BAY AREA BOOK TOUR 2018: Up, Up and Away

Thursday, September 6

If there’s a constant to my traveling habits, it is this: I always pack at the last minute. Always! I’m not sure why. Maybe deep down inside, I’m a homeboy and I really don’t want to go anywhere. But I’m a composer, author and musician, and travel I must. Besides, I have really looked forward to this particular trip, a Bay Area tour to promote my new book, From Mountains High. 

My flight was at a reasonable 11:00am, which meant I needed to be at Portland airport at 9:00am, which meant I had to leave home around 7:00am in order to beat rush hour traffic, which meant waking up at 4:00am to pack. Yes, I need all that lead time to straggle out of bed and get cleaned up. Did I mention that I hate packing? 

My cat Neo hates packing, too. He knows that when I take out my travel bags that means I’m going away, so he protests by climbing into my bag or suitcase, blocking my efforts at packing. It’s amusing but get out of the way, Neo! 

As expected, traffic was awful. This summer, the Oregon Department of Transportation has been in road construction mode, with all major Portland freeways taking turns at a closure that has caused nightmarish backups during the crucial commute times. I have been able to get around the congestion most of the summer by taking alternate routes but this morning I had to be prepared for delays that might make me late for my flight. Hence, the way-too-early wake-up call. 

Bottom line, I made it to the airport, I checked in, and my plane took off on schedule. For me, the best flight occurs when I fall asleep on takeoff and wake up on landing. I opened my eyes after a 90-minute snooze and I was happily in Oakland, California. Yay! Successful flight! 

More to come...