June 2022 Tennessee
Well it finally happened.
I left California with no intention of moving back. I will find a place to live, to stay, to prosper, to grow, to share, to love.
I don't know where that is right now. I feel as though the United States has so many places that I could go, but God has a place just for me. Knowing my values, my interest and with the plan that He put in my life.
I believe it will work out and breathe deep and rest in his provision.
The day before I left California my children (the two middle children) and I had Dim Sum at NBC Seafood Restaurant, that is in Monterey Park.
(I have photos from the day, but I'm having trouble getting them on my blog🤔.)
We then went over to Korea town and sang karaoke for an hour. It was so fun!! Loud music, dancing, singing. A lot of fun! I enjoy my children, so much!!
The next day my daughter and I went to a kind of a famous food truck in Los Angeles. #Kogibarbeque. We had Mexican Korean fusion tacos and fries. Now let me tell you about the fries!
I believe I'm a bit of a french fry snob, and the fries that I like are of course my opinion. Not that anybody else would like them as much as me, but I must say, I MUST SAY, these are probably the best fries I've ever had.
There's a great selection of food, we were mostly impressed with the fries that were the star of the show.
I got to LAX with plenty of time (even with a detour and drive around the construction at LAX), and checked in.
I then realized that my backpack and all that I had stuffed in it was in an Ikea bag, no wheels and no suitcase carrier.
That worked out pretty well, except for the fact that it was probably just under 50 lb and it was so heavy. SO heavy!
So my grand plan of not having a suitcase and traveling light was a bust! My baggage was still probably about 50 lb, plus I had a backpack that has the computer and a battery bank. Some odds and ends, so basically I was dragging, pushing, and carrying about 60 lb total. I got checked in and was relieved of my 'bag of burden '
That weight was quite heavy for me because remember I'm 61 and I'm not an out of shape person but I'm definitely not in shape.
I got to my gate and waited for my flight, and it was delayed. I kept getting texts that said it was delayed again and again.
So as it turned out, it was delayed about 3 hours, and thankfully I had prepared just in case.
Back story:
I was at the airport in Anchorage AK for 16 hours awaiting my next flight, in 2019 and something inconvenient happened.
I had no pillow or warm jacket. So I tried to sleep in the airport for rest, with no comfort. I learned from this experience.
This trip, I brought a sweatshirt and a pillow and never needed them but I had them.
We got on the flight. It was a non-stop flight from LAX to Nashville and we landed I think about 2:10 a.m.
I got my Ikea-backpack from the carousel, and that was fine but again I realized I was without wheels.
So, I just dragged this very full IKEA bag behind me… I have to say the way they've designed it is really quite smart. It's just a tarp with a zipper but it's strong material and it's light.
I had watched a video on how to pack a backpack through the airport, so it didn't get caught up in the mechanisms at the airport.
This was what the guy in the video suggested. It was the IKEA bag and I have to suggest that for anybody traveling or moving.
They're very strong and they carry a lot of stuff, whether it's stuff for college and blankets, or clothing, yeah I highly recommend these IKEA bags.
For storage? I'm not sure on that, it's a fluffy storage container. It's nothing that's going to keep the water away and it can't really stack. But it is stuffable, in the sense that you can 'stuff it' in the corner of a closet.
When I got to the Tennessee Airport -BNA, I realized that I needed to push, pull, or some how move my baggage. I don't know if I told you, the bag has handles, but it also has straps to be used similarly like a backpack so I dragged it out to the street and I contacted Uber.
The driver was in the Uber waiting area, He said, 'Oh, I can't pick you up there at waiting area #7, I'll get a ticket. You need to come to me' and I thought to myself, there's NO WAY I'm carrying this bag ½ mile. So I canceled the ride.
I'm standing out at the street and actually just enjoying the nice weather and praying when a car pulls up. I see his Uber label in his window but the light is not turned on.
His passengers were getting out and saying ,'thank you'. So, I bent over and looked inside, and said, 'Can you give me a ride?'
He says 'Well I'm not working, this is a private ride' and I said 'Would you be willing to give me a ride I need to go to the Extended Stay Hotel and he thought about it (and I prayed..I call it a popcorn prayer, it's quick and pops up to God in a thought) and he said 'yes.'
Did you hear the praise chorus in heaven!! Hallelujah, Hallelujah!! It's 3AM and the heavenly angels are singing!
My heart was singing, at the first of God's supernatural provisions!!
I know Someone is looking out for me, and I'm so happy!
At Nashville TN airport:
The way it works at Tennessee Airport, is that there's a special parking lot underneath or somewhere the airport and it's specifically for Uber and Lyft and all those paid drivers but I didn't know that.
It's not stated on the Uber app, so I don't know how you would know that.
I am giving my $.02 here…Put individual airport notes in the app.
It's not that way at: ATL, LAX, PSP, ONT, so I was a bit befuddled.
