Since our blog is appropriately titled 'Atherton Adventures' 'ya know there is never a dull moment in our lives, hence the following saga....
Sunday morning, we had everything packed and ready to go. We even managed to leave a little bit earlier than our planned time:0 We had just gotten into McMinville and stopped at a McDonalds to get a drink when Mom noticed her purse was missing! We checked everywhere and could not find it all all. We are now a good hour from the cabin and the time is 11:15am and our plane leaves at 3pm. It will take an hour to get back to the cabin and then another 2 hours to get to the airport. Dad calls the airline and asks if Mom could get on the plane without her ID. Nope. Calls again. Different person, same answer. Mom calls and asks if there are any other flights available later that evening or the next day. Nope, all full. After explaining our dilemma the man on the phone says we probably should just try and send everyone except Mom home, since it is much easier to find seats for 1 person than 6. So, now Dad is explaining to Mom how to get back to the cabin and then how to get back to Portland. Ironically, we have not taken our 'regular' route to Portland, so now Mom has to visualize Highway 205, tunnels, and exits she (or anyone) can barely remember.
We decide we should try and call our neighbors at the cabin to see if the purse is actually there. We realize we do not have their cell phone and they were also leaving later that afternoon. We call Walt and Weeze leaving a message on their phone asking for the neighbors number. At this point, we have turned around and headed back to the cabin. Dad calls his office to see if he has Walt and Weeze's cell phone number on his computer--he doesn't. We decide to head back to the airport to get the kids on the plane and leave Mom and Dad to fetch the purse. Dana will fly with the kids back and then Mom won't have to drive back alone. So, we now turn back around. Walt calls and we try to figure out what we should do. He looks up some info on the computer and tells Mom she will probably be have to have a thorough search done at the airport. Great! At the same time, Regan calls Dad's cell and we have her make copies of Moms passport and then fax it to Walt so Mom can have some ID.
We decide to take the chance and with a little less than 1.5 hr. before our plane boards we arrive at the airport. The ticket agents says its 'no problem' that Mom has no ID and we head to security. Mom gets into a special line and has to go into this box that shoots air out on all different parts of her body (this was not the dreaded xray machine that shows a person inside and out although that would have been better than a body cavity search that Walt, trying to "reassure" mom, was going to happen). She passes that test and then goes thru the regular metal detectors like everyone else. Her airplane bag is hand-checked and she is given the thumbs up. She can fly! We all breathe a sigh of relief....
The next morning, Mom heads to the DMV and gets a new drivers licencse. Thank goodness, her passport wasnt' in her purse.:)
Btw, her purse is at the cabin (we hope)!
Moral(s) of the story:
Check to see if you have purse, wallet, ID and BRAIN before leaving
Have relatives cell phone/home numbers with you at all
Don't always believe what people tell you. Three people told her she
wouldn't be able to fly.
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