Delayed? No problem!

Well this trip has not started out quite as I had planned, but my reaction to the changes are something new for me. My flight was delayed this morning--no surprise to anyone living in Calgary. We woke up to yet another blanket of snow on the roads and the temperature hovering just below zero--perfect for making ice. Gareth skillfully got me to the airport without incident, but I knew we were in trouble when the flight crew was not even at the gate come boarding time. We boarded about 20 minutes late, and that is when I noticed something odd. Look at the picture above and tell me what two things are odd about it. No, one is not that I can't keep my eyes open when taking my own picture; that is normal. First of all, there is nobody it the seats next to me! This is a good thing--odd, but good. Can you see the second odd thing? Let me give you a hint, look at the picture below.
Snow! There should not be snow on the plane you are about to take off in! Fortunately, I was not the only one that noticed this; the pilots did, too. Way to go Air Canada crew! The pilot announced that we would just have to wait 10 minutes for a de-icing crew. "No problem," I said to myself. What?? No problem? Well, no, not this trip. I don't have to be anywhere at any time to do anything. I might want to, but I don't have to. We got free earbuds for our trouble and were allowed to use our cell phones while we waited on the tarmac. Ninty minutes later we took off with no ice on the wings.
We landed in L.A. amidst rain and mud slides. No problem. I bet you could surf on a good mud slide, maybe even have better balance? The rental car ad said. "free shuttle service; just give us a call, and we will pick you in a couple of minutes." Thirty couples (that's 60 minutes for the unwitty) later, and I had to phone again. No problem! I don't need to be anywhere special. But when my station wagon ended up to be a Corolla sedan, my new "no problem" attitude started to wane a bit.

I drove south until I saw an exit that had the word beach in it and found a Walmart in Westminster. The seat does not fully recline, and I think this might be one of the no-camp Walmarts, but who would think I was camping in a Corolla anyway!?! I think this will be my last night in the car. I googled Motel 6 before writing this blog, but I am going to give it the old college try at least. The rain has stopped, and I have the surf board rental shop plugged into my GPS, so tomorrow it is off to the beach. I should go now. I am locked onto someone's internet signal, and I suspect they shoot you for that here. Good (sleeping pill induced) night.