So I already told you that our holiday trip started off badly. Our new flight was rescheduled to leave on the morning of Christmas Eve at 6:20 a.m. We packed until the wee hours of the morning, and then collapsed for a brief rest.
We had to be extra-careful not to forget anything, since we’d be gone for 10 days. Surprisingly, the packing list included even more cold-weather gear than we usually needed in New York. The Pacific Northwest was still reeling from a snowstorm (their worst in 20 years) that had hit five days before. They weren’t equipped to deal with digging out from snow and ice – the county where HCFG’s parents live had only a handful of plow trucks. Although the Seattle airport itself was (barely) open, the roads everywhere were a complete mess.
Anyway, after about two hours of sleep (the car service picked us at 4:00 a.m.) we arrived bleary-eyed at La Guardia, cautiously optimistic that all was well. We were concerned, however, since it had snowed again the night before in Seattle, and because our former nonstop flight had changed into one with a connection through Cleveland.
We boarded the plane and sat on the runway. And sat some more. It ended up being two hours before we took off. HCFG remained relaxed while I sat there with smoke pouring out my ears. Keep in mind we had 55 minutes to make our connection. Cleveland Airport was apparently closed due to fog. I was freaking out, but HCFG stayed calm. He reassured me that the plane we were going to change to would probably be delayed getting into Cleveland by the very same fog, so it wouldn’t leave without us. Not content to leave well enough alone, he then lectured me about how much money the airlines lose when they strand people. You can just imagine how much I loved that conversation. I tapped my foot, gritted my teeth, and became even more stressed. HCFG went to sleep. Men!
Our plane finally took off for Cleveland and it was a smooth flight. The flight attendants couldn’t give us any information about our connection though so we had to ask when we deplaned. The perky agent said our connecting flight was leaving in 10 minutes. We were at Gate 5, our flight was at Gate 22. I thrust my very heavy carry-on bag at HCFG.
Lisa: “I’m going to run for it and see if we can make it. You gonna be ok?”
HCFG: “Go! I’ll be right behind you.”
I ran like OJ Simpson minus the bloody glove through the Cleveland airport. I was wearing a very heavy wool sweater, jeans and snow boots, so even without the carry-ons, I was still pretty out of breath as I reached the area. I got very near the gate and saw they were about to shut the doors.
My adrenaline was going like crazy, I felt like my heart is going to pound out of my chest.
Lisa: “Wait, please, we’re booked on that plane! Don’t leave! We’re here!
I ran up to the agent waving my boarding pass.
Flight Agent says reassuringly: “Don’t worry, you just made it. Is there someone else with you?”
Lisa: “My boyfriend is right behind me. His name is…”
HCFG: “I’m here!” He is weighed down with our carry-on bags, his computer and his heavy down coat.
Flight Agent: “You folks just made it. The pilot held the flight as long as he could waiting for all the connections. We’ve been on the ground for 50 minutes. Most of the other people aren’t going to make it. We are missing over 45 passengers.”
Lisa: “OMG, thank you so much!”
Flight Agent smiled at us both. “You two are lucky; we have to leave in about two minutes.”
We boarded the plane and collapsed in our seats. Only 3 other people got on behind us. Keep in mind about 40 people missed their connection. On Christmas Eve. The good news (for us anyway) is that we got to stretch out with an extra seat between us.
HCFG said smugly, “I told you we’d make it. See you were all worried for nothing.”
Lisa: “Oh please, you were as worried as I was. If either of us stopped for a minute to go to the bathroom like we wanted, we would have been stuck in Cleveland for Christmas.”
HCFG: “Nope, I knew it would all be fine.”
Luckily for HCFG I was too wiped out to tear him limb from limb but I certainly wanted to!
The rest of the flight was smooth and painless. We even made up the time we lost.
Stay tuned for Part 3, meeting the parents after a trip from hell with very little sleep.
(This post originally appeared on Kizmeet)
Christmas in Cleveland. That would be a hell of a title for a Christmas flick.
Your HCFG has something, y’know. It’s what they teach in courses with titles like “How to Stop Worrying and Start Living.”
I used to get on a train in the morning, knowing that I needed to be in the City in an hour. But I also knew that nothing I did could possibly change the schedule or the route; it was not in my hands. So I would just relax and wait till we got there.
I miss having that mindset.
I would have missed the flight. I can’t run. That would have sucked.
Lisa B! I had visions of your boyfriend having a “Gene Hackman Moment” and removing a cop from one of those two wheeled motorized carts you stand in and ride off with his hair blowing down the concourse! But all’s well…ends well! Have a great visit with everyone. I know they will absolutely LUV you!
