Challenges and Rewards February 22

February 11, 2022

Being an older traveler presents both challenges and rewards. We now have some resources we did not have when we were young, like time and money. Being older (I am struggling with this term but don’t have a better one yet) comes with some limitations in physical capacity (translation: fat and out of shape). Where we once threw clean underwear in a bag and were good to go, we now require six pieces of luggage between us to carry CPAP machines, medications and all our electronics. But again, we no longer need to live out of a backpack and we take a taxi to the airport.

Our trip between Seattle and Guadalajara was a reminder that we need to be flexible. Our flight was at 7am with a 4:30 taxi. Beth had not slept (at all, not a wink) but we were going to Mexico, damn it, so full speed ahead. Our full speed lasted until our layover in Los Angeles, when lack of sleep caught up with her. Or COVID, malaria or beriberi. Minutes before the early boarding, I told the wonderful ticket agent of our situation. She sprang into action and had our bags retrieved and booked us on a flight in forty-eight hours.

Two days at the Super 8 Inglewood (Note no recommendation here) watching the Winter Olympics and eating convenience store food, we were back on our flight to Mexico. It initially seemed like the end of our adventure. We were going to be stuck in the LAX airport with COVID, unable to move forward or go home. It was a great

opportunity to blame and be angry with the travel gods or each other. We had t change our minds and remind ourselves that we are on an adventure. And like any odyssey worth taking, there are man-eating tigers, crocodiles or piranha to overcome before the journey’s end.

While LAX is not my favorite place, it is not a steaming jungle or an artic ice flow. While the Uber driver strongly suggested we not venture out at night, the motel was clean, and the beds were soft. The pizza from across the street was not bad, and we had cable TV, so it could have been much worse. At least we had no pythons to fight.