It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.
Of course, I’m talking about vacation. You know the saying, ‘getting there is half the fun?’ Yeah well, they couldn’t have been talking about flying. Certainly, most definitely not fun. Not even half-fun.
Friday was, of course, a nightmare for anyone who happened to be traveling by air. From FlightStats regarding Friday’s air travel:
Friday saw high flight delays and cancellations in the Midwest, Southeast and Northeast dues to a mix of snowstorms, high winds and blustery winter conditions. The Chicago area was hit especially hard with O’Hare Airport (ORD) cancelling 255 flights and delaying another 1500 flights. New York’s La Guardia Airport (LGA) cancelled 119 flights while delaying 563 flights.
The airport was packed full of people whose flights had been delayed due to golf-ball sized hail while others were waiting on the tarmac to leave but couldn’t because of an oncoming sleet storm. Because our initial flight was delayed, our connecting flight had already departed by the time we landed. We spent almost 8 hours waiting on stand-by, trying to get home. Home. There’s no place like it.
I had plenty of time to think of a perfect analogy just for you of what it feels like being on stand-by. Being on stand-by is kind of like waiting to see if the cool kids are going to pick you to attend their completely awesome, kick-ass, over-the-top party and the anticipation is unbearable.
So, what does a couple do when they’ve already passed through security and have been through the overpriced shops several times over?
They walk their legs off.
Going from gate to gate took a surprisingly long time, and we had our carry-on luggage in tow so it was quite a workout. Boring as all get-out, but it helped to pass the time.
There’s only so much walking you can do, though. Eventually, you have to eat.
Finding something edible that didn’t have the words pan-fried, deep-fried or flash-fried as part of the food description was not easy. Eventually, we ended up getting salads and bottled water at Moe’s Southwestern Grill. The good news: my three main ingredients were lettuce, black beans and tofu. The not-so-good news: I was weakened by the sight of the edible flour shell bowl and had to have it.
And Ellen said, It Was Good.
But after hour number five? I started feeling like Tom Hanks in that movie The Terminal.
We did however, finally make it home. We spent the weekend pretending not to hear the phone when it rang and trying to bribe each other into bringing actual food home from the grocery store instead of raiding the cupboard for more crackers. But we were home.
And boy did we get the cold shoulder from the dogs. They were not very happy that we left them for a week.
One last thing, before I close for today: my final thoughts on celebrating my birthday by leaving town? A stellar idea! I cannot recommend it enough for those of you who also have bad mojo on your birthdays. Although, next year I will plan things a bit differently and actually be gone on my birthday – not just ‘around’ it. For me, that’s important. Even though it was exciting to know that we were leaving a couple of days after, it wasn’t much fun spending my actual birthday alone, packing.
Happy Monday everyone, and come on back here Wednesday where I’ll be having a Leap Year Giveaway!
~Ellen
Those flour tortilla bowls are evil in restaurants. I make my own at home when the urge strikes by laying a tortilla upside down over an ovenproof bowl and baking it at 450 degrees. Makes a bowl shape that you can fill with healthy stuff. Glad you finally got home!
What a GREAT idea! Thank you for telling me that, Diane. I love those things, and never – ever get one, (which shows how weak in the moment I was). Edible soup bowls are another evil. Will definitely try your tortilla idea.
Welcome back! I always hate travel, plane, car… just the time it takes and the inconvenience and the break from routine. And the germs! The discomfort. Oh, I could go on.
I’m with you, Karen. I SO dread the idea of having to get from point a to point b. It is really stressful – even when things go right!
This is one of the reasons I don’t fly. I don’t wait well.
Glad you made it home safely!
Thanks, Cammy. You have a smart way of traveling. Better control on the ground!
Welcome Home! So sorry about your travel woes! It is the worst! I am glad to hear you would still recommend traveling despite the delays! xoxox
Thank you, Jill! It is good to be home. I had one of those ‘need to get away from my vacation in order to have a vacation’ type trips.
So sorry for your flight delay. I hate being stuck in an airport (you wonder if you’ll ever get home).
So glad you finally did (even if it was coming home to only crackers). 
Glad you had a great time. I can’t wait to hear more about your trip. Hopefully Emmie and Brulee have forgiven you. We always get the cold shoulder from our cat when we’re gone for a while. 
