Junie, Karen and The ConvertibleMy Delta SkyMiles flight was to leave Charleston at 3:20 p.m. yesterday, connect in Atlanta and fly to Albequerque, New Mexico, arriving at 6:35 p.m. last night. I had a reservation on a shuttle to bring me the hour's drive to Santa Fe where I had a reservation at La Quinta Inn.
I started the day by meeting fellow artist and Courtyard Art Gallery member Helen Beacham at 10:00 a.m. at the Crowfield Country Club where I am the featured artist for the month of August. We hung 26 framed pieces of mine before I dashed back to Mt. Pleasant to finish packing and meet my next door neighbor Gary Tatum who kindly drove me to the airport for my flight.
It seems that Atlanta was experiencing violent weather, and the terminal literally shut down and nothing moved - into the Atlanta hub or out of it. Finally we were cleared, but there was a good chance I would miss my connecting flight so the Delta representative confirmed me for the next flight just in case, and when I arrived in Atlanta, that flight was well on its way to Albequerque without me. So I called my shuttle reservation to reserve for a later time, called my hotel to say I'd be late but would get there eventually. The connecting departure continued to be delayed, I kept calling my reservations to keep them updated and ended up meeting a fellow traveler and new friend, Carla from Summerville, who was on her way to Albequerque to visit her mother.
The crisis came when I realized that the last shuttle for Santa Fe would have left well before I arrived. It's never easy to make wise decisions when you're physically and emotionally tired and just a tad stressed out. However, in this state, I even realized that renting a car and driving by myself a lonely road in a part of the country I'd never been in before at 12:30 p.m. Santa Fe time and 2:30 p.m. my time was never an option for me. The other options were sleeping in the Albequerque airport, catching the first shuttle to Santa Fe at 8:45 a.m. and losing probably the first half of the workshop day, or taking a taxi to Santa Fe which would be a major expense. In the end, the taxi seemed the wisest option so I decided to do that.
But God loves to open doors before we even know we need them, and I had been praying for his divine help and guidance, and so had my friend Beth Keener, major intercessor and friend of God.
In my aisle seat on the new connector flight, chatting with the young lady seated next to me, I told her I had determined to hire a taxi to Santa Fe. Lo and behold, the lady across the aisle from me, said, "did I hear you correctly?" Junie and her friend, Karen, were on their way to Santa Fe from Asheville, NC and, due to the flight delay, had called and rented a car in Albequerque before they ever left Atlanta. So, there was my answer - and so much less expensive than the taxi drive! I could contribute financially to the cost of the car rental, gas, etc. and I didn't have to drive - and the car they asked for wasn't available, so Avis gave them a convertible - what a wonderful way to come to Santa Fe for the first time - the power of the wind in my face, the stunning night sky with its glitter of stars and cresting the hill for my first sight of Santa Fe - no photograph can capture the essence of that moment or the gratitude of divine connections and people helping people!
I started the day by meeting fellow artist and Courtyard Art Gallery member Helen Beacham at 10:00 a.m. at the Crowfield Country Club where I am the featured artist for the month of August. We hung 26 framed pieces of mine before I dashed back to Mt. Pleasant to finish packing and meet my next door neighbor Gary Tatum who kindly drove me to the airport for my flight.
It seems that Atlanta was experiencing violent weather, and the terminal literally shut down and nothing moved - into the Atlanta hub or out of it. Finally we were cleared, but there was a good chance I would miss my connecting flight so the Delta representative confirmed me for the next flight just in case, and when I arrived in Atlanta, that flight was well on its way to Albequerque without me. So I called my shuttle reservation to reserve for a later time, called my hotel to say I'd be late but would get there eventually. The connecting departure continued to be delayed, I kept calling my reservations to keep them updated and ended up meeting a fellow traveler and new friend, Carla from Summerville, who was on her way to Albequerque to visit her mother.
The crisis came when I realized that the last shuttle for Santa Fe would have left well before I arrived. It's never easy to make wise decisions when you're physically and emotionally tired and just a tad stressed out. However, in this state, I even realized that renting a car and driving by myself a lonely road in a part of the country I'd never been in before at 12:30 p.m. Santa Fe time and 2:30 p.m. my time was never an option for me. The other options were sleeping in the Albequerque airport, catching the first shuttle to Santa Fe at 8:45 a.m. and losing probably the first half of the workshop day, or taking a taxi to Santa Fe which would be a major expense. In the end, the taxi seemed the wisest option so I decided to do that.
But God loves to open doors before we even know we need them, and I had been praying for his divine help and guidance, and so had my friend Beth Keener, major intercessor and friend of God.
In my aisle seat on the new connector flight, chatting with the young lady seated next to me, I told her I had determined to hire a taxi to Santa Fe. Lo and behold, the lady across the aisle from me, said, "did I hear you correctly?" Junie and her friend, Karen, were on their way to Santa Fe from Asheville, NC and, due to the flight delay, had called and rented a car in Albequerque before they ever left Atlanta. So, there was my answer - and so much less expensive than the taxi drive! I could contribute financially to the cost of the car rental, gas, etc. and I didn't have to drive - and the car they asked for wasn't available, so Avis gave them a convertible - what a wonderful way to come to Santa Fe for the first time - the power of the wind in my face, the stunning night sky with its glitter of stars and cresting the hill for my first sight of Santa Fe - no photograph can capture the essence of that moment or the gratitude of divine connections and people helping people!
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