Isn't time a funny thing? You anticipate an event, a milestone, a vacation - and then suddenly, it's over and gone - and all you have is memories.
But thank goodness for the memories!! My son, oldest daughter, and I flew to Frankfurt on Friday, June 14 - and arrived around 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 15 (a few hours late, due to some mechanical problems before take-off in New York/JFK airport, which caused us to sit ON THE PLANE for almost 4 hours while they examined and tested some issues with the brakes. Believe me, while it was somewhat inconvenient, I am thankful they are thorough when it comes to the gears and mechanics that stop a super-large air bus after it lands!).
As is fairly common for my family, the trip wasn't without its "adventures" - or rather misadventures. It started out with some excitement at our little regional airport early in the morning. We had a 5:30 a.m. departure.
In the past, you have to know, that when we've flown out of this airport, there have NEVER been any lines at TSA check - or at least any significant lines ... and the airport is pretty tiny so getting to your gate takes all of a 5 minute walk. NO BIG DEAL, right??
Well, something about summer travel and perhaps business travel changed everything on this particular morning of our take-off. First of all, my suitcase was a little overweight (don't get me started on a CERTAIN AIRLINE'S baggage/weight policies!!!!!) so we had to transfer a few items to my son's suitcase (delay #1). After that excitement, we went upstairs to TSA where the line was SUPER SUPER LONG - longest line I've ever seen there (delay #2). But we made it through - and by 5:20 a.m. we were headed to our gate -- it was IN SIGHT!
However, as we were almost there, the gate agent (not seeing us), turned around, went into the passenger boarding bridge to airplane, and locked the door behind her. And she disappeared ....
Stunned, we just stood there at her empty podium. No other airline personnel in sight. She did eventually come out - 10 minutes later - as the gangway was pulled away from the plane, and it taxi-ed back from the gate. I immediately started into her with my questions ... and she just took our boarding passes and began to type as my son tried to talk me down a little (I tend to get a little - ahem - excitable in situations like this!).
Silently (no kidding), she handed us new boarding passes to a later flight to Charlotte and then on to NYC-JFK airport. The one-and-only consolation was we were actually given seats together which wasn't the case initially. Thankfully, we had planned long lay-overs to get us to our international flight (which was booked through another airline - Delta, which is my preferred transporter anyway).
So, we were able to "enjoy" the Northwest Arkansas sun rise ... and were on our way to Charlotte, NC within two hours - and quickly connected to New York/JFK --- and arrived in plenty of time.
The transition to Delta airlines was easy as our suitcases were already waiting for us in NYC, having flown on ahead with the 5:30 a.m. flight! Thankfully, the airline did send us a text where we would be able to reunite with our luggage.
We still had over 3 hours to kill in the airport, so we got through the next security check just fine - and then checked our bags into Delta at another terminal - where we had NO OVERWEIGHT BAGS nor baggage fees (thank you, Delta!). We took a little breather from all the excitement and had over-priced - but delicious - burgers from Shake Shack.
The skies were clear - and it was a beautiful afternoon and evening to fly ... except that our 7:40 p.m. EST flight couldn't depart until almost 11 p.m. ... but after that, it was smooth sailing ... ummm, flying!
More adventures to share in the next blog post ...
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