Yesterday we arrived in San Diego from our short trip to Florida and got in about 7pm. That was basically 12 hours from when we left Andy’s house in Vero Beach. We drove down to West Palm Beach Airport, returned the rental car and sat in the Delta Lounge to await our flight to Atlanta. Kim found us some nice fresh crudite and hummus to sustain us and then we joined the rest of the cattle for yet another full flight out of the wintertime Mecca of the East Coast. Kim and I made a bit of an experiment of this trip to Florida in that we chose to uncharacteristically fly in Premium Economy rather than First Class. The differential in price was enormous (almost 4X), so it was a worthy test of both the accommodation that Premium Economy can afford and our new, reduced profiles and attendant ability to withstand the space constraints involved. Being at our respective all-time low adult weights, we actually fit quite nicely into these economy seats with slightly more leg room. I found myself looking forward three rows to First Class and thinking that I would have been no more comfortable there than where I was. There is a bit less food service, but these days most of us take what we want to consume on board and we really don’t consume that much any more anyway, so that part of the equation is no big deal. Given the overbooked nature of the flights (and the tightness of the overhead bins), we also took advantage of the free gate-side bag check which allowed us to check our carry-on bags straight through to San Diego for expedited handling. That made our transfer in Atlanta that much easier and the reboarding process less anxious since there was no overhead space to jostle to secure. I should note that the bags were almost the first ones on the carousel in San Diego as well, so there’s a lot to commend that approach to modern travel. On Delta, the onboard entertainment system is the same for First and Economy, so no difference there either. All-in-all, we have decided that domestic air travel (at least on Delta) is just fine in Premium Economy, and it just feels smarter not to waste the money for First. Yet another advantage of Zepbound and an added way to justify my $500/month self-medication.
For this trip we chose to take an Uber to and from the airport. The math is fairly easy to solve for. It costs $32/day to park in a pre-reserved spot near the terminal. We were gone six days, so that would have cost $192 (I will ignore the electric cost of the driving in my EV and the mileage depreciation impact). The “Comfort” Uber both ways cost me $185, so it was a push. Good to know the breakeven point for future purposes…longer than 5 days, use Uber, shorter, drive and park. I have also learned that when we arrive home at a decent hour, it is always nice to arrange to pick up Buddy at his day-care as we are heading home. Who wants to get in the car and drive fifteen minutes to do that after a long day of travel, right? It’s pretty easy to arrange since it just requires you to arrange the trip with an extra stop and given Buddy’s small size, we have yet to have an issue with any Uber drivers. The fifteen minutes from doggie day-care to home is one big wiggle love fest with Buddy being so pleased to realize that we had not gone away forever, but have returned to allow him yet again to be in his own domain rather than jockeying for position with a rotating array of other dogs at his day-care. Buddy does pretty well at doggy day-care, mostly because he has figured out how to behave properly. He does not get the attention he gets at home, but he’s pretty good at making himself cute enough to get first among equals status. He has figured out that he cannot get away with the crap he does with us, so he is actually much better behaved at doggie day-care than he is at home. Watching Buddy when he gets back into his house after an extended stay at day-care is quite fun. He runs here and there to check out his favorite spots and to make sure his toys and his domain are in tact. He then gets a mild case of the zoomies and runs around in pure joy for the quality of life we have afforded him. The last thing he does is assume his favorite positions. He sits on his little rug in the kitchen and waits for Kim to offer him a chewy treat. He jumps up on the sofa with one of his toys for me to wrestle with him and then throw for a game of fetch. He then settles down with a degree of palpable calm that makes me feel that he finally knows that all is well with the world again.
We get one last round of Buddy adjustment on the morning after. Buddy is at his bounciest in the morning when he jumps from me to Kim on the bed when the morning light starts to filter past the shades into our bedroom. His little stump of a tail wags with the enthusiasm of recollection that this is his favorite time of day at his favorite place in the world…with his favorite people in the world…or at least those two who will indulge him the most. That all makes me think about our return home after a short 5-day trip. We both tend to let out a sigh of relief when we land at San Diego Airport. There is something nice, pleasant and comforting about that airport that is both familiar and relaxing to us. Once we are in the Uber and heading up the 15 towards home, we are also comforted by the lovely surroundings, which never look menacing (think about how your feel on the Van Wyck after deplaning at JFK) and always seem welcoming. Then we drive up our hill and through our flowering neighborhood to our home where we have made our and Buddy’s nest. Finally, we step inside our kitchen and watch Buddy race around while we put our bags back in our bedroom and start to sort through the mail and packages. Kim usually leaves her bags for unpacking the next day, but I am in the habit of unpacking right away and putting everything back in its place for whenever the next trip requires (five weeks from now by my calendar math). While Buddy rediscovers his toys and stuff, Kim and I settle in and remind ourselves, as we always do, but on an ever-increasing basis, how much more we appreciate coming home from travel…as much as we enjoy our travel.
Kim and I find ourselves thinking that a five day trip is now about right for a domestic sojourn. We have noticed that our international travel has gradually morphed from three weeks away to two weeks and that reduction also seems appropriate…as does the decreased frequency of those foreign trips (we were planning two for this year, but it now looks like there will be only one in September). We Americans are living under a new general travel advisory. Foreign airports are no longer friendly places for Americans. Domestic airports may not be dangerous, but they are anything but low anxiety places either. All that said and done, short trips like this one to Florida are good for the soul and our overall chi since it reminds us of what we love about our home while giving us brief windows on the rest of the world. I think it does the same for Buddy’s chi. He seems more relaxed and calm recognizing just how good he and the rest of us have it.