Kailash called me about 15 minutes before I was ready to leave my room this morning. He left the disk at the front desk for me. When I got down to the front desk, the office was locked up. I rang the service bell and waited. The night attendant waved me around to the little window. I said I needed to checkout, but that I also thought I would be able to come in and print. She seemed to hesitate. I also mentioned that I was to pickup the disk that Kailash had left for me. She pointed, "This?" I guess so. I think I was expecting a different disk box, but this was the same box that had been sitting on our table during testing. She printed out my statement, I printed my email with my itinerary on it, took the disk and headed to my car. I put the disk in my carryon bag, which was in the trunk. Then I got in and started for the airport.
Of course there was no traffic. No cars. No one on the roads. It would have been too easy to speed down the empty streets, but I checked myself. Good thing. There was a police car driving slowly and pulling around in a parking lot. I figured he was watching to see if I would speed off once the light turned green. I didn't and he didn't follow me. I found 237 fine, but then I saw the north bound exit for 101, but no south bound exit. I assumed that the instructions Kailash had were wrong and took the next exit. As I was driving off the exit, thinking I was going to turn around and retrace, I saw a sign off to the left indicating south 101. So, instead of turning around, I drove straight and parallel to 237 and within a couple of blocks, I found the south 101 exit. I lost a minute or two, but I didn't have to retrace any of my path. I found the Chevron gas station near the airport without a problem, but there were very few lights on. I wasn't convinced that the pumps would work, even though I called the station yesterday to verify that they were open 24 hours. The pump worked fine and I was on my way quickly.
I pulled into the Enterprise car rental return lane and stopped the car. There was no one to be seen anywhere. No signs providing instructions, nothing. I left the car unlocked, but took the keys. Looking around and seeing no instructions, I headed to the bus pick up area. Another car renter described where the Enterprise key return box was. I headed off with all my baggage to find it. It was nearly invisible. Without such specific directions on where it was, I might never have found it, and then I wouldn't have known what to do with the keys. I put the keys in the box and then waited for the bus. My flight was out of terminal C, the old one. Things are completely different at the San Jose Airport now, with all the construction added to the new security regulations. It was a maze.
When I boarded the plane, I had to exit the building on the ground floor, walk through a secured "tunnel" and then up a ramp to the front of the plane. It's a good thing I didn't dillydally at the gate when they started boarding everyone. The plane was full and the last several people had to check their bags through to their final destination, since there was no space left in the overheads. I knew this could be an issue and that is why I was quick to move when they announced general boarding. It happened again in Minneapolis. A full flight with too much carryon baggage. Again, I was quick and easily found a spot for my bag.
While in the Minneapolis airport, I stopped in a restaurant close to my gate to get a salad that I could take on board the plane. I asked about wheat in the dressings. I wasn't convinced that I was getting reliable information, so I suggested just oil and vinegar. Balsalmic vinegar would be fine. I was dealing with the bar tender and when she heard me say balsalmic, she asked if there was any wheat in that. I had to restate several times that I was interested in balsalmic *vinegar*, not *vinegrette*. She just looked at me. Then she deferred to the waitresses and asked them. They didn't know and they asked me a couple of times if I just wanted to read the label. No, I figure someone back there can read the label for me. I waited patiently and when the bar tender finally came out with the box, she opened it for me to see. Right there in the corner was a fluffy white dinner roll. She was saying there was no wheat in the dressing, and I pointed. She took the roll out and I insisted that I couldn't eat that. She took the cup of dressing out, left it on the bar and took the box away. I finally got what appeared to be a new salad, but my confidence in it being GF was shaken.
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