Feature Stories
FlyGirl's Holiday Travel Blog
Katie O'Brien - AeroChannel's FlyGirl
Monday, December 8, 2008, 11:35 p.m. PST
Got through customs, no problem. There was one other really large flight coming in, but there were still plenty of lanes to accommodate all of us. LAX did a great job this evening! Got back to my car, just got home, and now I’m curled up in bed, ready to go to sleep so that I can jump back into my real life tomorrow. Is it a problem that after Mexico, the current fifty-three-degree temperature in Los Angeles seems frigid? This probably means that I’m screwed when I go back to New England for Christmas!
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Monday, December 8, 2008, 9:10 p.m. PST
That was a totally smooth flight, start to finish, and now we’ve just landed and disembarked. We did pull up on the tarmac, instead of to a gate, and since we’re an international flight, we all have to go board buses right now to take us to customs. Ugh. After sitting for over five hours, I can’t wait to just get home and stretch out! But it’s not so bad. On a Monday night, the airport’s not that crowded.
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Monday, December 8, 2008, 8:05 p.m. PST
Drinking champagne. First class continues to be awesome. Again with the hot nuts, though. Not my favorite late-in-the-flight event. I did watch some movies and also read a magazine, so I’ve been hugely productive in a way that has nothing to do with actual work.
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Monday, December 8, 2008, 6:08 p.m. PST
Not sure what time zone we’re in right now, so I’ll switch back to LA. I just finished The History of Love, and it was great. I’m in tears. Very interesting story. Perhaps the most satisfying part of all this traveling is that I have gotten through more pleasure reading in two weeks than I have in the past four months.
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Monday, December 8, 2008, 5:50 p.m. Mexico-Time
Lasagna. Not bad. The couple in front of us is loud, bouncing to their music, and continually knocking things off of their center armrest and onto our feet. Each time, we politely try to pass it back to them, and each time, they are too oblivious to notice. So, we give in and leave it there, resting against their arms, until the next time they get excited and knock it off. Ahhh…first class doesn’t mean classy.
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Monday, December 8, 2008, 5:10 p.m. Mexico-Time
Just reading at the gate, but we’re about to board now. The flight doesn’t seem too crowded. It is Monday evening, after all. I wonder what’s for dinner…
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Monday, December 8, 2008, 3:42 p.m. Mexico-Time
In the Cancun airport, you can leave your shoes on. Sweet. I’m wearing flip-flops.
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Monday, December 8, 2008, 3:30 p.m. Mexico-Time
We’re at the airport in Cancun, and the awesomest thing just happened. We had printed out our boarding passes, but when we walked up to security, they told us we had to check in at the counter—printouts wouldn’t work. Ugh. As we go back down the escalator, I see the endless, stagnant line in front of the Alaska Airlines counter, can tell that all of these people are heading to LA, and become momentarily annoyed. But then, just then, the most fabulous thing happens. My boyfriend walks past the end of the line and into the line that is totally open…the one reserved for….first class! Victory! I totally forgot! Man, I sometimes think a first class ticket is not worth the extra leg room and DVD player, but right now, it TOTALLY is worth skipping this huge line. Eat my dust! We are at the counter for all of two minutes and back at security before anyone catches up.
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Monday, December 8, 2008, 9:43 a.m. Mexico-Time
Breakfast outside, facing the canals, and now we’re packing. I have officially worn less than 50% of the items I brought on this trip. Whatever. The whole thing has been a huge success, and I couldn’t be happier with this whole adventure! Our flight is late this afternoon, so once we officially check out, we’re just going to sit by the pool until it’s time to go.
Oh, and one of the hotel employees complimented me on my Spanish today. Only took one week to get it back from being super-rusty to fairly-understandable. Success!
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Sunday, December 7, 2008, 10:45 p.m. Mexico-Time
After a shower, room service dinner, and a Jacuzzi, I once again feel ready to live another day. All in all, this was a very fun way to end the trip…and will make for a good story one day…once a great deal of time has gone by…and I can forget that bathroom.
Can’t bear to pack tonight, so we’re just sitting, looking at the water and enjoying a final evening in this amazing place.
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Sunday, December 7, 2008, 8:45 p.m. Mexico-Time
That trip officially took over twelve hours. From now on, whenever I travel somewhere, I am always just going to rent a car and make that part of the adventure. I’ll find the cool places on my own, I’ll see them in my own time, and I won’t have to answer to any annoying tourists. My feet hurt, my head hurts, my stomach hurts, and I have a sunburn…but alas, I am getting ahead of myself.
