Jake Mathews--Beer run

So I get to the Inn, immediately unpack my laptop to check my email, and Arthur lays the news on me.

Dial up.

Give me a sec, I’m still recovering. I don’t know if I can go more than a couple of days without a fast internet connect. I guess if I need a fix, I can always find a Kinko’s and rent one of their computers by the hour. They have Kinko’s in Maine, right?

I finished up my latest project about 3am this morning and caught about 3 hours of sleep. I woke up moments before the alarm went off again. That’s like the 10,000th time I have done that.

I pack for an hour, toss the suitcase into the Jeep and head to a 9 a.m. meeting to drop off last night’s work. It’s the last thing I have to do before I drive over to the airport and catch my 1 p.m. flight.

I was just hours away from unshackling myself from the computer and taking my first vacation in years.

The meeting went long.
Traffic to the airport was insane.
I get pulled out of the security line and have to show all the contents of my laptop bag. I can’t be the first person to travel with an external hard drive, right?
I nearly miss the plane.
The airplane had problems with its heating system. You wouldn’t think that would be a big deal, but it was-- it got really, really cold up there for a while. People got nervous.
The person next me started making suggestions on the solitaire game I was playing on my laptop. That drives me crazy.
When I arrive in Maine, I find out the airline has lost my luggage. They know where my luggage is, it just got put on the wrong flight. They tell me they will deliver it in the morning.

It was a miserable trip. But you know what? The minute I stepped out of the Portland Airport it was all worth it.

It was 71 degrees outside. It felt wonderful. The weather in Texas has been brutal this summer, and when I left Dallas it was one hundred and three degrees. So to be outside and it to be so nice… it just made it all worth while.

So I survived the trip and drive out to the “Trading Post Inn” near Old Orchard Beach. I rented a convertible to enjoy the weather. I get horribly lost and it probably took me twice as long as it should have to find the place. Maybe I should have stopped and asked for directions, but what can I say, I’m a guy.

It’s late, Arthur is making rumblings about a “clambake” restaurant, and I think I am going to buy a t-shirt from a stand I found when I walked over to get my key to the room. If the airline doesn’t bring me my luggage, I will want something clean. Besides, the t-shirt I want says “Frankly scallop, I don’t give a clam”.

One more thing, and this is weird: The last guests left their luggage! My first reaction was—“Oh no, the Airline delivered the wrong luggage”. But Arthur said it was there when he got there.

More Later! It’s time to eat food and drink beer! Finally!