Finally a Travel Day

It’s a Travel Day!

 

My long-postponed vacation to Colorado is finally off the ground- literally. I spent last week finalizing the care for my kitties for my “great escape”.  I wouldn’t be honest with you if I said I was looking forward to this trip because I’m not. The time at home has made me quite a couch potato. My travel urge is pretty low. I’ve gotten used to hanging at home with the cats. But this vacation has been planned since COVID in 2020 shut down the world. It’s paid for so I really can’t justify backing out now. 

My Travel Starts at 3 AM

Part of the reason I am less than thrilled about the travel is the hassle just getting to the airport has become. I used to fly out of TF Green in RI but somewhere along the line they got more expensive than Logan Airport in Boston.  The recommended arrival time for domestic flights is 2 hours before boarding. My flight leaves at 7 am which means arriving at 5 am. So, I bundle myself and my bags into my car for the 45-minute drive to the Logan Express bus in Braintree. It’s $7.00 a day for parking there. Much cheaper than the parking at Logan but I need to allow time for the bus trip from Braintree to Logan so another (recommended) hour there. Not much sleep to start my travel day.

TSA Pre Check

I still have my TSA pre check status so getting through security is slightly less of an issue than for those that have to go through the regular security. It still doesn’t keep me from being pulled out for a pat down. My artificial hip lights up my whole left side so even though I warn the TSA agents what to expect they still have to clear me. At least the woman I had this time was friendly and even showed me what the screen showed her. All I can say is I am quite colorful!

Delta

I’m flying on Delta and although I didn’t spring for first class, it’s only a 4-hour flight, I did get a non-stop to Denver and opted for their new Comfort Plus cabin. I really lucked out too as I was the only one in that row! The plane was brand new, just put in service in June. It had huge roomy overhead bins so plenty of room for carry-on bags. The seats are larger and lots of leg room. At least on this plane I can say the Comfort + was worth every penny!

I remember one of my last trips on Delta when we had a crazy, rude flight attendant. She was verbally abusive to a couple that just wanted to change seats to sit together and at one point threw the cabin phone against the plane wall. It was the only time I ever filed a complaint. This time it was completely different. The crew were all super nice and friendly.  In any case they worked hard to accommodate seat changes for a family traveling with a tiny infant and it was all done without any drama, and everyone was happy. Quite the change! 

If there was one negative, I’d have to say that its they made the bathroom even smaller. Hard to believe that is even possible but I barely had room to turn around in it! 

On Time Arrival

We took off on time and arrived about 20 minutes early in Denver. By the time I made my way to baggage claim our luggage was circling the carousel. All I needed now was my rental car and a map and by Mountain time it was only 10 am! How perfect was that!?