“We HAVE to see Chichen Itza,” I said. After all, it is one of the seven surviving wonders of the world. And since, according to the Mayans, the world is ending in 2012, this might be my only chance to check out what fantastic architects and aestheticians they were. Our hotel offered two ways that they could book us a day-trip to Chichen Itza. One involved paying $350 each to go by car with a private chauffeur/guide. The other involved $250 per person and a Cessna. (Even with blogging for AeroChannel, I can’t justify that as a “business expense.”) Both of these, to me, seemed extravagant. “Surely,” I thought, “there are ways to see this popular tourist destination without spending all that money.” In retrospect, I would have paid 8 bajillion skillion dollars to go any other way than what we chose.
Innocently enough, we went online to search for tour groups that could take us for a more reasonable fee. At this point, I was thinking that of course, I didn’t need a private tour guide. I’d be just as happy to walk around in a group of twenty or so.
At 7:45 in the morning, we stood outside our hotel, waiting for the van. At 8:00 a.m., it arrived, the driver informing us that he had, in fact, gone to “the wrong hotel.” This demonstrated the now-real possibility that he would later take us to “the wrong ancient Mayan sun temple.”
We climb in, and after only one additional hour, we are already in Playa del Carmen (actual driving time to reach Playa del Carmen: 10 minutes). We have picked up a group of twenty people, and we are off on our adventure. Now, the website for this tour made it explicitly clear that one should leave early for Chichen Itza so as to beat the crowds. The drive is 2.5 hours from Playa del Carmen, so we assumed that we would arrive around noon, perhaps grab lunch there, see the ruins, and the whole thing would be over and we’d be home for some late-afternoon beachside cocktails and then dinner.
False.
After the first hour and a half, we pull off the road and arrive at a very old cenote, a sacred well found in the Riviera Maya that comes from the underground river. The Mayans used these for worship, and many of them are quite impressive. This, however, is not immediately evident, because before we can see the cenote, we are greeted, off the bus, by a very dilapidated snack stand. There are bathrooms that we use in which the stall doors make every woman visible from about the sternum up, making for an extremely awkward bonding experience. When I went to flush, the handle came off in my hand, and then the sinks had no water. Clearly, we’re not at the resort anymore, Toto.
Outside, I pause briefly to watch a peacock stride jauntily up to the snack counter and contemplate the chips. Having had enough, we pass the snack shack and find the cenote. We walked the dozens of steps that led underground, getting steeper and steeper, until finally we were in a great cave with tons of stalactites, a huge opening at the top where a sinkhole had formed, and a giant pool of the bluest water. It was incredible. Around the edges, there were many benches and seats carved into the sides of the cave (I’m assuming for the Mayan lifeguards?) and in the middle, there was a stone walkway leading to a circular platform. This platform would be perfect for theatre-in-the-round, or, like, a human sacrifice. Either way, great acoustics. In all seriousness, this was really breathtaking, and although we had been skeptical upon leaving the bus, this stop was completely worth it. On to Chichen Itza.
Oop. Wait. No. Twenty minutes later, the bus stops again. This time, we are told that there are more bathrooms. I am instantly regretting having used the ones at the cenote. In reality, the “bathroom” line is a total ploy, the building is a huge market of Mexican “local” “handmade” souvenirs, and this is a huge trap for all of the tourists. We wandered the aisles for a bit, but since my suitcase was at its limits when I arrived in Cancun, I certainly am not about to add to it. Do I want a Mexican wrestling mask? No. Am I SURE that I don’t want a Mexican wrestling mask? No! I mean…Yes! This is a lot of work. I feel somehow rude for not being more excited to own a pendant with my very own name carved in the letters of the Mayan alphabet. But I’m happy to be a horrible person. On to Chichen Itza.
Thirty minutes go by and I am certain that any minute now, a large stone temple will come into view and be my reward for suffering through this intolerable van ride. (Fortunately, at the cenote snack stand, we shoved the peacock out of the way and got some Oreos to hold us over.) But do we get to Chichen Itza? No. We pull into our third stop, which is a humongous buffet restaurant that looks about as authentic as the Small World ride at Disney. It is 1:00 p.m., and the driver informs us that we have one hour to eat lunch. That will make it 2:00. That’s six (count ‘em) six hours from the time we started. And we’re not there. Worse yet, Chichen Itza is about five minutes away. I can smell it, and yet I can’t get there.