)
Hate to say it, but I probably would have fallen asleep waiting on the runway too. Nothing else to do really. Good thing HCFG is apparently a man of faith. Can’t wait to hear about the rest of the adventure!
No one on Team Lisa yet I see
@ L’Empress: Yes, HCFG is indeed of man of calm. Then again, he has me to do all the worrying so there ya go
@ GW: Yes, indeed it would have.
@ Michael: Very funny! And the visit has already happened so I will fill you in on the parents soon.
@ Vince: Like I said… “Men!”
I will SO be your Team Lisa person. Especially with traveling, I get uber-stressed with every little thing standing in the way of my getting from point a to point b. And then, when it all goes wrong, I get overly upset and emotional about the effect it will have on the trip I tried so hard to plan every detail for. I cannot be rationed with and being with someone (like my honey, DR or your honey, HCFG) who tries to talk me off my ledge is darn near impossible. But like you, it comes from a good place of worrying that not everything will work out perfectly when it matters so much to you.
Cest la vie. Can’t wait to hear how the rest of the trip went.
Glad you made it. We weren’t as lucky in Houston where we found out that if whether causes the delay, they don’t have to pay for your hotel over night. So we paid and caught a very early flight. We found out from a flight attendant in the process that they used a bogus whether excuse. They had closed a runway to repair it and just happened to have a few wind gusts so they used that as a whether excuse.
When he took your bag and said he was gonna run for it, and asked you if you were gonna be alright, I thought, “What is he taking her bag and running for the plane by himself for? Lisa has a bum knee and might not make it! What good’s it gonna do him when he get’s to his mother’s house and only has her toothbrush to introduce around to his family??”
Then I re-read your post and realized I mis-read your post just before I posted my own post. Whew! But ya gotta admit, that woulda made a great scene for a sitcom, LOL!
Seriously, like you, I, too, am the worrier and Bob’s the happy-go-lucky little s*** in our relationship, so I feel your stress my dear. Glad you made it however. Can’t wait for the next installment
I still don’t get it–do my snob-servations go HERE–or on the main page?
You kids and your Internets and your Maroon 5!
Anyway, I would have been freaking out, too–the only time you want to get stuck in Cleveland is for the National Kielbasa Festival, in my humble opinion.
What ZW said (although I’m figuring it out… I think). I’m tired just thinking about the run through CLE. If you get a chance, please email me at soph_mom(at)yahoo(dot)com. I have a quick question to ask. Thanks!
Oh, I soooo would have missed that flight too. I so scorn having to rush. I think there is really something wrong with this industry that this is an acceptable way to treat customers.
“I tapped my foot, gritted my teeth, and became even more stressed. HCFG went to sleep. Men!”
I officially like HCFG.
@ Oob: Thanks my friend, I knew you would understand!!! Yay, Team Lisa
@ Bud: Ugh, so sorry to hear. What a yucky experience for you.
@ Carolyn: Yes, if HCFG had gone by your scenario, it would not have been good for him… LOL! Thanks for the concern about my knee. As you can imagine, NOTHING was going to keep me from that plane
@ Zen: Comment here please. As to being stuck in Cleveland, I do have to sing their praises. Between getting us on the plane and even better, getting our baggage on the same plane, everyone was really nice.
@ Sophmom: Me too, LOL.
@ Jay: Yes indeed. At least we got there though.
@ Thinking Fool: All you men stick together, eh?
LMFAO @ OJ reference! I’m so glad you two were the lucky ones!
Have a great weekend!
I’d rather be dead than in Cleveland.
I certainly enjoyed reading all the comments. ZenWizard, I must confess that I have not only been to the National Kielbasa Festival but also reveled in the North American Polkapalooza, held just down the road. One of the best things about quitting my last job, for a company headquartered in Cleveland, was the knowledge that I’d never have to go there again.
Why was my response so annoyingly calm while Lisa was climbing the walls? I have been abused, inconvenienced, made miserable, suffered indignities and every form of travel mishap. I know more about the ins and outs of airline operating procedures than any amateur should ever have occasion to know. In the last 20 years I have flown about 3 million miles. The overriding lesson I have learned from all this is to ignore anything that happens that you can’t control. And I certainly can’t control when the plane takes off.
However, once we landed with five minutes to get to the other gate, the ol’ adrenaline got pumping. Just like the old days! So glad I could share a nostalgic moment like that with Lisa!
–HCFG
Don’t you just hate all that running from gate to gate and ending up breathless when you reach the plane? Travel is such hard work sometimes–but not so bad when you’ve got a great companion!