Highlights of Monday, my travel day from Waterloo, IA back home:

I had set my alarm clock for 04:00. I actually woke up at 03:30. I could hear the rain and strong winds outside. Except for Atlanta, my trips down to the U.S. have been terrific weather-wise.

I packed everything, had raspberry Zingers and Ho Ho's for breakfast (so nutritious), and went to check out. The hotel charged the room to my credit card, but I asked if I could pay in cash. The reversal worked fine.

It was still windy outside, but it helped that I had parked my car on the street. Loaded everything up and drove north. I saw lightning illuminate the black sky through my rear-view window. It was pretty. Too bad I couldn't take a picture. I saw a deer stand on the side of the road near the Minnesota border. Luckily, it dashed back into the bushes.

Just before reaching my old stomping ground of Rochester, MN, I needed to find a washroom. I found a Burger King in the plaza that I frequented often, complete with a Kohl's, Shopko, and a Super Walmart. The Burger King is new. Tried the sausage biscuit. I didn't like the biscuit, so I just ate the sausage.

I got to Bloomington just past 08:00. However, trying to find a gas station was a challenge. The one I wanted to go to no longer exists! Anyway, I got myself to MSP airport, returned the car, chucked out the biscuit, and tried checking myself in. I had already done so online, but didn't have a printer. I still had to line up to print my boarding pass -- twice! I eventually checked in my 43-pound suitcase. Yes, I was bring back a lot of goodies.

I boarded my plane at 09:45. Flight attendants were terrific. I got a Diet Coke and cookies on Northwest. This flight is probably my last one with Northwest before it becomes Delta.

My flight made it to Chicago a bit early. I got off the plane, found a washroom, and then stood at a Starbucks stand. It took seven minutes for someone to take my order for a chocolate chip cookie. Holy cow! I got back on the same plane. Both flight attendants recognized me. I guess there aren't too many Chinese folks boarding the flight these days.

I must say that I am good at napping on planes. Except for one, every person who has sat next to me this weekend on a plane has had an iPod.

It's sad that I didn't have any time to wander around each airport I visited. Detroit airport is nice. I like the tunnel that connects travellers from Concourse A to Concourses B and C. The tunnel has a fancy light show with music. Being the geek that I can be, I took pictures with my phone.

I boarded my plane, but it didn't take off on time. There was a problem with the weights and balances report. So, luggage that folks had brought on the plane made the weight of the passenger area too heavy. After volunteers decided to check their luggage in and move them to cargo, we could take off. The flight was over an hour late. I don't remember much of it. I had fallen asleep for more than half the flight.

The plane touched down just before 17:00. I fetched my bag and then headed to the shuttle to the parking lot. The driver was kind to carry my bag on to the bus. I tipped him when I left. He drove me right to my car!

What I love about the Buffalo Niagara airport is that you can print out a coupon for parking. I used one for the first time. I was thrilled, but was so hungry. I wanted a decent meal!

I headed over to Chili's and had chicken tacos and a raspberry mojito. Good eats. I then headed to Walgreens to get shampoo you can't get in Canada. I also picked up three packages of coconut M&M's. New flavour! You can also get Arizona watermelon iced tea.

I needed to get some Arizona diet iced tea (only the regular iced tea is available here), so I went to Target across the street. I got three jugs! Finally, I went to Starbucks to get a green tea frappucino. The wi-fi does not work well in all the Starbucks I had visited. However, this one had the chocolate chip banana coffee cake.

So, I headed towards the border. Normally, I take the Peace Bridge to enter the U.S. and then use the Lewiston bridge to get home. This trip, I did the reverse. I'm glad I did! The wait to talk to someone at the Peace Bridge was 35 minutes. According to a overhead sign on the 384, it was up to a four-hour wait at Lewiston! To keep me alert, I snapped pictures along the way.

I enjoyed my brief conversation at at the border crossing:

Woman: Where are you coming from?
Me: Waterloo, Iowa.
Woman: Wow, there's a Waterloo there, too?
Me: Yes, indeed.

It took less than a minute to cross and pay a toll ($3.00 USD, $3.50 CAD, or $3.50 using currencies from both countries.) I went CAD.

Traffic on the QEW was horrific. A stalled car was in the left lane and it was really slow in Niagara Falls. Construction did not help things. Anyway, I got home at 23:30.

The next time I decide to travel during the Civic holiday weekend, I'll take Tuesday off instead, to avoid the volume of traffic.

It just hit me. A year from now, I will have finished my last course towards my master's degree. I still feel like I just started this journey, but I'm so close to getting to that finish line. Yay!

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Song that's stuck in my head: Depeche Mode's "In chains"
Yummy food eaten today: Chicken tacos
What I crave: Food!

Recent thoughts:
Farewell to my Grand Am - 2009-08-13
Travelling home, visiting four airports in a day - 2009-08-03
School, venting, and more! - 2009-07-24
Sad news on a former classmate - 2009-07-15
Last Friday with this Friday - 2009-05-22