Diary of a Vacation: Part I
Wednesday morning: We pick Audrey up from kindergarten, finish packing, run a quick errand to Walmart, and then take off for Indianapolis International Airport. Leo drops off Aislinn and me at the U.S. Airways entrance and takes Audrey with him to park the van. I wait, Aislinn in her stroller, for him to return so we can check in together. Twenty minutes later, they return, having just missed the first shuttle back to the terminal. We check in, check the bags and the carseat, and proceed to our gate.
We have not had lunch and do not expect to be served anything more than pretzels on our two brief hour-long flights, so I order some food at the only available take-out place, a Dick Clark’s Bandstand. The total for two barbecue chicken sandwiches and a chicken quesadilla with fries: $27.00. And they actually forgot to charge me for drinks (actually forgot to include them in the order, and gave them to me free in apology). By the time I get over to our gate with the food, it’s almost time to board so we take the food with us on the plane. I finally finish mine, handing Aislinn to Leo, 15 minutes before we land.
Wednesday afternoon: We change planes in Charlotte. Our flight, originally scheduled to depart at 3:30, is delayed because of repairs. We end up getting switched to a different plane a couple of gates away and leave nearly an hour late. We worry because our friend who is picking us up at the airport cannot pick up her son from daycare until she drops us off at her house because there is not enough room in her car. She will end up picking him up after 7:00 D.C. time.
(I said before that I enjoy flying, and I really do. But I realized on this trip that I enjoy flying ALONE, free to actually ENJOY the flight, the airport, and all the excitement. Husbands who take 20 minutes to park a car, late shuttle notwithstanding [I suspect there was more to it than that], wiggly five-year-olds who are bored with waiting and anxious to actually get on the plane and be in the air, and cranky teething infants detract from the experience a bit. It wasn't THAT bad. But I look forward to being able to take solo trips someday.)
Wednesday evening: When our friend finally picks us up, I squeeze between two carseats in the back for the drive to a D.C. suburb. Our friend drops us off and leaves briefly to pick up her son, only the next subdivision over, and returns to cook us dinner. Homecooked Chinese food...ahhh...the best part of my day. We unpack a bit, put the kids to bed, and put ourselves to bed for the night.
We have not had lunch and do not expect to be served anything more than pretzels on our two brief hour-long flights, so I order some food at the only available take-out place, a Dick Clark’s Bandstand. The total for two barbecue chicken sandwiches and a chicken quesadilla with fries: $27.00. And they actually forgot to charge me for drinks (actually forgot to include them in the order, and gave them to me free in apology). By the time I get over to our gate with the food, it’s almost time to board so we take the food with us on the plane. I finally finish mine, handing Aislinn to Leo, 15 minutes before we land.
Wednesday afternoon: We change planes in Charlotte. Our flight, originally scheduled to depart at 3:30, is delayed because of repairs. We end up getting switched to a different plane a couple of gates away and leave nearly an hour late. We worry because our friend who is picking us up at the airport cannot pick up her son from daycare until she drops us off at her house because there is not enough room in her car. She will end up picking him up after 7:00 D.C. time.
(I said before that I enjoy flying, and I really do. But I realized on this trip that I enjoy flying ALONE, free to actually ENJOY the flight, the airport, and all the excitement. Husbands who take 20 minutes to park a car, late shuttle notwithstanding [I suspect there was more to it than that], wiggly five-year-olds who are bored with waiting and anxious to actually get on the plane and be in the air, and cranky teething infants detract from the experience a bit. It wasn't THAT bad. But I look forward to being able to take solo trips someday.)
Wednesday evening: When our friend finally picks us up, I squeeze between two carseats in the back for the drive to a D.C. suburb. Our friend drops us off and leaves briefly to pick up her son, only the next subdivision over, and returns to cook us dinner. Homecooked Chinese food...ahhh...the best part of my day. We unpack a bit, put the kids to bed, and put ourselves to bed for the night.
posted by Andrea | 3:33 PM
1 Comments:
Shivers of memories is what you are giving me. Goosebumps for bygone days.
In spite of everything, you simply --must--have a good time. And be looking forward to the empty nest.
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