Friday Water Ritual

Last Friday, we came home from work to frozen pipes and no running water. It has happened once before, so we reacted quickly and were able to get the water running before we went to bed. This Friday, I arrived at Terminal 5 at LAX after my last work meeting and later learned that there was a broken main resulting in no water. Now there's a first in my years of airport travel. It's not too bad at home where you can manage for awhile and maybe visit the neighbor, but imagine hundreds of travelers and employees with no time to visit another terminal.

My pre-flight ritual starts with a visit to the bathroom to change clothes. It seemed odd that both the men's and women's bathrooms were closed, but I assumed they were being cleaned and walked toward the next restroom sign. Nothing seemed amiss as I entered, except maybe a little confusion and a lot of people lined up for the hand sanitizer. As I rounded the corner to the toilets, it got weird fast. There were two cleaning ladies telling people if they had to go, to hover and make sure the toilet paper went below the seat height. Hmm. Then I heard someone say that the water was out throughout the terminal and had been for almost 30 minutes, with no end in sight. Aha. I didn't have to go and there was too much chaos to change, so I left and decided to grab lunch.

LAX Water Shutdown

When I passed my favorite restaurant on the way to the bathroom, the line was short so I was shocked when I returned not 5 minutes later to a closed sign and the manager letting us know that all restaurants had just been forced to close since it was unsanitary. He let me know about the broken water main and suggested I immediately go find pre-packaged food as it was disappearing fast. I found a banana and a couple bottled drinks then went back to the open bathroom to change.

Since the stalls were starting to smell, I changed out in the open between the toilets. I chatted up the cleaning woman and thanked her for her efforts and attitude. She has worked at LAX for years and like us, had never seen anything like this. She easily could have been a disgruntled employee yet here she was battling the shallow port-a-potties, communicating to travelers, and trying to make a gross situation as clean and adventurous as possible.

It turns out, many people opted to wait and go on their planes. The line to the toilets on my flight was long enough to delay boarding and take-off. I was able to wait until we landed then partook in all the joys of running water in the SLC airport. This coming Friday is Inauguration Day, maybe the water will go out in D.C. and cause a delay to the inevitable.

I transitioned from the airport to my favorite basketball game of the year, Utah vs Stanford. I am in awe of the Stanford coaching staff whether watching on tv or behind the bench. Tara is in her 31st season at Stanford and started her coaching career at Idaho in 1978. Along with Pat Summit and Geno Auriemma, she's one of the legends of the game. Watching her interact with her coaches and players is always a treat.

Stanford Coaching Icons - Amy, Tara, Kate

We woke this morning to blue skies and hit the slopes after our Pilates session. Andrea joined us and we had a blast warming up on the moguls off Motherlode and Thaynes, then onto Jupiter for several high traverses to West Face, and finally McConkey's.

1st SnapChat - staying current with technology and the youngsters

All smiles on West Face

Two little lovebirds sitting in a ... (thanks to Andrea for photo)