Travel Woes and Celebrations

This past weekend Joe and I flew to NJ to celebrate his Grandmother's 95th Birthday!!!  WOW!!!  What an accomplishment... Nan (as she is known by) is 95, still lives completely independently, she is still going strong, and you would never know the woman is 95 years old!  This is Joe's Mother's side of the family and we are blessed if we get to see them once a year... but usually it is 2-5 years in between visits and those are usually at weddings or funerals.  But each time we gather, it's ALWAYS a great time spent together!

I am usually a "Pollyanna" type of person and try to see the good in all things and try hard to have patience for those times when I am not in control of a situation.  However.... our travel experience trying to get to NJ on Friday is one for the books.  Joe and I have been blessed to travel often, including many abroad trips... and we both agree that this was ABSOLUTELY the WORST EVER travel experience of our lives...  we swear we are going to write a book about it... because it was just that ridiculous and I just must share the story... mind you, I am not venting... Joe and I amazingly stayed calm, cool, and collected throughout that horrible day, but it is one of 'those stories' that make you shake your head and wonder why we didn't turn around and just say 'forget it'!  

Our day started out at 6:30am... Joe and I both did our fitness workouts, then we prepared the house for us being gone over the weekend.  It is HOT HOT HOT here in Kansas... and the temperature was going to remain in the triple digits all weekend, so we had to make sure the pool had enough water in it to keep the pump running, watering and over-watering all the plants outside to make sure they wouldn't burn up in the heat.  We left the house at 9:00am to make the hour trek to the airport in Wichita.  We arrived at the airport at 10:00am for our 11:30am flight to Minneapolis, where we would make our connection flight to Philadelphia, then grab our rental car in Philadelphia to drive the 30 minutes to our destination in NJ...  we were due to arrive in NJ at 7:30pm.  That was how things were supposed to go!!

Minneapolis was experiencing horrible thunderstorms and our flight to Minneapolis got delayed 3 times... by the 3rd delay it was then impossible for us to be able to make our connection for Philadelphia, and eventually that flight got cancelled all together.  So.... plan B began with Joe on the phone to the airlines rebooking us to Memphis as our connection spot... again this plane was delayed to the point we could not make our connection and all other flights out of Memphis were full.... so we get rebooked again... this time to Atlanta.  While we were waiting in line at the ticket desk at the gate to get our boarding passes.... the fella in front of us was pitching such a fit for 30 minutes, that the ticket agents had to tell him they were no longer able to help him and would call security if he did not remove himself from the counter... so.... by the time they started trying to print our boarding passes to catch that flight... the flight actually shut the doors and took off as we were at the counter getting them printed.  Plan C.... we were then rebooked to Atlanta yet again on a different flight... which Joe was in line for another hour and a half just trying to get those tickets printed.  FINALLY at 6:00pm we boarded a flight to Atlanta... our connection would have us arriving in Philadelphia at midnight.

Ah.... but the story not only continues... it gets worse!  Our flight out of Wichita to Atlanta got delayed on the tarmac because there were several planes in front of us waiting to taxi out... we were in a long line of planes waiting to depart... thus we arrived in Atlanta late.  We had 15 minutes to get from terminal D in Atlanta to terminal A to make our connection... fortunately... that plane was also 20 minutes delayed, so Joe and I literally walked up to the boarding gates just as they were boarding and walked right onto the plane.  After all the muck ups and frustrations from earlier in the day, they had put us in first class... row 2.  The entire plane was boarded... everyone settled in and ready to taxi... when... they announced that there was a mechanical problem with the plane and we would have to get off the plane and wait for another plane to arrive at another gate.  It took another 1/2 hour for the new plane to arrive and another 1/2 hour to get everyone to the new gate, boarded and ready for take off.  Again we sat on the tarmac 1/2 hour waiting for our turn to taxi.  But.... FINALLY after a long long day of airport hassles... at midnight we were on our way to Philadelphia.  Joe and I grabbed a quick nap during that flight... THANKFULLY!!  Once we landed, Joe and I were the 2nd and 3rd persons in line to get off the airplane... but then.... OH NO!!!  We can't get off the plane because the jetway had blown a fuse and we had to wait for a mechanic to arrive and try to fix it.  We waited 1/2 hour on the plane before the pilot said it couldn't be fixed and we would have to exit the plane from the tail.  Like I said... we were in row 2... there were 44 rows... we were now the last people off the plane and the de-planing took another 1/2 hour.  When we stepped off that plane, it was now 2:00am!  Then... unbelievelably.... things continued to get worse.... the entire plane full of people got trapped inside the terminal because no one was left in the terminal and it was completely shut down and locked up.  The sliding doors that lead out of the terminal were closed, secured with the alarm on.  SERIOUSLY!!!!!  WHO gets locked inside a dagum terminal!!!  After another 15 minutes a security person came and opened the doors... but Joe had needed to use the restroom facilities and the mass exodus was occurring while he was in the restroom... I'm shouting into the restroom that he HAS to come now before we are locked in again.... which.... yep... that is exactly what happened.  We got locked in again!!!  Except I was on one side of the door (free to exit the building), but Joe was trapped on the other side with a man, wife and baby.  After a few minutes they were also released... but that was the craziest thing... to actually be locked inside the terminal!  After waiting for the shuttle to take us to the rental car place, and another 1/2 hour in line waiting for our rental car.... we FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY arrived at our hotel at 3:45am and it was 4:00am before our tired bodies could crawl into bed and our aching heads could hit the pillow.  And that's our story!!!

