Throughout the trip there were many things that “just happened” to work out. When we were in San Francisco, it “happened” that we were at the end of Pier 39 as the America’s Cup race came by. It just “happened” that we were in line for the cable car behind a couple from the Netherlands. As I chronicle our trip, you’ll find these things keep “happening”. First, though, I want to share one particular event.

Before we left, I printed out all of our directions and hotel reservations. I located the reservation for the hotel near Sequoia National Park. The trouble was, the reservation was for only one night, not three. I called and they confirmed that we only had a reservation for one night. They offered me an upgraded room for the other two nights – at an upgraded price – saying they had no other rooms available. A quick look on the internet didn’t turn up many hotels where we could go instead. And they were all full.

Not only was I taking care of our reservations, but also my parents’, so it would affect them, too. I felt awful and was so upset about it. Somewhere along the line, I must have made a mistake – though from the beginning of our planning, I knew we’d be staying there more than one night. Our first morning at the hotel, I went to the front desk, hoping to talk to the manager and persuade them to let us stay in the rooms where we were at the lower price. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I wasn’t very confident, though.

When I explained our situation to the woman at the front desk, she asked me for my name. She got excited when I told her. She had “just been happening” to look at the reservations for that night and noticed TWO under my name – the higher priced one AND the correct one. All along, they’d had the right reservations. Vindication! We cancelled the more expensive one and were able to stay in our rooms. Needless to say, I was sooo happy that it all worked out.

Have you had a “just happened” experience?