Vacation!

Vacation; all I ever wanted. Vacation; had to get away!

Come on, sing “Go Go’s” Karaoke with me!

Flying standby is always an interesting game, and that’s just what this is. Here I am, headed out on vacation and I’m just taking it all as it comes. My flight this morning had lots of folks just in from Hawaii who were booked on a later flight, that were standing by for what has looked for a week like a wide open flight. Hey, didn’t they know that I had a connection to make into Hibbing, Minnesota?!

No of course, it’s just a roll of the dice. And my roll came up OK—I was the very last person on the flight, we ran down the jet way, and the other non-rev wife I was with sat waaaay back in row 45, leaving me about row 17 because I had a tight connection to make. But of course, there was no space left in the overheads, even though NWA isn’t charging for bags yet, everyone carries on their luggage, right?

So, bump bump I went way back to stash my suitcase in the very last overhead bin. The sardine people all just looked at me with those blank looks we all have on a 7am flight, especially if we’re just off an all night flight from Hawaii.

My seat mate was a retired 747 Captain so we talked planes and the new 787 my husband is working. I tried to go fetch my bag during the flight and sneak it up closer, but honestly I couldn’t even remember where I’d stuffed it in the mad moments.

The captain announced as we approached Minneapolis that we’d had a gate change, F-14 which I recognize as the laaaast gate on that concourse. Sure enough, my pilot friend and I pull out the map of the airport in the back of the magazine, and yep. My gates are almost the farthest you can get apart in one airport. OK, I’m waiting on my holy spirit snatch—things turn out the way they turn out. And there was a little Meg Barnhouse “All Will Be Well” going on, too.

After two tries to get the jetway attached to our plane, much kindness from my fellow sardines and a nice skycap with a speedy cart and a timely tram, I was at my gate with a few minutes to spare. The speed-skycap driver tells me it was 2 ½ miles between my gates. Who knew that could even happen other than from Midway to O’Hare!!?

Well, I’m channeling the “Go Go’s”, flying on a little itty bitty plane over rural Northern Minnesota and soaring right along. Can’t wait to see the snails in the lake and some of my favorite people on the planet!

Vacation, here I come!