Stormy setback
I would have blogged much sooner, but I got stuck in New York and spent all of last week playing catch-up.
Have you heard of a Noreaster storm? Well, they’re pretty bad – bad enough to pretty much close ALL of the East Coast.
And, I tend to time my trips to the Big Apple in prefect conjunction with a mighty Noreaster.
The first time that happened was a few years ago, on Christmas Day. My whole family had planned a vacation; we were to fly out out of Salt Lake City on Christmas, with plans to see “42nd Street” the following night. We forewent gift-giving to each other and headed to the airport on a rather calm Chrismtas night.
We settled into our seats, ready for the five-hour flight. The plane pulled away from the gate, stopped, and next thing we knew it was pulling back up to the gate. The pilot then announced: “Ladies and gentlemen, due to a big storm in NYC, JFK is closed and we will not be flying out tonight. Check back tomorrow morning.”
WHAT?! This is our family vacation!
All in all, it was OK. We lost a day, but made it to Times Square with enough time to eat a hot dog and hightail it to the theater for “42nd Street.”
A few years later, I went back to the Big Apple (I’m a theater-geek . . . what can I say?) At any rate, when it came time to leave, I went to JFK and made my flight to Chicago’s O’Hare without too much problem. Then, which happens more times than not when O’Hare is involved, I sat, and sat and sat and sat.
And sat, and sat. Again and again, the flights on the board flashed CANCELLED, there’d be a big hue and cry, the gate agents would look concerned and we would continue to sit.
Finally, when there was not much hope in sight, we were shipped to a nearby hotel for the night – with only our carry-on bags.
Here’s the real rub of that story: I worked in a hotel all through college. I watched “Delta Distressed” passengers, nighly, with only their carry-on bags and promised myself, “I’ll ALWAYS take at least a change of underwear with me when I travel.”
How quicky I forgot. Instead of a change of underwear or my cell phone charger (another MUST HAVE in the carry-on) I had a pair of new (very fabulous) heels that I bought in NYC. My husband did not feel badly about my plight.
That brings us to this latest trip. The night before we were scheduled to leave, the weathermen were predicting the biggest Noreaster of the season.
WHAT?!
Needless to say, flights were cancelled – some 400-plus flights – at pretty much every airport along the East Coast.
After the cab driver wanted to charge us the $45 flat fee for the airport (even though he only drove us eight blocks) we cheked back into the hotel and spent another day in New York. All in all, not too bad, other than, a hefty hotel fee, more meals and another ticket to another show, that little set back, set me back several hundred dollars.
Ugh! From now on, only summer time traveling for me!