Lessons that may help on the A.T.
by
, 09-24-2015 at 08:42 (2735 Views)
We’re sunk
Went “home” for the Memorial Day weekend. Home is Tallahassee and the panhandle of FL. From reading thru the blogs, many of the lessons the A.T. teaches are lessons I’m already familiar with and try to practice even at work.
Had a pretty good trip even if it was a rough start. I set the alarm for our 6am flight. We didn’t go to bed until after midnight and being that I’m half an hour from the airport and I was shooting for arriving an hour before the flight, that didn’t leave much time for sleep. Turns out that once you set an alarm, you must also turn it on. I woke up at 5:47. I’m a pretty aggressive driver but I can’t make the airport in 13 minutes. We changed flights to a 3pm with a 3 hour layover for a $50 fee. There was an 8am and a 9am flight that we could try standby for an additional $50. Getting to ATL was going to be easy as the flights weren’t over sold. Problem was the leg to TLH was full so we might get stuck in ATL. I decided to try it anyway.
On the way to the airport, I’m not paying any particular attention to where I’m at as I’m dodging mouth breathers. I-95 between Baltimore and DC is full of them. I’ve made this trip many times so … I do see the exit sign saying I’ve got two miles to go for the left exit. It’s the only left exit. I get in the left lane and about 5 minutes later I wonder if I’ve missed the exit. 70+mph + 5 minutes = more than 2 miles. I’m about 4 miles beyond my exit. Peachy.
At the airport, we park in long term parking which means a ride on the bus to the terminal. We are at the first stop for the bus and he’s pulling up as we walk up to the little bus stop hut. Nicely done. Just as we pull into the terminal, I want to check the time on my phone. Where’s my phone? Oh, that’s right I put it in the center console before making the U-turn on the interstate. Great. Well, I’ve got time I’ll stay on the bus and ride it back. Nope. Gotta catch the bus from the lower level of the airport. Ok, time for a hike.
With phone in hand, security at BWI took forever and a half and it was starting to look like we’d miss the 9am flight. Managed to get to the gate in time. The guy said the 8am flight had been delayed but would be taking off 13 minutes sooner than the 9am. Because it was so delayed most people had missed their connecting flights so had bailed out early. There was something like 60 open seats. So we wandered down to that gate. The guy printed our boarding passes; they included the seat assignments for the TLH leg. Sweet. We got into town about 2 and a half hours after we should have. And got 2 hours of extra sleep. Good thing I didn’t bother stressing about the missed flight.
Had lunch near the airport, picked up Ali (my niece) from school. She wanted to ditch her last class and I might have been talked into that but with all the running in the morning, there was no time for breakfast and I was starving. Lunch first. Hung out with her and Calvin (nephew) with the intent of waiting for Jordan (other nephew) at their house before going to dad’s. Jordan didn’t show so we bailed. Got to dad’s and starting feeling the rush of the trip catch up with me. Gotta leave; it’s time for a nap. Drive down to Carrabelle and get checked in, talked to the owner (nice lady), went and had dinner at a place in Apalachicola that she recommended, and then went to bed. The nap didn’t happen.
"Menacing" Bird