Getting There is NOT Half the Fun

TRAVEL THERE: GETTING THERE IS NOT HALF THE FUN

Months of planning. Weeks of deciding what to take. Days of packing. Then you wake up one morning and you still have to get there!

Flying Out of Dallas

I’ve already moaned and groaned about the local airport, so I’ll save you that.  We did get a taste of Friday morning rush hour traffic, but soon enough were pulling into the Park N Fly lot.  The shuttle delivered us without mishap to the United check-in desk where we got our boarding passes and checked our bags without a moment’s frustration.

On this trip, Bill and I traveled with my best friend Deb Shera and her husband Joe.  As Bill and I gathered our carry-ons and headed to the gate, we found Deb and she was not a happy camper.  She’d checked-in on-line via her iPhone and the computer at the gate was giving her fits.  However, she hadn’t had coffee yet, so I’m not sure whether the computer or the lack of caffeine was the real problem.

Once past security, our next target was coffee.  We figured there was a Starbucks somewhere, but couldn’t find it on the map, so we struck out to find something caffeinated.  We were just about ready to give up when Deb stumbled on someone who knew where the Starbucks was and I fell into an Auntie Annie’s Pretzel.  Here’s how much Deb loves me.  Even though she was still caffeine-deprived, she waited patiently for me to get a pretzel and soft drink.  Coffee is not my caffeine of choice.

Not long after, we found the Starbucks and the day began to improve for everyone else.  But the fun wasn’t over.  The Departures sign told us the boarding gate for our first leg was just around the corner from the Starbucks, but when we showed up with all our luggage, the flight before ours was delayed.  The gate area was full and the gate lady sent us away.

Later, I went back to check on things and who was there but one of my cousins’ husband.  Colin travels a lot, so I assumed he knew what he was about.  We compared notes on the flight and he, like us, assumed the Detroit people would leave soon.  Eventually, it was getting pretty close to time and the Detroit passengers hadn’t moved.  The board still said it was our gate, but Deb wasn’t taking the board’s word for it.  Good thing, because they were loading our plane at the next gate. Even though the gates were consecutive, they weren’t right next to each other and we could have been in trouble.

As we cued for boarding, I looked back towards the old gate and didn’t see Colin anywhere, so I assumed he was already in the plane.  But he wasn’t there either.  I hoped he’d arranged another flight.  Frequent travelers have this penchant for finding flights the rest of us never know about and getting upgraded to first class, but that hadn’t happened.  He was the first guy I saw when I got off the plane.  He’d almost missed the flight!  I was sorry he’d had such a close call, but I was glad it was someone else for a change.

The Houston layover was uneventful, but quick.  We grabbed lunch to go at restaurant called The Real Food Company.  I recommend it highly if you’re in Terminal C at Bush Intercontinental.  Our flight was boarding when we arrived at the gate and our food was still warm when we settled in our seats.  Another uneventful flight ensued.  (And believe me, I’m not complaining.)

All of our luggage showed up on the carousel and it was time to find a taxi.  That’s when things began to get interesting.  Come back next week and I’ll tell you about it!