Category Archives: air travel

Getting There is Half The Fun

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Getting there is half the funGetting there is half the fun

When you travel you have to keep in mind that getting there is half the fun. Day 1 of any of my vacations is always a travel day. So I remind myself that the journey is as important as the destination.  Since I was only going to Florida you’d think this one would be easy. Just a hop, skip and  jump down the east coast. Well, not quite. I never do anything the easy way. My flight is out of Logan (Boston) at 8:30 am. That’s a late flight for me but getting to Logan is an adventure in itself.

Park ‘n FlyJosh Gates adventurer

Turns out the easiest part of my journey was the Park ‘n Fly. It’s much more expensive than the Logan Express but my car will be better located for my dash to Lynn when I return. Yes, I got a ticket to hear Josh Gates speak and it’s the same evening I come back from Florida. My car needs to be handy or I’ll never get to Lynn on time. So Park ‘n Fly it is and they were great. Easy to get to and the shuttle to the airport picked me up right at the car.

Check in

Getting through security with my new hip was anti climatic. My Doctor said I’d light up the metal detectors so be sure to tell the TSA. Although I did let them know nothing happened when I walked through the metal detector. Not a peep out of those machines. The TSA operator asked me if my new hip was made of plastic because it didn’t set anything off. Wait til I see my Doctor again!

First Class Travel

As has become my habit I was flying first class. You get treated so much better that I’m willing to pay the extra if it isn’t too much. Today Delta really out did themselves. They made me feel like I was visiting royalty from the first person I saw in the terminal to the flight attendants in first class.  Thank you Delta. Another fine job.

The planes.

I had a layover at JFK in New York. What a huge airport. We landed in one terminal and had to take a shuttle to another one to board a different plane. That was fine with me. The first plane was a little plane with only 3 seats in each row. Very cramped even in First Class.  One seat was in the left with a window the other two were on the other side of the aisle. I had the left window seat. So I got to sit alone. When we changed planes we had a bigger plane with 4 seats per row, 2 on each side of the aisle and the seats were bigger.

Getting there is half the fun

The flight attendants on this plane were great. They were attentive, funny and always smiling even when a child passenger had a major meltdown.

MIA

MIA does not mean Missing in Action although the Miami airport does look like it went through a war. The People Movers are moving walkways that are meant to make it easier and faster to get through the airport. I’ve used them elsewhere and they do help but not in Miami. Very few of the walkways were working so I took off trudging with my luggage trailing behind me for what seemed like miles to find the car rental section of the airport. After a ride on a tram and more trudging I final spotted the Hertz counter.

Just Another Day in Paradise

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I  Made it to Paradise

Stock Photo- Landing at LAX

As the plane began it’s decent into Maui’s Kahului airport the pilot announced Welcome to Paradise! I made it, again. If the plane ride ( 11-12 hours) is hell then yes, Maui is Paradise. I don’t mind the plane ride. I sleep, eat, drink water and subsist on the little bags of pretzels the airlines provide. My body is not fond of the trip but I’ll cope. Even with all of the napping I was tired and achy when we landed. Of course it was raining when I picked up my rental car. It’s always raining when I make that first drive in the dark to my resort. At least I’m more familiar with the drive now that I’ve been here a few times.

All Checked-in in record time

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I arrived at my resort (Kaanapali Shores) right at 8 pm Hawaiian time.  I didn’t get lost once. My sister can tell you how much trouble we had locating it the first time because it is dark in Hawaii. And if you don’t know where you’re going it’s easy to miss. Thankfully I have a good memory and cruised right in. I was supposed to have a 1 bedroom ocean view but I think they may have been out of those. They gave me a free upgrade to a two bedroom ocean view. I can sleep in a different bed every night.  (Ha Ha)

Dinner Options

I was in my condo by 8:30 pm. Time to think about a real meal. I had upgraded the first half of the flight (Boston to LAX) to first class and that came with a breakfast. (I could get used to those comfy first class seats!) Airline food isn’t 4 star but that breakfast wasn’t bad. Still that was along time ago and in addition to being tired I was hungry. My options were to walk to the little restaurant on the premises and ruin some poor server’s night because the restaurant closes at 9. I’d probably be walking in at 8:45. No I’d let the staff wrap up and go home. Next choice was driving somewhere, probably Lahaina,  to another restaurant. That didn’t appeal to me. I could drive across the street to the TIMES. It’s a 24 hour grocery store. Buy something and bring it back to cook.   I wasn’t really excited about that either. As I was considering just skipping dinner I saw a pizza delivery truck pull up.

Pizza in Hawaii

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Pizza delivery in Hawaii is just like it is at home. I called Pizza Hut. But just like the last time we ordered pizza in Hawaii (on Oahu) it would be easy to get sticker shock. The pizza, a large mushroom and pepperoni was only $12.99. That’s comparable to a pizza in Boston but then I added a 2 liter bottle of diet coke. With delivery charges and taxes it was now at $22.00! Of course I had to tip the driver so it ended up being a $26.00 pizza meal. Not complaining just sharing. I’ll get 3-4 meals out of that pizza anyway.

