Tag Archives: Wendy Welch

Standing Room Only – –

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Jack makes it on time for his Wednesday blog post – –

Wendy is attending a conference in Albuquerque and I went along too for a rare vacation.

I booked our flights to and from Knoxville airport and found that the most convenient schedule was with ‘Frontier Airlines’ which just involved a two-hour layover in Denver. The flights were fairly cheap but that was where things got interesting.

After booking the flights I discovered that the seats (any seats) were extra, and so was a carry-on bag. There would be (limited) snacks and drinks available but also with an extra charge! Seats were allocated at check-in and couldn’t be chosen beforehand.

The airline uses Airbus 320 planes which are more or less equivalent to Boeing 737s and I had flown in them a number of times in the past. However, when we boarded for the five-hour flight to Denver I was dismayed to see that the seats were thin, hard and non-reclining. The customary screen wasn’t on the back of the seat in front or hanging from the ceiling, so no entertainment or info on the flight progress.

By the time we reached Denver my legs were stiff and my bum was sore!

The onward flight to Albuquerque was in an identical Airbus but more bearable as it was only two hours long.

I remarked to Wendy that Airbus was a very appropriate name – almost like the Greyhound Bus of the air.

We were almost the only people wearing masks at the airports or on the planes – –

Our return flight will be with American Airlines so it will be interesting to compare and contrast!

The Ocean’s Apology

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Jack and Wendy are on holiday with friends Oliver and Barbara, from Britain, and Brandon and Beth, from Virginia. Herewith a tale of their adventures.

66460144_691467604631963_6907103243638145024_n(1)The Atlantic and I had a disagreement about how I should reach shore, day 4 of our holiday. I felt riding in on Oliver’s borrowed board was best, but the wave said I should plow to shore on my face doing about 12 mph and let the sand stop me.

The wave won that toss, but since then the sea has behaved handsomely. This morning, when Brandon and I got up early to walk to an old lighthouse, we found many things on the beach, tossed up by last night’s storms.

65906883_1075559982832263_8633267998813061120_nFirst up was a strange shell I thought was  a clam, but turned out to be a pair of sunglasses. Versace, new. Brandon looked them up: $280.

“The sea is apologizing for beating you up,” he said. “It sent you a gift. And you can hide your black eye at the restaurants in Savannah.” (That is our next stop.)

“Versace, smersace,” I responded. “I don’t use name brands.”

There was a loud crash as the calm ocean suddenly produced a nasty wave.

We walked on.  A few hundred yards later, I said, “That’s not….”

“It is,” said Brandon. “The sea is trying really hard to make it up to you.”

67223035_2507246095994420_7284640253460086784_n(1)These sunglasses were more, as Brandon put it, “a Wendy-friendly style.” Aviators from Old Navy, $20 new.

“I like the heart-shaped frames, but you know I really don’t wear sunglasses.”

A strange sucking sound came from the ocean, for all the world like a frustrated sigh.

We soon reached the tidal pools around the light house coast. The storm had tossed up massive hermit crabs, a few jelly fish, numerous large scallop shells and some broken conch.

66411678_444782456368010_7061261830483607552_n“Look at that.” I pointed to the edge of a tidal pool. We waited to see if the leopard crab shell moved. It did not. I picked it up. Empty, perfect, rare.

“Oooh, this is nice,” I said aloud, holding the shell to the light to admire its colors.

“Apology accepted.” Brandon addressed this to the waves.

The sea gave a small self-satisfied sigh, and took the tide out.