ARE THOSE CLOUDS?
At dawn Sunday morning, my family and I got ready to go to Santa Ana's John Wayne Airport. I haven't seen the sunrise in San Diego in years. I faced east and watched the sky slowly light up. Then, I noticed the dark clouds overhead.

Mt. Miguel was clear but it looked like the clouds were going to surround it. I first thought, "Hm...it's overcast." But it felt odd. After a few minutes, my brother and papa came out and looked at the sky.

I asked Edwin, "Are those clouds?"

"No," he replied. "That's smoke."

My parents house sits on a hill. We can see a paranoramic view from southeast to south west: from Mt. Miguel-Otay Lakes-East Chula Vista to the Pacific Ocean's shore. At night, Tijuana's lights line the horizon like a Christmas tree.
Flames were not in sight. The heavy smoke came from the northeast.

At the gas station, papa pointed out the ash falling on the car.

When we reached the area before La Jolla and after Mission Valley, the smoke looked like one of those giant, mile long tornados in the distance. I looked back and saw the sun, a big round fire orange color above the horizon. It was eerily beautiful.

HAZY SKIES
When I woke up in Mission Viejo, my family and I were close to the airport. Hazy skies greeted us.

Inside the airport, I could smell something burnt.

The time was around 8:00am.

My papa and my brother drove back to San Diego while my mom and I waited for take-off on our Continental flight to Houston. At 9:30am, the Captain announced some bad news.

"We will not be able to take off at this moment. Apparently, Air Traffic Control in Miramar San Diego had to evacuate. This is affecting all the airports in Southern California. We do not know what the situation is."

The announcements throughout the hour gave us little information. The Captain allowed passengers to wait in the terminal. Most people went. My mom and I stayed. We were in the middle of a Scrabble game.

When everyone boarded again, we thought we could leave. Unfortunately, our place needed to free the gate for an arrival. We waited on one of the taxiways. The Captain didn't want to leave everyone at the terminal just in case Murphy's Law kicked in. If the plane suddenly cleared for take-off, less than 10 passengers would make it to Houston.

Five hours pass. We're number 2 to take off - still. The heat and long sitting almost broke nerves. Two men wanted to leave when the Captain gave passengers a choice: cancel the flight or wait for clearance. Two businessmen lit their call lights over their heads. A few of us in the back of the plane hoped 2 men will not take us back to the gate. We waited too long at the head of the line to give in. "It's better to leave. If we don't, we'll be stuck in LA for days," said a dark-haired woman.

Two young children, approximately 3 and 1, stayed calm. The mother appeased moments of whining with a portable DVD player and new DVDs, new toys and 2 days worth of food. Preparedness sure saved everyone their sanity!

At about 3:00pm, the Captain annouces, "We are clear for take off!" The whole cabin applauded. Minutes later, many people fell asleep to the hum of the engines.

OVERNIGHT STAY
My mom and I missed out connecting flight to Toronto hours ago. We stayed at the Baymont Hotel in Greensport (Greenspointe?), Texas 15 minutes from the airport. Four others flight mates shared a taxi van with us. Two heading to Little Rock, Arkansas. The others to Boston.

We all checked in around 10:00pm central time. My mom and I wore red Houston Rockets T-shirts for bed. We ate our cold Wendy's and watched CNN to see how bad the fires burned San Diego. Good thing I packed a small bathroom kit. Next time I travel far, I am packing a set of clothes in my carry-on!

Everything at the hotel went well - except for one thing.

The hotel personnel forgot to change the clock back. We didn't realize it when the wake up call rang our room. My mom thought, "They called us late!" We found out downstairs at check out. The clock read "4:10am." My mom and I woke up at 3:00am instead of 4:00am. The receptionist let us stay in the room until our cabbie, Mike, arrived at 5:10am.

FROM HOUSTON TO CLEVELAND
The night before, my mom and I decided to take a layover flight to get to Toronto at 1:00pm. If we took a direct flight, we would have lost 2.5 hours. We lost half a day already so we headed to Cleveland.

Turbulance rocked the plane pretty bad. I think the businessman next to me flew this flight often. He looked at my mom and I when I grabbed my mom's hand in my half-sleep. One, she gets motionsickness. Two, she gets scared. Mommies need comforting, too.

WHERE'S MY BAG?
The thirty-five minute flight to Toronto put us on a small Express Jet. Headroom sucks. Six footers stooped like old men. The overhead storage denied our carry-on rollie bag. Continental returned that bag easily. And my mom's suitcase, too. Unfortunately, my bag missed this flight. It went on the later, direct flight instead.

At customs, we reported it. They reassured me a delivery in the evening. I needed to change and shower well so bad! And Continental could not bring it until the next morning.

My Tita Nati and Tita Zon loaned me a green duster patterned with white, tropical leaves. Black nickel-sized buttons lined the front. Despite the gloomy weather, their highrise condo welcomed airy clothing. Their heater warmed the rooms at 23 degrees celcius. The windows let a crack of cool air in but it barely helped.

Wearing a duster took me back to elementary school. Wearing it made me feel like I flew to the Philippines. Given the time it took to get from Santa Ana to Toronto, we might as well have!

DOOMSDAY
Tito Nitong called from Markham, a Toronto suburb 40 minutes east, telling us to turn on the news. After a 4 hours nap, we watched CNN and newsreports. They informed my mom and I of the fires raging Southern California. Ours ears and eyes listened to the reports regarding San Diego.

We called my papa. "It's like doomsday here!" he exclaimed. "Like Mt. Pinatubo, there are 2 inches of ash outside. It's dark. There is no sun."

Concerned, I asked, "Make sure the car has gas. I read people fought at the gas stations because they wanted to flee. Do you have water?"

"Oh, I am fine. It's ok. I am just trying to fix the garage. It won't close," he reassured light-heartedly.