Drive Me to the Moon

Well, we just got back from my very first cruise, and it was everything I had hoped it would be and more.

But first we had to get there.

I don’t fly often.  First of all, it is more expensive than other forms of transportation and it has just become such a hassle.  The enhanced security checks….the strict rule about liquids that you can transport….the checked luggage charges….the flight delays….the fact that they can’t even spare a small bag of peanuts for you anymore on the flight…. And I KNOW it seems minor, but I absolutely hate taking my shoes off to get through security.

However, the ship was leaving from Miami, so we had to fly.  We weren’t able to fly down a day early, so we arrived at the airport at about 5:15 a.m. in plenty of time for our 7:30 a.m. flight.  There were no direct flights, so we would be changing planes in Philadelphia.  We were scheduled to arrive in Miami a little after 1 p.m. in plenty of time to get to the ship, which was scheduled to sail at 4 p.m.

We were sitting in the plane on the runway when we were notified that because of a thunderstorm in Philadelphia, we were now anticipating a 45-minute delay.  We did some quick figuring.  Yep.  This would mean that we would miss our connecting flight in Philly, if it were on time.  My husband called the airline who said that they had a flight going to Charlotte about 15 minutes later than our scheduled flight, and then we could take a flight from there to Miami.  It would get us into Miami at 3:15 p.m.

There was a very real possibility that we might miss the ship for our long-awaited and highly-anticipated cruise.  My husband called the cruise line.  They would have someone waiting for us at the gate, whenever we arrived.  If we missed the ship, we could catch up with them the next day in Key West, with close to $1000 of extra expense, including $600 in U.S. government fines, the hotel room and the rental car.

When we arrived in Philly, there was an outside chance we might make the original connecting flight.  We ran for the next gate – which was two terminals away.  I should mention here that I can’t run.  I can walk briskly for miles, but can’t run for more than a block without becoming very winded– and I have been this way since I was a kid.  We made it to the gate with 10 minutes to spare.  But the runway was “locked” and they wouldn’t let us on the plane.

We had about 15 minutes before the flight to Charlotte – our last chance to make it to Miami on time- boarded.  It was several gates away at the opposite end of the terminal.  My husband took off ahead of me and I “ran” as fast as I could.  We made the flight, but I was not doing well when we got there.  I felt like what I imagined people who had just run a marathon feel like.  I couldn’t catch my breath, my chest felt heavy, and I couldn’t stop coughing, or weeping from the pain.  It took me several minutes to recover.

Luckily, there was an angel disguised as a flight attendant on that flight.  She asked another passenger to change seats so that my husband and I could sit together, saying that I needed to be able to be comforted by him.  She arranged for us to “gate check” our carry-on luggage as the plane was full but she knew that we could not wait for our luggage at the next gate.  She gave us sympathy and encouraging pep talks, and said how someday this would just be an interesting story to tell from the trip.
  

We arrived in Miami a little after 3 p.m. and were greeted by a rep from the cruise line.  Once in the competent and steady hands of cruise ship personnel we were fine.  Our very happy Jamaican bus driver told us that this happened “all the time.”  Then he laughed, which is how he punctuated every sentence. We boarded the ship at about 3:45 p.m.

So, in the end, we made the cruise, but it reminded us of everything we hate about flying.  We realized that we would rather spend a day driving than flying.  We always have a great time when we drive.  We take turns behind the wheel.  We talk and sing.  The seats in the Caravan are roomy, comfortable and adjustable.   We stop whenever we want for food and rest rooms. We have some level of control over our trip.

We are already thinking about our next cruise, and only one thing is certain.  The departure port will be within driving distance of our house.