There's No Place Like Home, There's No Place...

First off...*sigh*. It is so good to be home. I love my girl E, but traveling with her is like living in the Gong Show.

HIGHLIGHT:
Orbitz called me the morning of the flight to tell me it was on time.
LOWLIGHT:
It was at 4 am - half an hour before my alarm went off (grr).
HIGHLIGHT:
We were staying at the hotel where the Reagan assasination attempt went down - and I had a meeting in the Presidential Suite...kinda cool.
LOWLIGHT:
We arrived at the hotel and never saw the light of day or fresh air until 4 days later when we were loading the cab to go home.
LOWLIGHT:
Dehydration. I woke up every morning with a hangover - without the night of booze. Never have I had such incredibly chapped lips. Dry. Dry. Dry. Now they are healing and my mouth is like Susan Lucci's. You know the look...sort of orangy-pink lip liner drawn on the outside of my natural lip line.
HIGHLIGHT:
Playing Mommy to Ryder while E worked the conference floor.
LOWLIGHT:
Playing Mommy to Ryder while E worked the conference floor.
HIGHLIGHT:
Seeing cousin S. and her 15 week twin bump. Lovely to see her so happy and excited.
LOWLIGHT:
After dumping 4 checked bags, we hauled a diaper bag, two brief cases, a baby, two sombreros, two computers, 3 pairs of shoes (yes, they made the baby take off his shoes) a car seat and a stroller that no matter how many lessons I had and how many times I tried, I could not expand or collapse through airport security only to have E get "pulled over" for having a bottle of Perrier stuck deep down in her bag.
LOWLIGHT:
E losing her conference notebook in the bar? The bathroom? The cafe space? Chasing it down with a fussy baby, a fussy baby stroller, a rolling briefcase and a phone that kept cutting in and out.
HIGHLIGHT:
Getting said notebook back from the Hotel Security Agent Service, although I had to track down E to get the guard to give it up, because I was not E and it had money in it.
HIGHLIGHT:
Getting a call from the same guard 20 minutes later saying he had the notebook in his possession again because E had left it in a conference room, then having him come up to our room to drop it off with me because he "knew us now."
LOWLIGHT:
Had lunch with KvM. We had a reach-off for the cheque when we were done. I (reachingly) asked if I was going to have to fight him for it and he immediately said no and snatched his hand back.
LOWLIGHT:
Nearly dropping my nephew in the shower. Soaped-up babies are slippery man! Makes me think twice about the responsibility of having children. In fact, the whole four-days-with-baby has drastically changed my perspective. I was internally starting to get a little manic about the fertility time that I have left...now I'm not so sure there is a need to panic.
LOWLIGHT:
cK - this one is for you. We had to change rooms on the second day because I saw a mouse run from the foyer to the back of the TV cabinet. A mouse! In a Hilton. Paris, tell your Pops to get his shit in a pile. You're not the only family member going down the shitter.
HIGHLIGHT:
We got to stay on the Executive floor wth free breakfast and a $50 food certificate.
LOWLIGHT:
The room was smaller, considerable smaller.
HIGHLIGHT:
It had free wireless.
LOWLIGHT:
I never got to use it because I was so busy with the baby.

There's plenty more, but my guy and I are going out to Morton's for a great steak dinner in 5 minutes. Not once did I have a decent meal in D.C., so I'm getting one now dammit. And if I see a mouse there I am going to scream. Then someone is getting sued.