Red Eye Flights Sound Great but NOT with Kids on Board!!

I am writing this to you from New York.. where I am on vacation. (NOT really on August 1, but while I am here in the state and running around seeing people, places, things and doing fun stuff. )

But what does it take to get here– for less? I started looking online for tickets back in MARCH 2011 to find the right price for RT tickets to get to NY & see my BFF there and also hopefully stop and see some other friends. While my intentions were good, the effort I put into this over a week didn’t yield me the same results that I had. Granted, I tried my American, United, Delta, Southwest, Jet Blue and even Continental frequent flyer programs. Nada that was less than $1K!! YIkes.. I didn’t want to spend that much.

I turned to one of the sites that allows you to check a variety of travel packaging websites and compare what they offer you and the connections. Unless I am just going to NYC (which I was not), it was not going to be an easy trip. Either I had 17 -20 hour trips with massive layovers in the strangest places. So I started looking at shorter trips and I found one that was a day trip on the return via Continental and a red-eye out of LAX via Dulles (DC) to upstate NYC. I dithered around but at $500, I could not find a better deal or a better time frame since including travel time, it was 10 days!!

I jumped on it and booked my seats both ways and it was crazy situation since Travelocity was telling me they couldn’t guarantee that while I picked specific seats, that I would get those specific seats. (Can you tell that I called Travelocity a lot?).

I called all my friends in the areas where I was making pit stops to see on their availability (spare time) and they were thinking I was crazy!!! My usual suspect BFF definitely christened a guest room for me and used my visit as a reason to paint and change light fixtures and spruce up the place. Wow.. I never meant for anyone to go to that kind of trouble. I am a guest who helps clean up, cook, do laundry.. that sort of person. ( just tell me how your washer, dryer or dishwasher works please).

Didn’t feel that great getting on the plane.. took some meds and ate McDonald’s Oatmeal for dinner at the airport. I was truly surprised that the flight was so full and that there were so many children (under 10: many under eight, a few under 5)) on this flight that left at 11:15. It was *packed*–2 open seats on the entire plane –and there was one between the woman and I in the same row. I wished I had my blanket that I had packed. ( yes I did check my bag– because I didn’t want to puke if I lifted it over my head. Good thought huh!)

I had taken meds, bought water and as soon as the plane lifted off, pulled out some headphones and listened to musical meditation and fell promptly asleep. I awoke a couple times–once by the flight attendant wheeling the cart by, asking me if wanted anything to drink. (uh no thanks. Could you please cover me up with a blanket though? Oh those cost! Thanks but no thanks). I reversed my lightweight jacket and noticed that others had done the same. The flight was pretty well chill (really, it was very cool temps).

Next thing I knew I woke up again because something woke me– but I am not sure what. I think it was lighter in the plane. I noticed that the plane was pretty dark but someone had flipped on lights. Nope– they were opening the window covers but it wasn’t sunshine– just white/gray overcast.

Eventually we landed– exactly on time (miracle on that because we were late on taking off). As the flight attendant read off the connections, mine wasn’t listed though they listed almost every other state in the union except for the pacific coast. I hustled off the plane, bidding my seat-mate good luck on catching her flight to Detroit leaving in 30 minutes. (Yes she had to fly to DC to get to Detroit. Does that make sense? No.. didn’t think so.)

I hustled down the corridor, found out which terminal and gate and jumped on board a train to get to the a terminal and found that gate A1 was the very last gate on that terminal (which follows the history of my gate assignments–they are always at the end of wherever they were supposed to be). I always think that 1 or whatever number will be relatively close but it seems to be my lot in the flying situation that whatever gate I get is the last one (or next to last). Maybe someone thinks I don’t get enough cardio?

Made the connection in good time and it was full as well but I must say that Contintental’s puddle jumper flights are nicer planes than American or United. This plane had 2 restrooms (!) and nicer seats. (How weird is it that how good a flight is depends on the seats and number of restrooms?) I didn’t get offered juice or coffee, but I didn’t care. I was just too tired. I think zombie after-life might be a good description.

Thankfully for D, she picked me up at the airport and brought FOOD!!!Cherries, Sugar Plums (heaven.. fresh mini plums bursting with juice and lots of sweetness) and other great stuff. We stopped at a large liquor warehouse and then headed back to her house near one of the finger lakes. I started up-packing because we wanted to hit the boat. My body wasn’t feeling too well but I wanted some outdoor real air time.

Wore my new Voda swimsuit (look for a photo later) and headed off to the boat and we had spent about 4 hours on the boat- picked up a pizza on the way home and that with a small glass of wine just about did me in. I did watch some TV and was working on Twitter. Finally I just said “enough”..I was done.

And so is day 1 of this blog. PS.. I did answer some emails and told people that I was on vacation.

Have a great one. Enjoy your life one day at a time– fully present and accepting all that has been given to you.

Stevie Wilson,
LA-Story.com

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One thought on “Red Eye Flights Sound Great but NOT with Kids on Board!!

  1. I’d imagine that people bring children on those kind of flights because they’ll sleep through the flight and not be so bored and noisy. If I was flying these days with a small child that would be how I’d do it. When we did road trips with small ones we always started off at night so a good part of the trip was done before they noticed. 🙂

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