Random Thoughts From Marybeth

Homeward Bound: Day V

I was able to check our bags and get our boarding passes at the hotel. (And found out that one of the nice young men working there has a grandmother who lives in the same neighborhood in which I grew up.) Checking the bags was a good thing. I had already discovered on the trip down that my laptop, which seems light enough when I carry it around home, feels as though it doubles in weight when I have to carry it through airports, so I didn't want to be carrying my suitcase also.

We arrived in plenty of time, dropped off the rental car, and went through security with no delays. Our flight to Orlando had been straight through but we had a stop in Atlanta on the way home. Everything was fine until we got to Atlanta. First our flight was delayed because of mechanical problems. Then we had to go to another concourse so we could take a different plane. The people at the gate told us that it would still be delayed and that they would keep us updated. The airline employees at the gate told us that the delay was now due to having to wait for the crew. That was the last they said about it until the plane was ready for boarding almost two hours after the scheduled time for our flight.

As soon as we (finally!!) boarded, the flight crew told us that the delay hadn't been caused by them regardless of what the people at the gate had told us. I wasn't sure how I was supposed to take that information, go back in to the gate and accuse them of lying to us? (A better choice might be just to avoid any flights to/from Atlanta in the future.) As far as I was concerned, the cause of the delay was the problems with the first plane and all I cared about at that point was getting home safely.

Even with delays, it's still better than a long car trip. If we drove, I would be too tempted to pull over at the first "are we there yet?" and tell the kids sure, we're here, now get out. It's not like I would abandon them just anywhere. I expect them to be asking if we're there by the time we reach the entrance to our subdivision.

We arrived home (obviously, since I've posted since then) and spent the rest of the day resting (one of us spent more than one day recovering and is now thinking a nap right now isn't such a bad idea). The weather here was cold and icy. It's warmed up some since then but the predicted high temperature today (55 degrees) isn't even as high as the low for today in Orlando (61 degrees). I'm ready to go back to Florida. I would be happy to move there but my husband says he likes living someplace that has seasons. For some reason, telling him that Florida has seasons - hurricane season and repair season - doesn't help persuade him any. Go figure. He says it's the hurricanes he wants to avoid but I think it's really the possibility of having to do repair work.