Denver is a Rocky Mountain High

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Denver, the Mile High Airport

We finally arrived at Denver International Airport. As we made touch down I began to feel a bit antsy. I didn’t know if I’d be able to make my connection since we got such a late start out of Jackson Hole. Once we got the ok to activate our cell phones an alert came through that my connecting flight to Boston was, in fact, delayed by 3o minutes. I was so relieved. But the  relief was short lived.

Denver airport

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Watch Out for the Fuel Truck!

We were on our way to the gate when we were brought to a halt. There we were on the tarmac just waiting. After about 5 minutes the pilot decided to share  the problem with us. One of the fuel trucks had broken down right in the middle of the runway !  We had to wait until they got a tow truck that could move such a large vehicle. The minutes ticked past and so did the boarding time for my connection.

Mad Dash To the Gate

Finally we got the go-ahead to move to the gate. The plane  couldn’t unload fast enough for me. I felt like I was on the longest jetway in the world! Once in the terminal I didn’t waste time looking for signs. I asked for directions. It was much farther between gates than I expected but as I hustled up to the attendant I saw a flight delay to Boston posted. Breathing hard I gasped out to the attendant “Is That My Flight!”

Terminals

Time to Relax

Turns out it was. The attendant and the other folks in line thought it was hilarious that I was so happy for a flight delay. It seems the connecting flight couldn’t land in Denver because of the same fog that caused us to be delayed in Jackson Hole. They were re-routed to Colorado Springs. They just got the ok to come on to Denver. We had to wait for them to arrive. I could relax and catch my breath.

Epilogue

The flight from Colorado Springs eventually arrived and we all got boarded. The flight to Boston was uneventful. I finally arrived home. A bit later than planned but safe and sound. Traveling is fun but coming home is pretty nice too.

Rocky's happy to see me

The Road (or flight) Home

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On the road again

The road home from Jackson turned out to be an interesting challenge. I woke up around 3 am only to find that it had snowed.  Yup 6 inches of slippery, sloppy white stuff. My concierge told me I had a front wheel drive car so I’d have no problem getting to the airport. Then he went out to bring the car around and got stuck!

Plow Schedule

Loading my bags into the car my valet cheerfully explained that the roads aren’t plowed until after 9 am. He didn’t even know if they would bother to plow today or just let it melt. I could expect to have snow covered roads and highway all the way to the airport. Oh Joy!

The Snowy Drive

The first part of the drive was pretty dicey. It’s very dark out there in Wyoming! The snow was still coming down and when you met another car or truck, splat! Jackson was a different story. With less snow and more traffic most of the road was just wet. It continued that way until the airport. I’m sure the locals hated me because I kept my speed right around 35-40 mph. Once in the airport I found the car rental return only to face a windy, cold trek to the terminal.

Delay upon Delay

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Jackson Hole Airport (stock photo)

Once inside I learned my flight was delayed due to the condition of the run way. Ok by me. I’d rather be safe on the ground that plastered against one of the mountains that ring the airport. As I chatted with a fellow traveler I learned she was the same person that had watched the elk herd with me a few days before! Small world.

Elk Migration

Are we ready now?

As we chatted they changed gates for my flight and started to check in. But it was not to be. My connecting flight is in Denver and turns out the airport was closed  due to fog. We had to wait for Denver to reopen. Finally we had the green light and boarding began. One last trip through the de-icer and we were ready to roll. Everyone held a collective breath as the plane slid (quite literally) into position but finally we were airborne, climbing steeply over the majestic Tetons. We were lucky to get out of Jackson Hole!

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United we Stand….

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Its the Friendly Skies of United

I haven’t flown United Airlines in quite awhile. I’ve flown with Southwest and American and Delta but not United. I guess it was their turn. My trip to Jackson Hole Wyoming is on United. I honestly don’t know what I was thinking when I made these reservations. My flight was leaving Boston at 7:20 am. I’m mean really! Am I nuts? I was up at 3:30 am so I could leave by 4:30 so I could catch the 5:30 Logan Express in Braintree. I’m happy to say I made it along with everyone else! The bus was full. At Logan the United Terminal was also packed. Must be folks like these early flights.

Check In

I had an MRI done recently and since then my back is in worse shape than before the procedure. When I checked in online the website asked if I needed any assistance. I checked that walking long distances was a problem. I was hoping for a ride on the little carts that scoot up and down the corridors. When I got to Denver a personal attendant was waiting with a wheel chair. He brought me right to my gate for the Jackson Hole leg. He offered to push me down the jet way too. I told him I could manage that. When they began boarding the gate attendant sent me down first. Wow!

Jackson Hole Airport

I might have gotten the same treatment at Jackson Hole except they are a tiny airport. They had a wheel chair waiting but no one to push it. The gate didn’t have a jet way. We walked down a long ramp. At least it wasn’t stairs. The wind was howling so I wasn’t going to wait for someone to show up. I managed to get myself and my carry on to baggage claim. The winds were gusting  70 – 75 mph but the sky was a brilliant blue. There was snow on the tops of the mountains. If the wind hadn’t been taking my breath away the view would.

If I ever have the opportunity to fly into Jackson Hole again I’m going for a window seat instead of aisle. I heard enough oooh’s and awe’s as we came in to know I was missing an amazing sight.