Greetings from Mayberry, USA ……… August 2008        This is the Blog Of Judi Hyatt        Hi everyone……. I hope you all are enjoying the days and evenings of our summer time.  Vacations, fun with friends having dinner in the back yard or on the deck, swimming at the pool or, in my case, experiencing travel by air.  I just returned from a week in Canada.       We celebrated the arrival of Gavin, the newest addition to our family. He weighed in at 8 lbs, 8 oz and 24 inches long! Gavin looks like he is two months old, and yet he will be just a week old this Saturday! He is alert, strong, trying to hold his head up straight and succeeding…. a most amazing little babe. He doesn’t feel he has much to cry about so he talks with a voice so sweet 'tis softer than a baby kitten… the sweetest sounds I’ve ever heard. He lives in Kingston, Ontario, Canada along with his big brother, Nicky, age 4 and his mom and dad, Jen and Andrew. They are planning to move soon so I wanted to highlight the wonderful memories spent by our family in their beautiful home, at Christmas holiday and other occasions such as the birth of Nick and Gavin. I wanted to share with you where I was this past week.       The trip to Canada began at 11 am last Wednesday, July 23rd from BWI, with a scheduled hour layover at JFK Airport near NYC…. we boarded the plane to Syracuse, NY right on schedule. Ah, nice. But then, after settling in our seats, buckled up for take-off the pilot made the first announcement “We’ll be having a slight delay.” He assured us it wouldn’t be very long. Ten hours later after waiting in a line of 60 planes, we lifted into the air. The flight was short, a bit more than one half hour. My daughter and I had remained in contact with our cell phones all day. She was waiting in Syracuse for me all ten hours. She had the oil changed in her car, spent time at the mall and then at Barnes & Noble Book Shop. It was after 11 pm when I finally saw her pretty face in person. We drove the 2 ½ - 3 hours to Canada and arrived in the wee hours of the morning, Thursday. Yes, travel isn’t quite what it used to be. The weather off of Long Island Sound and other factors caused this uh… delay.        Only 60 planes managed to leave JFK that evening. The other passengers on all other flights were told they’d be spending the night in New York City and flying out the next day. I was fortunate to be among the planes who made their destination on the 23rd.  Our Captain kept us informed of all that was occurring during the delay. We re-fueled the plane three times. It takes more fuel for a plane to taxi that long than it does to be airborne. I commend the service from Delta during this ordeal. The pilot and flight attendant were great. They received applause as we landed in Syracuse that late night. We are all in this together, eh? They got us to our destination safely and provided us with as much comfort as was possible… for ten hours. I got to know the flight attendant personally. She brought me wheat crackers with cheese, and made a pot of coffee for me. I only had two cups. I hope someone else on the plane shared that pot. That’s why I recommend you take food in your cotton travel bag… wheat crackers with cheese isn’t ordinarily termed as dinner. It was that night, gratefully. The flight wasn’t equipped with meals because the original flight was only 35 minutes to Syracuse, eh? Longer flights do have meals available, however, today you pay for your meals on the plane if you want a meal. Times have changed. Prepare to pay at least $5.00 for a snack or meal box on flights that are titled meal flights. My flight was a ‘beverage’ flight. It will say on your ticket what type of flight it is.  Also…. if you do not have a window seat you may request one at the desk before boarding the plane, providing a window seat is available. Since you are usually asked to be at your waiting area an hour before boarding it’s a good idea to approach the desk as soon as you see an attendant is there. The sooner you do this the better your chances are of switching your seat.       I have another tip for anyone who will be flying the skies…..…. take a cotton bag with you with food and anything else that will bring comfort to you. Do not take your water bottle. A bottle full of water is not going to clear airport security. No juices or liquids of any kind, unless you are traveling with your small children. Security allows water and apple juice for children. ? The good news is that the flight attendant will bring you a bottle of water on the plane or coffee, soda and juices. I lost my favorite water bottle this time. That’s how I know about the water/juice rule. They explained that children need the water and juice. Uh… I think so too, but how do they decipher the difference in water and juices….adult water or children’s water? The security man told me I could go outside the airport and dump out my water and keep my bottle, but I would have to go through security again. My plane was getting ready to board. I just smiled and told him he could keep my water bottle. I can always get another water bottle, eh? I did like that one though. It was special…. the kind hikers take with them in Colorado when they mountain climb. My son gave it to me. Oh well. I had already passed through security. I would have missed my plane if I emptied the bottle.        The trip home also had an hour layover at JFK…. it went smoothly as scheduled. I arrived back at BWI only a few minutes off scheduled arrival time. I arrived back in Mayberry shortly before 5 pm yesterday afternoon. It was good to be home, although I missed my family already. Today I got a lot done but have that feeling that only travel produces. My friends called it ‘jet lag’…. I thought ‘jet lag’ was a time difference…. but it seemed appropriate to call it that.  My body doesn’t understand yet that we’re okay now and won’t have to sit buckled in a seat anymore. LOL        I saw friends today and was welcomed home… this is my ‘other’ family…. eh? It’s that Mayberry feeling.       My grandsons are awesome….. I smile just thinking of them.  It was great fun being with family and getting to know my newest grandson. Canada had cooler breezes than Mayberry has this time of year. I actually wore a sweater in the evening! Hard to imagine right now, eh? Cool breezes, off the water….. it was lovely.       It is hard to believe that August is here already. The school kids will be heading back to school at the end of this month. Where did this summer go? Lots of rain and lush greenery resulted. You know it will remain warm through September, maybe even longer. We have a mild climate here. Canada could get snow as early as September. Yep…. that’s the North Country. We’re so close to the Mason-Dixon line we are the South Country, I guess.       My eldest daughter drove me to Syracuse yesterday and began her journey across the US back to Colorado. She is still on the road as I write this column. She returns to classes at the University of Colorado on August 11th. The Democratic convention is being held in Denver this year and they are using facilities at the University so she’ll have a week off the following week. She was a tremendous help to her sister this summer while awaiting Gavin’s arrival, and afterward too. She’s a real sweetheart. I await a call from her telling me the trip is going well. You know how mom’s are…. we pray… a lot…. about everything, eh? The good news is that He hears us.       I am at a loss for words now, if that’s possible. I think it’s the ‘jet lag’….. I have spaghetti with white clam sauce waiting for me so will close for now.  Until next month….. laugh a lot, smile a lot, tell all those folks you love them a lot……… and give at least one or two hugs every day….. God Bless Our Town, God Bless the people we love and God Bless America.    Cheerio my good friends……….. Hugs, Jude   This website is maintained by Jessica Dean. Content for this page provided by Judi Hyatt. Copyright © 2006 - 2007 all rights reserved. Great Hosting by: US Website Design and Hosting