Inside, the situation is much, much worse than I thought. The buffet is revolting, the food is the least impressive Mexican spread yet (spaghetti with garlic, anyone?), and there’s super-loud music playing. My boyfriend, who is a total foodie, and who wanted to take the Cessna, begins to look suicidal. In an effort to save things, I say something cheery and then show him how good the food is. It takes all of my fortitude to swallow the huge gulp of stew(?) that I have taken. And then. It gets. Worse.
Dancing. Tons of dancing. First with clogs. Then with bottles on their heads. Then with trays on their heads. Then with trays on their heads while standing on boxes. We are surrounded. Normally, it would be quite rude of me to poke fun at another culture and its customs, but let me tell you, the people who looked most miserable of all were the dancers. It was clear from their expressions that they had been forced to do this dance twelve times a day for waves of overzealous, undertipping tourists, and it suddenly seemed to be quite a mystery why this practice wasn’t done away with completely. Clearly, no one is enjoying it. But, we all continue the charade, my boyfriend and I sneak the rest of the Oreos under the table, and we finally get back in the van.
After all of this, I must say, Chichen Itza itself was still very mind-blowing. Fascinating mathematics and astronomy went into the architecture of those temples and stages, and to stand there and contemplate the existence of that civilization, in that spot, five thousand years ago, is an exercise everyone should undergo. Just don’t do it in a tour group.
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Sunday, December 7, 2008, 7:25 a.m. Mexico-Time
Off to Chichen Itza for the day!
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Saturday, December 6, 2008, 11:40 a.m. Mexico-Time
Ummm, remember the time I accidentally tried a $50 shot of tequila? Mind you, it was the most amazing experience of…ever.
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Saturday, December 6, 2008, 11:31 a.m. Mexico-Time
(Late) morning again, and I'm just getting moving. We spent yesterday evening and night in Playa del Carmen, the nearest town. According to everyone here, Playa del Carmen is the place to go for shopping, restaurants, and nightlife. Um. Listen, I'm not one to be all snooty or to say mean things, but….wait, who are we kidding. Here I go. I was not impressed.
First of all, it was super-trafficky to get there, which prompted our taxi driver to take us on a "shortcut" down some strange completely unpopulated highway…only to determine that it was the wrong way, turn around, and go right back to where we'd left the traffic.
Once we arrived…I mean, it's cute. But Playa del Carmen is very touristy (Crocs store and Haagen Dazs do not a foreign country experience make). There are many shops with crappy beachwear, many theme-y restaurants filled with drunk tourists and a bachelorette party or two. Now that I think about it, this may actually seem really fun, depending on the purpose of your vacation. But, we were trying to find something with good atmosphere and great food that was slightly less cheesy. It was tough.
We settled on Byblos, a French-Mexican restaurant that was small and gets huge points for décor, atmosphere, and cute-owner-couple that kept checking on everything and coming around to chat. The presentation was good, but the food itself was uninspiring.
Afterwards, we strolled a bit more. All in all, it was nice for a change of scenery, but I'm glad we didn't plan to spend an entire day there.
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Friday, December 5, 2008, 2:30 p.m. Mexico-Time
OK, in a shocking move, I actually expended some calories. We went in the pool and then took a really long walk on the beach. I got to check out (spy on) all of the other resorts (tourists) and have decided that ours is indeed the best. Feeling quite proud of that. Now we're going to head back to the room to change. Tonight, we're heading into Playa del Carmen for a change of scenery and a chance to walk around a bit. We have a reservation tonight at a super-cute, very authentic non-touristy restaurant, so I'll let you know how that goes!
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Friday, December 5, 2008, 1:24 p.m. Mexico-Time
That man came back, this time with guava sherbet. Sweet.
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Friday, December 5, 2008, 1:12 p.m. Mexico-Time
Flipped over again. Busy day.
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Friday, December 5, 2008, 1:04 p.m. Mexico-Time
Someone just brought me frozen grapes. Have I been magically transported to Mt. Olympus? I'm afraid if I turn around quickly, someone will be fanning me with a palm frond.
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Friday, December 5, 2008, 12:42 p.m. Mexico-Time
Just turned over. Ahh, the strain.
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Friday, December 5, 2008, 12:30 p.m. Mexico-Time
Lying on the beach, pina colada in hand. Reading a book. Life is good.
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Friday, December 5, 2008, 11:30 a.m. Mexico-Time
Got up this morning, had breakfast by the pool, and now we're heading to the beach. I'm excited. It's a gorgeous day outside, and it took me about 3.5 hours to get ready and leave the room, which is a very good sign. That means that I've officially sunken into the mode of completely not being in a rush to do anything at all. Love it.
