Hi. I am finally free from the imprisonment of public means of transportation. Who knew it could take a whole EIGHT SOLID hours to make it on an 1-1/2 hour flight from Atlanta to Raegan National in Washington D.C. The trip was meant to be fast and family-filled. One side of my mom’s family all reside in the D.C./Virginia area. We had to go up for a Friday funeral, left Thursday morning and were set to come home early this morning. Well let me just tell ya…
We left Atlanta on-time. Perfect, I thought. I’ve always felt once you pushed back from the gate and were airborne you were good. The factors of delay are completely out of the picture, right? I mean you have to come down out of the air. So we were set…One hour in. Yay, only 30 minutes left. The captain comes on the loud speaker to tell us passengers that we have been given a “holding pattern”? What? We basically float around in the sky aimlessly for 30 minutes. We then are told that the fuel is getting low so if this last much longer we are going to be diverted to Raleigh-Durham. Wait, things sound good, the weather in D.C. might be passing. Nope that was a tease. We are going to be diverted to Norfolk, Virginia. That is one place I have always wanted to explore (sarcasm, though I am sure it is a lovely place), but really?? Not today? We sit in the plane on the runway for about one hour? Still cannot leave for D.C. We are stuck. We finally get a gate, and must deplane. The weather clears in D.C., we are set to re-board. Oh wait, never-mind because now the weather in Norfolk is blowing UP!!!! The weather is slowly passing, and we are set to re-board again. Oh no…this time the flight crew’s time is almost over. There are no “extra” crew member “floating” around the Norfolk airport to help us out. Hear me out, this place have one restaurant. Praise the Lord, the crew agrees to work overtime, and we make it to D.C. EIGHT hours later. By this time we were just happy to of actually made it.
It was well worth it. The memorial service was really special, but the family time with my cousins was priceless. Especially when Riley, aka Marley (from Marley & Me) greeted us post-service with a grand surprise in the family room and kitchen. A chewed up i-pod, swallowed ear buds, flowers AND vases strewn EVERYWHERE!! Even an eaten platter of cinnamon rolls with lots of remnants scattered amongst the kitchen floor, and evidence (dog fur) across the top of the Viking stove range! It was a priceless moment. Of course “mom of the house” was trying to send him outside before we left, but we complained it was too hot. And who’s i-pod got eaten…the mom of the house. Perfect Riley!
On another note, the architecture in Great Falls and the Falls Church area is fabulous. Lots of beautiful homes, and stunning architecture. Sorry, I have NO pictures to share. My cousins house is historic, and the room we slept in George Washington is said to of slept there twice in his lifetime. It is recorded in historic journals of his. The history in our Nation’s Capital is pretty stunning. If you have not been there for a visit, it should be on the top of your list. And, venture out of the city proper. You will be sure discover lovely land, beautiful homes, enormous trees and fabulous restaurants.
This morning alarms were set for 6am. We get a call, flights cancelled. We are to be rerouted at 3:30pm through Michigan, then Atlanta. One hour on the phone we work it all out. God is good.
Traveling=Not so Glamorous. Time with family=Priceless!
