Air Travel

When Theresa and I decided to travel to Florida last week we decided to fly to save time and to have a few extra days in the south. Normally we drive and it 2282 km's. It takes us 23 hours to make that distance and over the years it does not vary much. Our flight from Buffalo after an overnight stay at a airport hotel took us to Boston and then to Ft Myers. The time from home to destination was 30 hours.

On our way back we arrived at the airport at 4 pm and because of bad weather in New York we never left on the first leg until 6 pm. Flying through a lightening storm was nerve racking and Theresa pulled the window blind shut to keep out the offending light show put on by Mother Nature. We landed in a downpour but were happy to be on solid ground.It did not help when we thought of the plane going down in the Hudson River.
Since we were late leaving Ft. Myers the desk crew gave us seats on a flight for Buffalo for 6.30 next morning.This would necessitate us staying in the airport all night. On arriving in New York at 9pm we saw that the next leg of our flight was delayed until 9.30pm. Theresa began to race to gate 22 from gate 8 to try to get us on board. I was carrying my computer and a carry on and was slowed down by hips that refused to move as fast as Theresa.

As Theresa disappeared through a throng of thousands I called to her to run fast and I would catch up sometime. Theresa did run fast and by the time I arrived at gate 22 she had managed to get us on the flight.That was the good news but as we rejoiced a flash on the departure board said that there was a delay until 10 pm. We lost control of our main baggage as it was transferred to the morning flight. We settled in and were quite comfortable as we had a good supply of food and drinks.

Time passed and so did the opportunity of a quick departure. First there was a plane but it was stacked out there somewhere and had to be moved to our gate. Time went by until 3.30 am when we finally got on board. That was the good news and as we left the gate 22 the captain explained in detail that all those flashing lights were from those planes ahead of us waiting for takeoff. He joyfully said we were number 40 but with luck we could be off the ground somewhere between 45 minutes and an hour. We were off the ground in less than an hour and 53 minutes later were on the ground at Buffalo.

With hope Theresa   and I searched the baggage line as the cases came tumbling down from the baggage chute.We hoped but lost when the machine stopped and all the bags were picked up. Our next challenge came when we tried to phone the hotel to send a Carrier to pick us up. Nobody answered the phone. We went outside and I spied our hotel van speeding down to the pickup area. Again Theresa had to put on her track shoes and run the 250 meters to catch the van.  I followed with my luggage and we managed to get aboard.

Our plan was to stay in our car until the flight from New York arrived at 8.08 am.We went into the hotel lobby as the workers were preparing breakfast for those who were departing. We got in line and had a coffee and went to our vehicle and left for the airport. We were very tired and rather desperate with  the problem of what if our luggage does not arrive on this flight. Luckily our cases arrived and the baggage man gave us a chit for $70 for our inconvenience.

We drove home and arrived at 11 am. Total time for our travelling experience was 20 hours. It should have been 6 at the most. I like to fly but this experience reminds me it is always better to have two feet on the ground or at least one foot on the pedal when you wish to arrive on time.