Now that we acknowledged your supremacy, cut it out!
This weather has certainly wreaked havoc on the ultimate weekend warrior plans. The plan was to drive to North Carolina from South Carolina and meet up with BD, lil Sis, and Bull, but.......
I received a text from BD with a photo of snow on the ground with plunging temperatures. This is problematic. As much as I would love to see the games in NC, I don't want to bring a snow shovel to remove the snow from the bleachers.It is obvious that the games will be moved or cancelled. My spidey senses are tingling and tell me that they will be moved to South Carolina if they can find enough fields since this is a tournament and not a weekend series. And so, I will wait to hear the news from the north.
Speaking of the north, I traveled yesterday to South Carolina with four suitcases (one was a laptop; one was my travel bag).
Two of the suitcases were filled with my cold and foul weather gear. Ironically, with the rain and sleet, my foul weather gear was soaked at the airport. So, it is hanging up now drying out.
The road to the south was quite bumpy......
Fade to black....
I got to the airport with plenty of time to spare and knew that I could grab some Auntie Anne's pretzel nuggets to hold me for several hours since I refuse to eat or drink on airplanes. AS I bit into my first pretzel nugget, it was not the warm, soft, fresh pretzel that I craved. Nope, it was hard as a rock. I was too far down the terminal to take my $6.10 pretzel nuggets and bottled water back. it was then that I had a premonition that this was not going to be a smooth trip......
The first flight to Atlanta was pretty good. I was able to actually move my legs and arms a bit with my seat mate being a normal size gentleman. On my last trip, my arms were glued to my stomach and legs were motionless as my seat mate took up her spot and mine too....anyway....
We are starting to land and the Captain announces (I paraphrase): "Ladies and gentlemen, we have had a problem with one of the flaps that I believed we have cleared. Don't be alarmed when you see the fire trucks surround the plane, the landing may be bumpy and this is just a precaution."
Hmmmmm.....that is what he said....this is what I hear: "PEOPLE! MAY DAY! WE are in TROUBLE! The plane is defective. We might die. Say your prayers. I am not Denzel Washington and may not be able to land the plane with broken wing flaps. I repeat...WE ARE DOOMED!"
OK, this is not good news but not horrible. Prayers are always good. I can say them and ask for either a speedy death or a safe landing. God can choose.....
With that said, the landing was a bit rough but not fiery, the fire trucks did surround the airplane while we were isolated from the actual airport, and we were fine. Scary? Ahh....never a doubt....never a doubt.....
On to the next plane.....it was running late AND according to our flight agent, if we did not board the plane quickly, we would be grounded because of the plunging temperatures and sleet. We all ran onto the plane and threw our bags into the overhead bins.....not fast enough.....
The Captain announces: "Ladies and gentlemen, I thought that we could get off the ground before the rain froze, but I was wrong. The wings need de-icing and there is a back up. So, we are going to sit for a while on the plane. I will update you on the process as details emerge."
This is what I heard: "Ladies and Gentlemen, we are enclosed in a capsule of ice. I repeat. We are enclosed in a capsule of ice. We cannot fly or move. DO not panic! DO NOT PANIC! Some one will light a match and defrost the plane."
OK, de-icing now. Sure, de-ice the entire plane and don't miss a spot. After all, my day started with a rock hard soft pretzel. I already knew that there would be trouble. The pretzel shared this with me earlier. I will just sit here and pretend to read my magazine......and look around....and wait to see the de-icers.....
Finally, it was time to take off and it was a bit bumpy. That was fine 'cause at least we did not have ice on the wings. As we landed, we were not moving toward the terminal. Uhh...Captain, make a left....then take us to Terminal D please.
The Captain announces: "Ladies and Gentlemen, lightening has just struck the area and the ground crew is not allowed to dock our plane until this cell moves on. Therefore, be comfortable, we will dock soon." And so.....we sat on the plane....watching the teeming rain and looking out for more lightening. Fun trip, eh? After 20 minutes of sitting on the runway, we moved to the terminal and finally de-planed. This is one for the record books.
After finding my luggage, my driver showed up and grabbed my wet bags and placed them into the back of the car. It was now pouring rain, a bit monsoon-ish....and yes, my driver was a bit older....and yes, he almost skidded off the road a few times. But I was not worried. There was no ice nor fire on the flaps. I was safe as he missed turn after turn....no worries. I was done being worried and just stared at him as he tried to get me safely to the house. Bob, turn left....no not right...left....OK, we can make a U-turn, right? Uh, Bob, there is the expressway...stay straight...straight...OK, we can make another U-turn. In Bob's defense, it was tough to see the road.
I arrived at the house with the rain beating so hard the by the time the bags got to the garage, they were completely soaked. It seemed like a perfect time for a glass of Merlot. Did I have any food to go with it? Absolutely not. Did I care? Absolutely not.
And so, here I sit typing away and wondering what I am going to be doing this weekend. Will I travel to NC and sit in the snow? Will the games be cancelled? Or will the games be moved to South Carolina? I am hoping for option 3.Will the Phillies be contenders this year? Will Mother Nature stop bombarding the country with these icy temperatures?
With that said, the decision should be made soon and I will update this post when I know. Also, will I continue to travel even with yesterday's bumpy experience?
Absolutely! Airplane travel is the safest and most convenient way to travel in the world. A few problems here or there are to be expected. If I did not fly, I would be driving and Lord knows, I am safer in the air than on the ground.
OK, gotta try to find my kid......
Peace!
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