So yes, of course as a woman alone at night 3:00 in the morning I had no qualms no disturbances in my spirit. I pay attention to God's Spirit, and I had peace.
I had peace.
I 'had a knowing' that this guy was safe NOT harmful. It seemed just like he was a nice guy. If you get any qwams ANY inner message that it's not safe, DON'T TALK TO THE PERSON. Do not engage!
He was a guy, helping his friends out at 3:00 in the morning for their flight, and he was very kind and took me the 5 minutes to the hotel. I said "well how much is that?" He said ,"There's nothing. I'm not working. It's just the private ride."
I gave him some cash because he didn't have to do that and it took him gas and time.
So that's how I got to the hotel.
Now I have to say, that 50 lb bag was getting heavier each time I moved it and then with my two other bags. It was getting harder to move my stuff.
I pick up the phone, press zero and say I need to check in.
I had called her while I was standing out at the edge of the airport curb waiting for a ride, because I wanted to get the address.
So when I got at the hotel she says, "Oh are you the lady that put me on hold and then hung up and then said you'd call back?" and I said,
"I'm not sure what I said, but I couldn't hear you and I was trying to get a ride. Anyway, I'd like to check in."
She said,"you're not in the system you're not here."
I had to laugh I was like, really?!
I had called earlier, told Kira at the hotel desk before I left Los Angeles 'save my room, I'm coming, I'll be there at 2am or so' and she said that she would add me, as a guest. I had made reservations a couple weeks earlier.
This lady was saying there's "no room" and she says, "Oh! she can't do that I'm going to talk to her. She should not have done that, You're not in the system! You don't have a reservation."
'I'm thinking, okay what kind of hotel is this, make a reservation and not honor it!?'
She is tapping away on the screen 'No, we don't have any rooms, 'Hotel.com' always over books us. I'm just watching her work on the computer and I'm standing there with my 60 lb of of stuff and then she writes a number on a key card and hands it to me says, "okay here's a room."
I said, "thank you," wondering what just happened.
I asked her if there's a luggage rack with wheels?
"No we don't have any thing like that."
I asked if there's a porter or someone to help me?
" No we don't have that either."
So, I pushed my bags back outside.
She had said, "it's around the back the second building, upstairs."
It was so funny, here I am at 3 AM, I was at the place where I had to just dig deep and get that big ole-hanging bag on my back.
I managed to put my small backpack on my front and then the big heavy Ikea bag on my back and I prayed for strength. I felt as though I was picking up an elephant. I prayed my knees wouldn't buckle.
I'm laughing! I'm laughing, re-telling the story and remembering it. Because, I think when you think you can't do something God steps in and says, "Sure you can, I'll help you." The whole thing was pretty comical!
I walked around to the back building and went up the stairs because there's no elevator.
I went step by step, step by step, very carefully and try to be quiet because it's 3:00 in the morning.
And I got in my room. I was "safe!"
So here I am, just resting and I will take a nap. I don't have any plans for a meal of any kind. I want to go for a walk but I am just here, resting.
I'm thankful and I'm happy, and I'm aware that God is on my side and helping me do things I didn't think I could do.
Like lifting 60 lb bag of stuff. That's pretty funny. It bet it was funny to see.
All of my necessary items have been reduced to 60 lb of stuff.
Clothes, makeup, supplements, computer, phone, chargers, boots, tennis shoes.
That's my life. Oh and moccasins. Yep, got to have moccasins.
Anyway, I am very thankful.
I'm very happy.
I hope you'll join me as I travel.
Pray, pray, travel.
As a side note, back on the airplane.
I sat down in my seat and after about, I don't know 4 minutes or so we were waiting for them to get us going. They had to get some things off the other plane, maybe suitcases or something I don't know.
So, I'm sitting there just waiting like everybody else, my other prayer was answered and that everybody was calm. Even babies.
Those tired babies had been seriously unhappy at the airport.
Babies became quiet on the airplane. That was a blessing, because I think people were worried about a loud long flight.
I was wondering, I wasn't worried but I was wondering, if this was this going to be a flight with babies crying and very uncomfortable.
It was actually the opposite and I thank the Lord for answering that prayer.
So back to the 4 minute wait somebody tapped me on my head, on which I'm wearing a baseball cap.
I looked behind me and it was my friend from high school!
She asks, "What are you doing?"
I said, "I'm going to Tennessee, escaping CA"
"She replies, "What did you do?"
I said "I'm leaving California.What are you doing?"
She says, "we bought an Airbnb and we're going, to get it set up in Nashville."
I replied, "I'll see you when we get off the plane."
We didn't connect after, but it was nice to see a friend of mine as I left CA.
Who knows how God may use that interaction.
Shalom, Shalom. Be at peace and let your heart not be troubled. As you trust in the Lord, for the known and the unknown.
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