sells Donuts and Chicken (best sandwich ever!)~
• FIDM Scholarship store (yay plus size clothes!)
• The Briks ( funky place to eat where you can’t understand the menu)
* Trader Joes!!
• Co Co’s – best Boba tea ever!
• Dancing in downtown LA (except…I broke free and I left to go geocache!)
• Walking everywhere!
• Chik-FIL-a
• Sausage place ( Pair o Balls….ask me privately about that story)
• Little Tokyo (yay Mochi ice cream!)
• Fabric district
• Hillsong LA!
• Getty’s Museum!
• Tar Pits!
• Hollywood (walk of fame?)
• IHOP until midnight, with some surprise visitors!
• Todd coming home before I leave!

I might have forgotten some adventure! It was all so amazing though. My favorite was getting to pick Todd up the day before I left! It meant a lot to me to see “Daddy Todd”.

Thus brings us to the day I left. I feel like this situation was meant to grow me, stretch me, and move me from my comfort zone to a new place, without fear. I got to the LA airport with plenty of time. I went through security. If you don’t know, it is a JOY (not really) to go through TSA checkpoints. Heavy people and thermal scanners don’t mix. My weight is centered around my middle area. Thanks to that, my groin set it off. Yep, my groin. Nothing like a pat down just below the waist! I am waiting for my flight. I get a notification that it is delayed. Turns out another flight nabbed our plane and gate. I decide to go get a treat and grab a donut and sandwich from Dunkin Donuts. In the process, I struck up a conversation with this random lady who works at the airport. We kept it going for a good chunk of time! There was plenty of good humor and laughs. At the end, she randomly asks me if she can give me a hug. Talk about fun God moment! Roughly 30 minutes before boarding time, I look around and realize…no one is here. Gate change! I race to get to the right gate- clear to the other side of the airport. I check in and have a seat. One of the workers approaches me and asks for my boarding pass. She told me she was switching my seat so I have more room. At first, I was taken back- oh, weight sensitivities. I ended up with a row to myself and being one of the first on the plane! They announced the second delay. The flight coming in was late. OK, no big deal. I strike up a conversation with a 21-year-old woman named Aida. She had the cutest poodle with her. Turns out she is heading to….Spokane! We had the same connecting flight in San Fran to Seattle. Fast forward. They delay the flight more…because of an issue with the thing that connects outside that we walk on. By the time we get on the plane, it is maybe 6:30…. we ended up having to sit on the PLANE for even longer. Things were not fully cleared yet. The flight attendants were already at 12 hours because they started in Boston. The one plugged her phone in next to me and struck up conversation. Keep in mind- I have my own row in the very back! God’s mini blessings in disguise I call it. By the time the plane leaves, I have already missed my connecting flight in San Fran. Which means I have missed my flight in Seattle. Exhale. I don’t like change. But ALAS! God put Aida on the flight with me! She also missed her flights. Once the plane landed, together we embarked on the journey to get our flights rebooked, food waivers and hotel. We started the process by 9:45ish? It took the poor guy over an hour to rebook and find us a hotel. The city was pretty full. We waited for a shuttle, got to the hotel and in our rooms by 12:30. Aida and I hopped on the 4:10 am shuttle and said our goodbyes. She really was a God send! I could have NOT done it without her! Alaska was not open yet, so I had to print my boarding pass. Only one came out. I had to go through the thermal scan again…and yup! My groin set it off…again. My second pat down below the waist. So unbelievably awkward. I am walking around, confused on how to get to my gate. I finally find it. The lady struggled printing my next boarding pass, and admitted American Airlines wasn’t the best (that is who I started my journey with). I go waste time before my flight by getting breakfast. I strike up a conversation with the guy behind me and told him about my adventures. Keep in mind I am still in San Fran. Turns out he has a place in Goldendale! I got on my flight and was so excited when we landed in Seattle. I went to get off the plane….and the guy from Goldendale says enjoy getting back to Yakima! Turns out he was the captain of the plane. Maybe I should pay better attention to uniforms next time, LOL. I did not have any problems with my flight to Yakima, other than a guy who yelled at people in Seattle and again when we got into Yakima. When I got to Yakima, I booked it out. I should have slowed down, because I missed Bryan Ford by a hair! I got to say hi to his wifey though. I was so excited to see Ed and get my luggage. Neither was there. Oh well! By the time the counter was open, Ed got there. We ended up having a great talk with Cass’ mom as she filled out my missing luggage report. It was another God moment! We got updated on some pretty serious family stuff and now know how to pray. It would not have happened if it were not for my luggage not making the plane! Luckily, my stuff got rushed from the SF airport and made the next flight to Yakima. Aida got her stuff in Spokane on time…lucky duck! In the end, my trip was great. God worked in so many little random ways it made me realize how blessed I really am.