Travel last night

Last night wasn't too horribly bad. Got to Heathrow pretty much on time, went right through immigration even though there was only one lady working the entire "all other passports" line. My luggage came right out and I even had found my "left luggage" claim check, after losing it twice in Iceland.
There was only one viable way to get to Stansted and it was the bus so headed to the Central Bus Station at Heathrow (that's the one where you walk long tunnels to get there). Once I was stuck behind another traveler as she started down the trolley ramp because all her luggage promptly fell off her trolley. She definitely needed help getting it back on and since she had blocked the entire ramp, I was her rescuer. A friendly cop going down the escalator hollars at us, "Use the green handle! It's a brake!" Thanks for the tip.
The Central Bus Station is pretty much chaos at 9:30 p.m. at night. I stood in line to get information and a ticket and then noticed a self serve machine. I am fairly good with machines usually (except my own laptop at home which bonded early on with my husband and now only works perfectly when he's home). So I thought to give it a go and managed to get a ticket to Stansted for only 22.50 pounds. But it said the bus was leaving in 5 minutes and I had no idea which bus stand. Found information and she says, as she is walking away from me, "I don't know which stand, it's not here yet, traffic, listen for the announcement." Took me standing there a couple of minutes to let her accent soak into me before I could translate what she had said to me. So I sit down where I can see a bus stand screen and also where I can see the buses. There are only 3 buses listed and more than 3 in the garage. hmmm. I'm listening and hear something that sounds vaguely like Stansted but there isn't any Stansted listed so I take matters into my own hand and walk boldly out to the platform and start querying drivers if they are going to Stansted. My second query worked! He was. He asked if I would like to go too. Such a gentleman. I had a correct ticket. So he puts my bags under the bus and I get on board. He wanders around a couple of more minutes and then starts the bus and announces that everyone must wear a seatbelt as it is now law. They might have put in longer belts instead of ones for model skinny young children but I managed.
The nice bus driver asks if I would like to drive. Wouldn't that be a kick! I would have, had he been utterly serious. As it was, I kept an eye on him just to make sure he didn't need relief at any time during the drive.
On my way to Stansted and I know that this is not the bus that I had purchased a ticket for at the kiosk. I'm thinking, great, in not waiting for the exact bus, I've probably gotten on a local which will stop at every corner between here and there, thus making their website time of 3.5 hours or longer a reality. Luckily it was late at night and traffic was at a minimum and even most of the works projects were either stopped or hadn't started yet. Stansted is the second stop.
We finally pull into Stansted airport at around 10:45 p.m. It's my first time at Stansted and a much bigger airport than I had thought. I get my bags and go to find a taxi and have to go upstairs to the departures area to see the taxi booking sign. I get a nice gentleman driver who is utterly impressed with my luggage system (I have the two bags hooked to each other so that I am just pulling one. makes it very easy to manage, most of the time). He asks to see my reservation because he says there are two Days Inn at that location and he wants to take me to the correct one. Of course, in the end, he doesn't and I have to walk between the two.
My taxi driver is very difficult to understand and I finally realize he has a stoma. For someone with a stoma, he really wants to talk to me and I am hoping that he has enough breath to talk and drive at the same time.
So I get dropped off at the wrong hotel, walk to the correct one, check in and realize that I am going to have to take the 5 a.m. bus back to the airport. heavy sigh. Of course I could have just gone to the airport and slept there, as many were still doing when I arrived the next morning, but I'm old enough, and fortunately, currently, have enough money to pay for a bed, however short of a time I will be in it.
Going to be a really fun day tomorrow.