Wednesday Travel Day

I rose after my alarm was set for reasons I could not remember in the morning so early. I rose leisurely and was making coffee when my phone rang at 8:45, a bad omen and a harbinger that I had forgotten something. “Michael, you have an 8:30 cleaning appointment,” I am reminded by a friendly voice, and I agree, saying, “Yes, I will be there in a few minutes.” I dressed without shaving and was happy that I brushed my teeth before sleeping. I skipped everything, put on socks and shoes, and was soon at the dentist, only a few minutes away.

The cleaning was fast, and I had only one time when I could not breathe and caught my breath with a break. This is new, but I had no chance this morning to take my usual allergy and asthma meds (next time, I will include them even when rushed). The process had the dentist, Dr. Packam, discover my other filling was failing on the same tooth but on the other side. We will fix them in a few weeks. All good.

My hygienist shared with me she is retiring soon. I shook her hand; it is unlikely I will have her again. She hopes to travel. I wish her well and hope her plans and retirement will be fun. Mine are.

With that task done, I returned via Air Volvo to the Volvo Cave. I started the laundry. I wash the sheets, make the bed, clean the floors, and wash all the dishes so the house is nice when I return. I can then crash, wash all the clothing I brought back, and rest and quiet for a day. Next, the mail will be delivered (including everything I put on hold), and I have sorted that. I use Quicken to track everything while I travel for banking, credit cards, etc. There is nothing to catch up on about money when I return. I now watch, over the following days after the trip, the last credit card transactions finally hit from the trip. I try to invest in cleaning now before the trip so the return is easier.

I read in the Costco information that I needed to present my Costco card for my rental in Detroit. I boarded Air Volvo and traveled to Costco near Hillsboro Airport for a new card. I asked the agent to make me look younger and thinner in the picture. He stood in for me (funny), but I relented and let him use me instead for the official photo.

With my updated Costco card, I am granted access and will soon have a cart walking through the wonders that is Costco in 2024. I want to walk a few extra steps today, and this works. I grab just a few frozen products and some separately packaged snacks. It will still just fit in my already packed freezer and frig.

I met Jenny there, and we were happy to see each other (we worked together for years). Jenny and I shared numbers, and she asked to join Scott and me for the weekly Thursday lunch. I sent out a text, and that is now the plan.

I spun around Costco and returned Air Volvo with items to the Volvo Cave. I unloaded the goodies and moved all the board games out of Air Volvo. I don’t like to park Air Volvo loaded with games for an extended time. I am unsure how I would claim the loss if something happened to them. The Scythe Game is an original with hand-painted figures, upgrade meeples, and other extras. I cannot begin to imagine the price of replacing it. I removed the game and loaded my luggage in one piece.

Previously, I packed and, at one point, sat on the luggage to get it to close. I have different shirts for each day and a few spares. I have a suit (black), black shoes, a tie, and other items for Eric’s Celebration of life. I have my laptop, cables, pills, paper copies of plans, and my boarding pass on my phone. I am ready.

I will not recount the vacuuming, mopping, laundry, and cleaning I did. I was a sweaty mess by 2ish. I took a shower, shaved, and caught up on my usual routines. I finished packing and got my cables, laptop, and other items in my carry-on.

I read for a while, boarded Air Volvo, and crawled through traffic, finally arriving near PDX at 6ish. IKEA was not serving, so I returned to Famous Dave’s and had the fried chicken platter. Too much food!

I then wrote the blog.

And that takes me to 8ish and to now. My flight leaves at 11. I will either update this or include that in the next blog (more likely).

Thanks for reading.