Tuesday Drowsy Day

No sleep on the plane, well, maybe an hour or two, I cannot account for. I watched much of the First Harry Potter movie and nodded off in it here and there. That is only two hours of the four, meaning I must have slept through some of it.

Delta arrived 15 minutes early; our plane was full of people making connections, and some of them were trying to make short connections. I let others go before walking off the plane. Despite being told the plane was full, I saw open seats when I checked my seat location. The middle seat was unused, and a young guy headed to Florida, and I spread out. I put my bag overhead as I wanted room for my feet.

Our plane’s arrival gate was a short walk to baggage claim, and maybe six bags were unloaded; indeed, our plane was full of folks making connections. I managed to balance my large bag on the escalator to reach the other side, then took another escalator down to reach the buses and car rentals. I found a driver, alone, for Enterprise who helped me with my bags and then explained why customer service is important while driving. I was sleepy and found a coffee and a donut at the Duncan Donuts at baggage claim (Portland should get one, but maybe VooDoo Donuts with the pink box for that), and politely agreed to words that did not stay with me.

A gentleman was waiting for me at the desk with a handheld computer screen (no paper here) who had one SUV available for me. I initially took it, but then saw it had only USB-A plugs. Yikes! My watch was already on low power, and I bought an overpriced USB-C cable at the airport to charge it (I should have used the one in my red bag). A small car was available (after that, I had my choice of five minivans), and it had some USB-C connections. I took that one. I signed the computer screen a few times, and I was off.

(Yes, the stick will hit you; my view while I waited)

Well, maybe not, and then the gal at the gate to check me out, usually a profunctory look at my driver’s license, looked at me and said, “You changed cars,” and then walked off to connect with others who knew how to handle this event. I was left at the gate, down, and alone for five minutes. She returned, and again offered a better car (hmmm, maybe the Hyandia was not that nice), and let me leave with my funny little car.

My usual route is 75-Flint-69-Lansing. I was tired. CarPlay was not working (I would need to buy a USB-A-to-C cable at the Apple Store later to get it working), and I was using the built-in Nav. I took 94 West forever and then finally went North on 127 to Lansing from the direct south. I was now, really tired. But I learned the new Nav and how to drive the little white Hyundai car.

The screen shows circular-analog devices for speed and RPM. But when one puts on the blinker, the circle is replaced with a live camera view of that side of the Hyundai. Quite startling the first time. The suspension is low and swift, and acceleration reminds me of the EV; there seems to be no gear shifting; it just flies. I was flying at 80+ for much of the drive. It also sips that gas, not drinks it.

It is too low, and I am proud that I performed the Hyundai entrance yoga with only one failure (slipping, hitting my head, and jamming my knee at the same time). If I wanted a getaway car, this one would be my choice; I wonder if there is a manual version. When you back it up. It creates a sky view (drone-like) of the car, having captured a view of the nearby area with the cameras, while also giving you a backup view. Wow, I even drifted around a turn once (oops).

I did miss a turn or two on the Nav and had to cut in, and got lots of Michigan people honking to remind me this is not how we do things in Michigan. But I arrived intact at my hotel in Lansing to be told that no, the rooms are not ready at 9, but they did call me at noon to let me know I could check in.

I found a bagel place, Big Apple Bagels, nearby and had more coffee and food. I called Leta and arranged a lunch meeting. I finished the blog and soon headed across Lansing. I was early, found a parking spot, and napped in the car.

Leta was late, her church meeting ran over, and she bought me a bowl of mac and cheese for lunch. That was all I wanted as I was sleepy and did not want to eat too much. I could not afford more sleepiness from food! We had a lovely lunch together.

Next, I called Mom Wild and arranged to see her in thirty minutes (I called my sister, who is fighting a respiratory issue, and could not see Mom for a while). I had stopped at a tobacco shop next to the bagel place earlier and got Mom Wild a vape product.

Mom Wild was happy to see me and even met me at the door. We talked for about thirty minutes (I was fading), gave her the vape, and let her know we are planning to meet for dinner on Wednesday.

I left, drove to the hotel, dragged up my stuff, checked in, and then left my phone at the front desk. I unpacked, got ready to shower, then re-dressed, returned to the desk, saw all the smiles, and took my phone. I then showered, put on my PJs (found in my luggage, which required to be lifted, opened, and searched. Tasks that were usually easy, but not now). Two hours of lovely sleep followed.

I climbed out of bed, dressed, and headed to Smoky Bones, a corporate version of a BBQ place. It is only mintues away and I selected a bar. An older large women coverd in tatoos (even parts of her face) was my bartender and made me an old fashion (they had only crushed ice) with no cherry and 1/4 skin of an orange (but still not bad) and served me pulled pork and smoked wings (good wings, but not that smoked) while I watched the Women’s Soccer South American friendly game. Argentina scored early, and Venezuela was struggling to get the equalizer. I stayed until the game started again. The food was OK, with the pulled Pork excellent. Deborah warned me that Slo’s (a possibility for my Birthday) would be better, the corporate version of BBQ; she was right (I would say Slo’s eclipsed them).

It was just 8:30 local time and 5:30 my usual time, and I was not ready to sleep yet. The Hilton Suites at Eastwood has an excellent pool — warm to almost hot. I water-walked the pool (a comfortable 5′ at one end) for thirty minutes. Now tired out, I returned to my PJs and tried to read. I found that the book on mosses had taken a strange turn and realized I was asleep, holding the book and dreaming a story for it. I closed the book, turned off the light, and slept. I woke to a loud thunderstorm at 2 and then returned to sleep.

Aside: The toilet seat falls in my room. A man must hold the seat while the other hand does its work; otherwise, there will be an unfortunate and likely unforeseen connection. I will leave the rest for your, dear readers’, imagination.

Somewhere in the evening, I also wrote a long note on D&D for the players. I had meant to get out a summary of the last play, but it too got missed. Done, though with many typos. Grammarly is MIA of late.