California Vacation ...

… travel day.
 
And it was a long one.  Our flight wasn’t until close to 3:00 pm but I like to have plenty of time to get through security … it takes me longer than the average person due to the crutches.  And since we had to also return the rental car we left mom’s at 11:30 am.  It’s a good drive to the San Diego airport and you just never know what the traffic will be like. 
 
We arrived at the rental center around 12:15 pm and ate our packed lunch before getting the shuttle to the airport.  Again we were through security without a problem and at our gate with plenty of time to spare.  But I’d rather have time to spare then feel rushed.
 
Thankfully there were no issues with our flight going home and we were back in Newark by 11:15 pm. Of course then we had to wait for our luggage at baggage claim. Typically when we fly out of Newark airport we use an off-site parking lot for the car during our trip.  The rates are lower than the airport parking and they offer a great shuttle service.  But because our flight to California last Tuesday was so early we opted to stay at a hotel in Newark the night before.  They also have a shuttle to and from the airport but the service wasn’t as good.  We will never do this again!  Unfortunately we had to take the Airtrain from baggage claim to a certain platform and then wait for the shuttle to arrive … which is supposed to be every 30 minutes.  Well … we got on the Airtrain going in the wrong direction based on what an attendant told us ... as well as several others.  When we got off at the wrong stop the attendant here told us we needed to wait for the next Airtrain, take that back to our original location and wait some more for the next Airtrain heading in the right direction.  All of this is taking place at or close to midnight after we have already had a long day.  Ugh!
 
Thankfully, we finally got the shuttle back to the hotel and collected our car.  But it was well after midnight by this point and we still had an hour plus drive home. 
 
But home was thankfully reached without any further delays.  And Cheddar and Kiera welcomed us home at little before 2:00AM! How do I remember all this after two months’ time has passed … Google Maps “timeline” was a huge help! 
 
I always wrap up our vacation with some numbers.  So here they are: 
Miles driven: 650
Miles flown: 4,863
Pictures taken: 1,326 (includes both camera and smartphone camera)

Time spent with family and friends: Priceless

About my collage and the Extra photo.  The top picture is the sun setting as we made our way across the country; the bottom left shows us half-way home; and the bottom right is San Diego as we were leaving.  The red arrow is pointing to Petco Park where the Padres play their home games.   Now the Extra photo ~ this is the poster that my niece made up for my mom ... it was on display at her birthday party!  Isn't is fantastic!?!  Please view in gallery for a better view.

Backblipped: July 24, 2022 ... all vacation pictures now posted ... starting here.