Christmas plan

It's Christmas time. And everyone in the US spends Christmas with their family and friends. We are no different and decided to do the same. So, where do we go to?

After checking the maps, distances, airports, air fares and a lot of other factors, we finally decided on going to Ravi Mama's place in NJ. That is short for New Jersey. 

NJ is about 550 miles from our place - too far to drive with someone like me (that is, someone who doesn't like sitting in the car seat for extended periods of time - read here, here and here). So, we were left with no other option but to fly. But the nearest airport is about 50 miles for us... and the nearest big-sized airport is about 100 miles for us (either Detroit, Dayton, Cleveland or Columbus).

After using a computer to crunch out various combinations (just kidding), we decided on a reasonable, not-so-expensive route. Columbus - Philadelphia! This tricky route included...

a) A 100 mile drive from home to Columbus airport. About 2 hr drive. Options - taxi or driving our car and parking it in the airport long term parking

b) Flying about 300 miles from Columbus to Philadelphia. About 1.5 hrs.

c) A 90 mile drive from Philadelphia airport to Ravi Mama's house. About 1.5 hr drive. Options - taxi or ask Ravi Mama to pick us up.

You probably guessed the options Nanna decided on. Yes, drive to Columbus airport. And ask Ravi Mama to pick us up at Philadelphia airport. A 190 mile drive... and a 6-7 hr trip at the least. I wonder how long it would take us to drive 500 miles....

Anyway, we started at home on a post-snow day. That is, though it wasn't snowing, the roads were still white and still in the process of getting cleaned. So, we started a good 10 min before the 'must-start- time!

After braving mis-directions from our GPS, icy roads and bad roads in general, we finally reached the airport parking lot just in time. We caught a bus that took us to the airport terminal... and went to the check-in counter. That's when we realized that forgetful Nanna forgot his cell phone in the car! How was he planning to work from home without his cell phone!

So, we quickly completed our check-in and learnt that our flight was delayed. Nanna took that opportunity to go to the car parking lot and retrieve his cell phone. Since the flight was delayed, we still had enough time even after he returned. We checked with the airways team and were told that the flight was delayed by atleast an hour and half, that is, 9:40 PM instead of the 8 PM departure.

We thought we would finish 'our' dinner and get ready to fly (yes, I was quite hungry after the long drive). As it was already past 8.00, all the restaurants in the Columbus airport departures area were closed. So, confirming with the gate attendant about the delay of the flight, Nanna went past the security gate to get dinner for Amma and himself. 

Meanwhile, Amma started to feed me those stupid Gerber foods (you know how much I hate that!). As I was finishing my dinner, Amma heard an announcement about our flight and ran to the gate within 5min and what she found out was shocking!!! Nanna also came back by then, and the gate attendant told them that the flight had already left. It was hardly 20 min since the same folks told us about the 1.5 hr delay. 

What could we do?? While all this was happening, I started feeling sleepy and slept off, thankfully! What followed next was close to hilarious. Since that was the last flight from Columbus to Philadelphia, the airways team suggested that we catch a flight the next day. They were kind enough to suggest a nice itinerary too. Columbus to Charlotte, NC; Charlotte, NC to Pittsburgh, PA; and Pittsburgh, PA to Philadelphia, PA. So, if we started in Columbus by morning, we were sure to reach Philadelphia by night. 

We couldn't even drive to New Jersey... because we checked in our car seat - and it was safely loaded into the belly of the plane that just left. Running out of options, Nanna resorted to pleading with the attendants. He appealed to their emotions by pointing at me... and asked them how they could take a flight with 2 stops with a toddler! He finally managed to get us 'standby' seats on an early morning non-stop flight to Philadelphia.

As you would have realized by now, I am fast asleep - and came to know about all this later, much later. What happened next? Did we manage to fly standby on the early morning flight? I need to rest for a while before I can answer those! So, hang on to your seats and I will be back - soon.