We were only able to catch a couple hours of sleep before we were scheduled to meet up with the NJ families to begin the 95th B-day celebration.  Joe and I did managed to grab an hour power nap before we had to head out to the big B-Day bash event... and then after the bash Joe and I, along with his two brothers/wives, sister/husband, drove to Philadelphia for hoagies and cheese steak sandwichs for some private time together.  A) it is tradition that we consume as many hoagies and cheese steaks possible during our NJ trips... B) we are NEVER disappointed with these DELISH treats... C) it is so rare these days that all us siblings/spouses have the opportunity to spend any quality time together anymore...  we didn't get back to the hotel til 1:00am.... having to be up at 5:30am to start the whole airport process home again.  Fortunately and Thankfully.... our travel experience home was quick and easy, no delays, no hassles!  WHEW!!!!  I'm not sure either of us would have been able to handle it if it had been a muck up again.  Needless to say... both of our butts have been dragging from the time we got home.  I'm taking today nice and slow... just putzing around the house and getting laundry done.

Nan's B-day bash was held in a banquet center, with a catered buffet.  The family had decorated each table with balloons, small boxes of candy and a memorative candle for each guest.  Joe's cousin (Kathy) who makes theme cakes, made the beautiful 3 tiered (each layer with it's own filling flavor)... it was all white with real red roses swirling up the side.  The buffet consisted of baked savory chicken, stuffed shells, mashed potatoes, steamed veggies, roast beef on rolls, tossed salad and a display of various cakes.... and there was also a candy bar set up with many sweet treats.  Another of Joe's cousin's (Jenny) brought along a boombox with several CD's and declared herself the DJ of the evening.  There was a dance floor that even had a mirrored disco ball hanging over.  The songs played were a variety of oldies (played softly during dinner), then favorite dance tunes, as well as some Elvis, Country and a few slow dance songs.  The dance floor was busy all night long... mostly with the youngsters (ages 2-12)... but some of us older kids also enjoyed bumping, jiving, hopping and twirling on the dance floor as well.  It was just silly type of fun... the best kind of silly... the kind where you are with dear family and can allow the child in your to emerge and enjoy with full abandonment.  I enjoyed watching the young children dancing all night long... out of 12 or more children in attendance, there wasn't a cry, whine, or tattle out of them all night long... it was just long distance cousins coming together and enjoying every single moment together possible.... they were just pure delightment!

We were soooo grateful that we actually did make it to NJ so that we could be there to celebrate with his family for his Nan's 95th B-day!  It was a whirlwind visit with the Jame's Clan... but even with all our travel woes... it was definitely worth it!!!  A GREAT time was had by all!!

In the end... I don't know how Joe and I managed to remain sooo calm, cool, and collected throughout that horrible, horrible, horrible day... but we did.  I think we kept thinking that with each muck up it was the last, naively thinking that was the worst that could happen... and it does indeed make a great story that will be remembered and shared the rest of our lives!

As Pollyanna would say.... play the happy game... find goodness in everything... keep a positive heart and know that things will always get better in the end.  The fun times we had with the family gathering and the new memories made during this visit... is, and ALWAYS will be totally worth the effort!