For those who don't know, I have never flown further than Los Angeles (and boy were my arms tired!), so a cross-country flight, to meet CSB's family, was intimidating in more than just one or two ways. But, adventure is adventure, and as anxious as I was, it was brilliant, and I was very excited.
If you didn’t hear the whining (via Twitter or Facebook), I started off this trip by tossing a mirror into my suitcase, and breaking it. I’m really not all that superstitious, but sometimes omens reach out and smack you in the face. CSB even said it was a “SIGN!” …ok, he actually said it was a,“sign you need to pay attention to what you are doing.” (complete with eye roll at my over-dramatic “ooohhhhh we’re all dooooooooooomed!”)
But, I have news for you fate…. All of your obstacles and inconveniences so far… bah… pish-posh…
Wednesday morning my alarm didn’t go off, and I woke up an hour late (apparently they work better if you actually turn them on after setting them… who knew?)… no matter, our flight wasn’t until 11:20, I just wanted to get there a bit early so we could sit down and have breakfast. Jet Blue doesn’t serve meals on their flights… so I thought we’d have a nice big breakfast, and bring some snacks. So, over sleeping means I got a Starbucks muffin instead of an omelette… no big. And, we ended up leaving only about 30 minutes behind schedule, not too shabby.
We had a problem printing our boarding passes on Tuesday night because the website was screaming about canceled and delayed flights due to weather systems on the east coast, but when CSB called Jet Blue, they said both our flights were fine so far, no worries. And, we had no problem finally printing the boarding passes in the morning before we left for the airport. So, we hurry along, arrive at the airport, check in, and the woman who checks our bags tells us that our flight is delayed about an hour. All I really heard was, “now you have time for that bloody mary.”
Because of the inclement weather, the flight delays were back and forth. First an hour delay, then no delay, then an hour and a half, then 45 minutes, then two hours, then the pilot is saying, “we’re hoping we’ll be able to leave by 1:00, why don’t we get on the plane, and sit on the runway and hope for the best…maybe they’ll let us go earlier!” And the terminal rejoices… and I think, “Really? You people would rather sit on the plane than in here? Really?” At least there was WiFi in the terminal.
So yes, long boring story short, we go sit on the plane around 12:15 or so, and they finally clear us for take off and let us get moving at 2:25. Let me say that again… 2:25. If we had left on time, we would have been over half way there… instead, well… we were still in Oakland.
We were quite late arriving in Boston, and missed our connecting flight to Buffalo. The next flight available ended up being on Friday morning, and so we decided a day playing tourist in Boston wasn't so bad.
Here's where I give mad props to Jet Blue: The weather was not their fault, the delays, not their fault... they didn't have to do anything for us... but they did. Not only did they provide free movies and libations on the flight from Oakland to Boston, but once we got there, rescheduled our flight from Boston to Buffalo without any extra charge, and even put us up in the Hyatt for a night.
We had a great day in Boston, I'm pretty sure we saw the whole city. We bought day passes for the subway ($9... BART could learn something), and traveled throughout the town seeing the sights. It was a great day, and a nice break from the anxiety and anticipation.
Finally, we board an on-time flight, and actually make it to our final destination, where CSB's parents were waiting to pick us up. They were kind, warm, and very accommodating.
Even though I knew that CSB and I would be sleeping in separate beds while staying in their home, I felt fortunate that he had somehow worked it out so that we would be able to share the same room. I was still slightly shocked when I was shown our room and saw the two twin beds... with three feet of space and a night stand between them (see above photo).
Sometimes, even when you expect something, you aren't really prepared for the reality of it. And, honestly, it was rough spending all day with family, on my very best behavior, on that slightly uncomfortable edge where you watch and analyze everything you say and do... only to fall into bed every night wanting to curl up with the man I love and relax in the comfort of his arms, missing his smell and his warmth. Even the sound of his breathing was too far away.
Even with all that, there were other moments which never would have happened without the Ozzie and Harriet beds. Holding hands from three feet apart as we were falling asleep; the lingering good night kisses; the drive-in movie date we escaped to on Sunday night, mostly so we could have some quality cuddle time; the sleepy gazes and 'good morning' smiles across the distance first thing in the morning.
I think CSB summed it up in the best and sweetest way once we were home, falling asleep in our own bed, "it was like having a sleep-over... with my best friend."
