Detour

On my way home from Seattle, I took a detour to Orange County for a day. I was flying standby and was having a hard time getting a good shot of going from Seattle to the East Coast on Saturday. Luckily, I had lots of other options: Spokane, Denver, Salt Lake, Columbus... Orange County was the best option to get in and out of. At first, I was a little sad about not getting home to my family, but then I was excited about my detour plan.

My first flight was totally how Amy describes flying standby. I was standing next to the customer service counter as Agent #1 is calling names off the standby list. She said to Agent #2, "Okay, I gave you John, Beth, Ashley, and Andrea." Then Agent #2 says, "Okay, we're done," and starts to walk towards the doors. I yell "Wait. No! I'm Ashley. You never called my name!" Agent #1 yells "Oh, sorry. Go! Go! Go!" So I run to the door, Agent #2 quickly takes my passes and shuts the doors behind me. Whew! That was a close one.

Tiffany was so great about being called at 10 p.m. on Friday night and being willing to pick me up from the airport the next morning. I was exhausted from all my late nights in Seattle and the west coast time change, so we just relaxed at her house. I loved playing with Brooklyn and just chillin' with Tiff.I decided to surprise Char, because she is just a FUN person to surprise. Her reaction exceeded my expectations. After failed attempts of getting her to come over to Tiff's house, I drove over to her house. They didn't answer any of their phones when I called from outside. As I knocked on the door, I could see Brighton in just a t-shirt playing. The conversation went a little something like this:

Brighton: Mom, your friend is here.
Charise: Open the door.
B: I can't. I have on no pants.
C: Brighton, just open the door!
B: No! I have on no pants!

(They go back and forth for a while until the door slowly opens with Brighton hiding behind it. Char is standing at the top of the landing behind the half wall at the top of the stairs.)

C: (Just staring at me.) What? How? What are you doing here? Ashley, is that really you? (In the most high pitch voice.)
I started to go towards the stairs, then Char yells: "I have on no pants! I have on no pants!"

Seriously?! Does nobody wear pants around here.
Hilarious. Typical Char. I was laughing so hard I was crying.

It was so great to see the Johnson's and Conley's. We played Mystery of the Abbey. (I thought I was going to have a 2-0 record in that game, but I blew it.) One meal in CA and I chose Pei Wei. I know they are all over the country, but they were close by, so it won out over Rubio's.

I only got a few pictures, but I was so excited for the quick visit and was able to cuddle with my nieces and nephews a bit.

It was a fabulous surprise end to my trip. Thanks so much Amy for the tickets.