I talked to my folks last night & mentioned that the boys were wondering when we might see them again. It looks like it'll be June, when they stop by on their way to WV for July. Then we'll see them in July if we can find a hotel room (my parents sold thier house in Wheeling last summer & now live in an efficiency rental apartment for 6 weeks every year when they 'go home').
My mom tosses out "or you could come down for Easter if the kids have off. I've seen flights out of Pittsburgh for $79 one way."
Um...except I am flying both ways, and live about 7 hours from Pittsburgh.
But what the heck? Why not check it out? I went out to expediaoribtzpriceline.com and plugged in my dates & preferred airports. Because I hate to fly (airports stress me out, I set foot in them, even to meet someone at baggage claim and I get really really tense) & the whole idea of managing the boys alone in a couple airports fills me with deep dread, I had a bunch of conditions for getting on a plane.
1. Non-stop! This is a dealbreaker. There will be no race from one end of the Atlanta airport to the other, dragging 2 kids & luggage, hoping to catch a flight that departs 15 minutes after I land. Nor will there be any attempts to entertain 2 kids in the Newark airport for the 3 hours between connections. Not happening. Not without a lot of booze, which would render me incapable of doing it anyway. I can't even occupy myself for 3 hours in an airport.
2. All 3 seats must be together, though I will accept across the aisle, and near an exit row.
3. Under $200 a person
4. Leaving after noon in both directions.
You are no doubt thinking I am dooming the project before it starts, I certainly assumed so.
BUT NO!
US Airways had non-stop flights coming and going! leaving at 1:20 and at 4:00! with several empty rows on both flights! For $158 a person! Only 4 seats left!!
Hell.
The miracle flights.
Now I really have to consider going.
It takes me about 24 hours to get my head around the idea of flying anywhere, let alone alone with the boys & I'd had only 10 minutes. Did I really want to spend that much? We were planning on going to Great Wolf Lodge about 2 weeks after this trip would happen. It'd have to be either/or, we couldn't do both & they cost about the same. And did I really want to go? I dread being solely responsible for my kids away from our house (I know, I suck as a parent). But my dad is having another back operation this month and he is 70. I feel like I want my kids to have as much time with Pa as they can & who knows if that will be 20 years or 6 months?
I finally decided it is a good deal and entirely workable from my airport/plane stress issues today. (not that allays my stress, just that it limits it a great deal). I figured I'd go check the tickets & then call DH & see what he thought & then call my folks & see if the dates worked for them.
Of course the flight is full now & tickets non stop are only on Jet Blue and for $425 a person. But for the heck of it I tell it to look at nearby airports. I found what looks suspiciously like the original flight I saw yesterday. Only this one is flying out of Reagan National. Same price & as near as I can tell, same departure times, certainly the same airlines. Which leads me to wonder just what airport those flights were in yesterday. I know I didn't tell it Reagan National, frankly I forget National is there and go with BWI and Dulles.
So it looks like the boys and I will be visiting the grandparents for a week over Easter. I can feel the stress about it creeping up my neck now.
5 comments:
You poor thing. Sounds just like something that would happen to me.
It will be fun!
I hate flying, too...airports make me feel very nervous!
Whatever search engine you were using might well have slipped DCA flights in with BWI and IAD- when airports are close enough (like the NYC trio) the airlines will consider them as the same starting point. (Yup, I work for an airline.) It trips up our folks all the time, we want to connect something via our LaGuardia flight but the connector out of New York departs from JFK- boxes can't take the shuttle.
Don't stress- you'll have a great trip.
Well, it sounds like it was meant to be :) I bet you have a super time.
Your rationalization about the kids seeing their grandparents sooner rather than later is a good one - and like Too Many Hats said, it sounds like it was meant to be!
I'm with you on flying, though - my hubby stresses even more than me at the airports...he usually is the one that gets pulled aside in the 'random checks'...heh, heh! He's getting an inferiority complex about being at the airport! (grin!!)
We must live in the same general area - I usually choose BWI over Harrisburg or DC, just because it's the one we've used the most, and there are usually more flights to where we want to go... ;)
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