Travel Interrupted

Family, Travel 52 comments
Why I never park in the outer rows of the parking garage.

Two weeks ago, I left Hartford’s Bradley Airport (BDL) for a 9-day journey. Sorry if that sentence (or this apology) sticks the Gilligan’s Island theme in your head. Unlike those castaways, my trip was cut short by a snowstorm. It worked out quite well. Instead of coming home through Iowa, after five days in Florida, I flew directly to Iowa for a few days. If Delta and WordPress are both on time, I will have been asleep for about 4-5 hours by the time this post is published after returning home at dark o’clock on Monday.

I can stick to my schedule, but I can’t offer much in the way of pithy banter or thought-provoking analysis. I’m writing this early on Sunday. Too early to ask my brother for a ride to his house, but too late for my east coast brain to remain in bed, but I need to shower and pack and spend one more day with family.

I don’t have much to say about travel that I haven’t said before. Traveling can be fun. Flying usually isn’t, and hotels can make or break your travel experience. My trip was good, since I got to see my brother, his daughter and her husband and my mom. The week-long interruption made this visit a little better, in that I wasn’t tired and I didn’t have to drag around a bunch of conference luggage.

I didn’t have a lot of time for photo shoots, but I put some photos in the gallery that I collected while traveling and a few while fighting with my brother’s cats.

Leaving CT and the remaining snow cover.
Sunrise at 30,000 feet. One of the benefits of an early flight.
Sunrise above the clouds. One of the benefits of an early flight.
When you’re not hungry, these are undersized and over-priced snacks. When you’re hungry…well, that’s another story.
$3.95 for milk for my coffee.
I love taking pictures of long escalators
Rainy day in Iowa
Leaving Minneapolis for a Dark O’clock arrival in Hartford
Our neighbor at the gate.
It’s always good to see that your plane is actually at the gate
Dunkin Donuts needs to open earlier. This line had formed about 25 minuted before that gate would open.
“Why did you make me leave my chair? I don’t really fit on this shelf.”
“I’ll forgive you if you scratch behind my ears”
“What? I’m sitting here. This is my chair.”

52 comments

  1. Having just returned from a lengthy trip, with an unexpected weather-related overnight in Chicago, I especially liked reading about your journey. Glad you’re home safely with your family and little friends.

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    1. Thanks. I think the worst part of travel is the notion that you might not be able to get home when you want/need to. Chicago backs up pretty quick. that must have been a crowded airport.

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  2. Glad your business and family visits went well and you are safely home. I love traveling. I just don’t like what I have to endure to get to my destination. The photo of the parking garage reminds me why I don’t drive to the airport but prefer to let C&J drop me off at the door. :-) Bet Maddie was glad to see you.

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    1. Maddie goes nuts when I get home. I’ve been on the road a lot lately, but it’s due to settle down soon. I’m glad that I had seen (years ago) how the cars on the outside of that garage get snowed on and plowed in during storms. I always go inside. My wife will drive me if she can. If she can only pick me up, I’ll take a cab over. But since she can’t drive at night, if I’m coming in late, I leave my car. We are in the ‘flat-rate’ zone and I have had to wait 45 minutes to get a cab.

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  4. The sunrise above the clouds is beautiful, Dan. If you have to fly at o’dark thirty in the morning, at least you had a nice view of the coming day and a nice trip to see mom, family and the displaced cat. Have an awesome Monday!

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    1. Thanks Mary. I’m told that now that I have left, that cat (Sundance) doesn’t want the chair. I don’t have to explain that to the servant of the King and Queen, but I thought it was funny.

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    1. Tune back in on Wednesday, Sharukh to see why I don’t like anything “unplanned” when I travel. We had a cold rainy weekend, but I wasn’t there to sight-see.

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      1. It’s so funny, you’re tired of the cold and rain and we are tired of the heat and humidity. I wish there was some weather exchange facility available, but guess what No Facilities.

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          1. Currently my state is experiencing heatwave that flows from the desert area so the conditions here are not so good. It is so humid that if you sleep your bedsheet gets dampened by your sweat in less than 15 minutes.

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    1. My brother asked me what “Economy Comfort” gets you with Delta. I said: “The kind of seat you used to get in coach, but not the kind of service” I remember flying in the 80s and being able to get to the airport/gate about 15 minutes before flying. If you could run to the gate, you got on.

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  12. How long can the joy of a sunrise last? *asks the night owl* LOL
    I’m glad you traveled safely back to the land of regularly priced snacks and milk, where your coffee line isn’t so long, and where your head rests on your own pillow :)

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    1. Ha ha – great question. I took 4 photos before it burst into blinding bright light that made the flight attendant to ask me to close the shade.

      You pretty much hit my list in that last sentence. The most important, head on my own pillow (and wife, dog and cats)

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  13. Wish Dunkin Donuts was out west! 😞 Great travel & cat photos, Dan! I found waiting for flights coming or going go by faster watching people and taking pics! Yep, also waiting in Starbuck’s long line for coffee! Happy week! 🎶 Christine

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  15. It’s nice to hear you got home safely and had a nice visit with family and the cats. :)

    I really enjoyed your low light shots from the window of the plane. The two in the Blue Period are really pretty. I rarely take a window seat, but regret that when I see images like these.

    Hope you sleep soundly for a long time and wake up refreshed and ready for anything.

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    1. Thanks. I prefer an aisle seat, but when you book late, you don’t have choices. I hope you come back Wednesday for the rest of this travel marathon. Well-rested wasn’t quite yet in the picture.

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  16. I love travel by plane except for the luggage hassle. If I could get on a plane without having to even think about my baggage, kind of like getting on a city bus, I would want to do it more often.

    You will be missing those dark hours soon, you know.

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    1. I agree about the baggage. Whether you check it or carry it on, it’s a hassle these days. I look forward to traveling in the light, but I made sure to get some photos. Every hour has something to offer.

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  19. Pingback: One-Liner Wednesday – Let’s Fly | No Facilities
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