Just Driving Along...
“I’m leaving on a jet plane…”
(Well...not really)
New Luggage for your travels--$30.00; Airplane Tickets--$520.00;
Car Rental when the flight is cancelled--$360.00
Opportunity to participate in your Brother’s fiftieth birthday--Priceless (especially if you have $910 lying around)
Ah…traveling…
It can be enlightening as well as frightening. In October of 2008, I drove out to Mark’s in Ohio with no problems.
Then I took Jen to Mark’s last October and we hit a hunk of wood in the road, which took out my car to the tune of some $500.00
Then this morning, after uneventful travel and a really good time at Mark’s house, I thought the “curse” of the last trip was a fluke. At 10:24, just as I turned in the keys to our room, Jen’s phone rang. It was an “800” number. The airline called to tell us our flight on the second leg of our journey was cancelled. Jen tried to have us booked on another flight because, we needed to find a passage home. Jen had to work on Monday as it is the busiest day of the year for farmers in their tax season. I, who had used my personal days on the previously mentioned October to Mark’s trip, would have been docked a huge chunk of change had I not attended work on Monday.
No luck with the airlines. Nothing was flying into Illinois that wasn’t overbooked from Delta. Hmmm…how telling is that?
Anyway, we decided to take the already in possession rental car to Bloomington’s Avis car rental company. To drive back to Pittsburgh would be an hour, followed by another hour of finagling with another car rental place, followed by another hour of driving back to where we were sitting, followed by praying that the car rental place in Bloomington would be open at 11:00 PM, which is not even close to being likely, so we would be charged another day.
With limited choices, we decided to venture home.
So off we drove for 8 hours heading back to the land of THE Illinois State University (and that great institution’s Number One ranking Social Science Education Department and Number One Ranking History Education Department—did I mention my master’s in History???); Illinois Wesleyan University, State Farm Insurance Home Office; Beer Nuts; Country Companies Home Office; The First Steak ‘N’ Shake in the world; The Prairie Thunder Hockey Team; the hometown of both Adlai (Vice President) and McLean (Henry Blake of M*A*S*H) Stevenson; the college home of Laurie Metcalf, John Malkovich, and the guy who played the friend of Will of the Will and Grace TV show whose name escapes me; and the place of the only large protest demanding justice on the announcement of Lincoln’s assassination—just to name of few of Bloomington/Normal’s historical and popular culturally relevant tidbits.
Our drive was surprisingly uneventful. We found a few cool radio stations playing 80’s music and “classic hits” that were giving tributes to Canadian rockers, due to Olympic hype.
Bottom-line, we had a great time visiting Mark and Mary, seeing Mom, Dad, Karen, Angela, meeting some of Mark’s friends, and sharing in the Celebration of Mark’s fiftieth year of escaping from the womb.
Jen and I also had some luck in driving, and as frustrating as air-travel can be, we know to be especially appreciative of people coming from all over to attend our wedding next October.
By the way, why does the airline put more emphasis on how much $2.29 shampoo I have than they do in supplying my travel home after they mess up to the tune of some $500.00? Just a question, I really do not expect an answer. I must be the one with the mixed up priorities, I suppose.
(Well...not really)
New Luggage for your travels--$30.00; Airplane Tickets--$520.00;
Car Rental when the flight is cancelled--$360.00
Opportunity to participate in your Brother’s fiftieth birthday--Priceless (especially if you have $910 lying around)
Ah…traveling…
It can be enlightening as well as frightening. In October of 2008, I drove out to Mark’s in Ohio with no problems.
Then I took Jen to Mark’s last October and we hit a hunk of wood in the road, which took out my car to the tune of some $500.00
Then this morning, after uneventful travel and a really good time at Mark’s house, I thought the “curse” of the last trip was a fluke. At 10:24, just as I turned in the keys to our room, Jen’s phone rang. It was an “800” number. The airline called to tell us our flight on the second leg of our journey was cancelled. Jen tried to have us booked on another flight because, we needed to find a passage home. Jen had to work on Monday as it is the busiest day of the year for farmers in their tax season. I, who had used my personal days on the previously mentioned October to Mark’s trip, would have been docked a huge chunk of change had I not attended work on Monday.
No luck with the airlines. Nothing was flying into Illinois that wasn’t overbooked from Delta. Hmmm…how telling is that?
Anyway, we decided to take the already in possession rental car to Bloomington’s Avis car rental company. To drive back to Pittsburgh would be an hour, followed by another hour of finagling with another car rental place, followed by another hour of driving back to where we were sitting, followed by praying that the car rental place in Bloomington would be open at 11:00 PM, which is not even close to being likely, so we would be charged another day.
With limited choices, we decided to venture home.
So off we drove for 8 hours heading back to the land of THE Illinois State University (and that great institution’s Number One ranking Social Science Education Department and Number One Ranking History Education Department—did I mention my master’s in History???); Illinois Wesleyan University, State Farm Insurance Home Office; Beer Nuts; Country Companies Home Office; The First Steak ‘N’ Shake in the world; The Prairie Thunder Hockey Team; the hometown of both Adlai (Vice President) and McLean (Henry Blake of M*A*S*H) Stevenson; the college home of Laurie Metcalf, John Malkovich, and the guy who played the friend of Will of the Will and Grace TV show whose name escapes me; and the place of the only large protest demanding justice on the announcement of Lincoln’s assassination—just to name of few of Bloomington/Normal’s historical and popular culturally relevant tidbits.
Our drive was surprisingly uneventful. We found a few cool radio stations playing 80’s music and “classic hits” that were giving tributes to Canadian rockers, due to Olympic hype.
Bottom-line, we had a great time visiting Mark and Mary, seeing Mom, Dad, Karen, Angela, meeting some of Mark’s friends, and sharing in the Celebration of Mark’s fiftieth year of escaping from the womb.
Jen and I also had some luck in driving, and as frustrating as air-travel can be, we know to be especially appreciative of people coming from all over to attend our wedding next October.
By the way, why does the airline put more emphasis on how much $2.29 shampoo I have than they do in supplying my travel home after they mess up to the tune of some $500.00? Just a question, I really do not expect an answer. I must be the one with the mixed up priorities, I suppose.
posted by Eric Sweetwood at 7:25 PM
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