Emmie and Brulee forgave us right around dinnertime. lol
Believe it or not, I have not flown since I retired and these stories don’t help! Guess I flew enough over the course of my career to compensate for the rest of my life. It’s a good thing I love road trips! Glad you are home safely!
it is the ONLY thing I dislike about travel. My anxiety just naturally increases whenever I know I have to fly – and it has absolutely nothing to do with crashing – it’s all the other stuff that’s so hair-pulling. You are wise to travel by car, Sharon
AGREE! Flying is so NOT fun. I remember the first flight I ever made and how exciting it was for about 30 minutes. From that point forward it was never fun again. These days it is faster to drive in a lot of cases than to fly.
LOL! Yep. For the first 30 minutes of my first flight I was all star-struck, too. Then, when my ears decided not to clear, I was over it!
As someone who is about to embark on a cross-country flight and who’s been worried about it for various reasons, thank you. Not. LOL!!! Actually? I’ve had a little bit of a breakthrough and will be posting about it later today I hope. Anyway, SORRY about the travel snafus…but glad you’re home and glad that the actual being away part “around” your birthday was worth it!!
Oh, Karen – what timing, huh? I’m sure your flight will go perfectly smooth
Looking forward to reading that post!
Hi Ellen glad you returned home safely! Its been way to long hope your doing well!
Steph!! Thank you for stopping by! I hope you are doing well
Glad you had a good time, Ellen! Sorry the transit gods chose to crap on your return trip, but at least you made it home safe and sound.
That’s always a good thing. And things could have been much worse. Some people were stuck in that airport overnight and into the next day, I heard. That would have been awful!
Hi, Ellen. Welcome home! Glad to hear that the vacation time itself went well and was enjoyable if not the actual travel days. Hope you continue to have great birthday celebrations from here on out, including happy celebrations on the actual date of your birthday!
Cindy
Thank you, Cindy. I appreciate your comment. I think I’m finally figuring out the secret to having a ‘happy’ birthday
I’m glad you had a great trip! I always try to view airport eating as an adventure – I plan as much as I can, but at the end of the day, I lean back and say “what will be, will be” and carry a purse full of GF treats just in case!
So smart, Laura. Next time I will be even more prepared. Your nut butter samplers really came in handy during our trip – thank you, thank you for those!!
My worst nightmare would be stuck in an airport, they are SO boring!!!! I’ve been stuck for 4hrs at an airport on the Spanish Island of Lanzarote. Thankfully the sun was out and they had deck chairs on the roof of the airport, so being British, we made the most of the sun!
I’ve never been away on my birthday before. I might take up your advice!
really? a sun deck with chairs on the roof? Wow! Now, that wouldn’t be so bad!
Gasp. That IS a crap way to end what I imagine was warm bliss.
Knock on wood – All the years I traveled for a living I rarely had overnights waiting out weather. BUT hubby turns into a weirdo when we are in airports. He makes me nervous. I have to tell him to dial it down. BUT he knows how to work it a lot better than I do if we are in a jam. So a net plus for hubby travel. Congrats on the airport workout!
Brulee does look pissed. Tell him he could have been left there. Tough love Munchberry. OK maybe tell him there is a treat in it for him if he drops the sour puss.
Welcome home to all four of you.
thank you, MB. I’m glad to be home more than you know. Will follow up soon!
Ugh, airports make me crazy! From being treated rudely by TSA, to taking off my shoes, to the never ending lines…definitely the worst part of every single one of my vacations!
BTW…our upcoming San Diego trip does happen to coincide with my birthday so I will be taking your birthday vacation advice! (Though we did not plan it that way. It just happens to be when we were able to get away.)
I’m so happy that you get to go back to San Diego!! You should go house hunting while you’re there, just for fun (or at least neighborhood shopping). And awesome that you’ll be there for your birthday!! That will be the best part
twice this summer I was sitting at O’hare waiting for kids to come through customs – over 6 hour wait each time and we had gotten there early (like a couple hours early since you never know about traffic) in case the international flights were ahead of schedule. The way O’hare is set up these days, they can only confirm that a flight is in, but not if the kids were actually on the flight.
Is it a secret where you went, or did I miss a post?
Vickie, you are the very first person to ask where I went! lol I simply forgot to mention it before I left, so I’m turning that into an opportunity to hold this giveaway on Wednesday. Hopefully by the pics, someone will be able to guess!
And UGH regarding your O’Hare fiascoes. I avoid that airport like the plague, but sometimes you just have no choice.
Thank you for the reminder. I’m planning a trip for the big 4-0 and was thinking it was no big deal if it wasn’t exactly on my birthday. Bologna! I can’t be with just strangers on “the” day, I’d be so sad. I might have to fly Moody to be by me, and I’ll plan to get her there a day or two ahead of time.
Glad the actual time away was good!