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Thursday, December 4, 2008, 3:42 p.m. Mexico-Time
Phew. I'm exhausted from another day of barely moving and drifting in and out of relaxed sleep. We had a nice breakfast this morning…I discovered this great juice that's a mixture of chaya (a spinach-esque plant native to the Yucatan Peninsula) and pineapple. Now, at first glance, this juice is green (read: scary), but I'm all about the local flavor, so I went for it. And it was great! Sure beats a wheatgrass shot at Jamba Juice.
Other things I've "accomplished today" include the following: sitting, lying in the sun, finishing my book (What is the What by Dave Eggers…about the Lost Boys of the Sudan…I highly recommend), and…wait…more sitting. Which is what I call "success."
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Thursday, December 4, 2008, 7:30 a.m. Mexico-Time
You'll have to excuse me for not writing anything yesterday. It was an amazing day, but by the end of it, I could not move any of my limbs to type even one sentence, because I was so relaxed. We spent the day at "Sense"—the spa here at the Rosewood Mayakoba—and that experience took the word "pamper" to a new level. We did a three-hour treatment that started with some crazy exfoliating scrub, after which we got covered in what seemed to be vanilla-chocolate pudding and wrapped up in plastic and heated blankets. I fell into a coma of relaxation at that point. This was all followed by an hour-long massage. So, I was basically made of linguini by the time this was done. But my skin was so smooth!
Afterwards, we hung at the spa, having a "healthy" lunch and then doing this series of steam sauna/cold shower/dry sauna/Jacuzzi/freezing cold pool things that ended with my heart racing and apparently my pores being closed and happy.
Last night, we ate dinner at the hotel again, and because we were so insanely relaxed, we ended up staying for three hours, just chatting and eating and drinking wine. Lovely. Of course, we were the last people there by a long shot because everyone else staying here right now is a) with their children or b) over 65 years old. Anyway, it was nice to close the place out and then walk around after dark. It feels so wonderfully secluded here, because it's the off-season, so there are very few guests. Often times, it feels like we've arrived on some other planet. Which, in my attempts to escape the craziness of LA, I will certainly take.
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Tuesday, December 2, 2008, 4:10 p.m. Mexico-Time
Amazing amazing amazing! The Rosewood Mayakoba is beyond gorgeous. Each room is actually a free-standing private suite/house thing, and you get from one building to the next by taking a boat in and around the canals they've made from the river. Meanwhile, the beach has the whitest sand, and the water in the Gulf is gorgeous. I also have had a palate change. When we arrived for the tour of our suite, the hostess gave us a small drink of very old, fancy-schmancy Mexican tequila. Now, I'm not a fan of tequila. I recall one Cinco de Mayo party during college that did not make for a great morning on el seis de mayo. I never touch the stuff. But, hey, we're here, so I tried. And it is fabulous. Rightfully so – it's one of their specialties! We also had this amazing little tray of guava and pineapple dipped in salt and chili. Sounded gross, tasted very cool. I'm up for anything today.
We're heading out soon for some good and a walk along the beach club area. But seriously, this place is ridiculous. High five, Mexico!
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Tuesday, December 2, 2008, 2:00 p.m. Mexico-Time
We just landed at the Cancun airport, and it is lovely here! I will admit that going to Florida and Mexico is not as drastically enjoyable when you originate in LA instead of in the northeast, but I am still beyond excited to be here.
Customs was a breeze. Well, actually almost a breeze, although Mexican customs has the most amazing system for catching "threats." After they check your paperwork, you press a button, which turns on a light. That light is usually green, but arbitrarily is red about one in five times, which means that you have to go aside and have your bag checked. My boyfriend had no sooner told me about this system, and how he got pulled over last time he was here, then he presses the button and…bzzzt. Red. Based on no specific reasoning, he was selected to be "checked," which involved a perfunctory glance into his backpack. Now we're on our way.
The weather is lovely here. We have about a forty minute drive to our resort on the Riviera Maya, and then it's total relaxation!
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Tuesday, December 2, 2008, 10:41 a.m. PST
Fell asleep for a bit there after breakfast. Very comfortable. I love when the bendy headrest that has the folding sides actually stays in that shape. Whoa, Katie; simple pleasures. My legs are all stretched out. Everything about this is great. The only thing I miss from my other first-class experience (on American) is the warm chocolate chip cookie. Today they brought us warm nuts, and yes, sure, it's not even noon, but a cookie works for me any time.
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Tuesday, December 2, 2008, 9:30 a.m. PST
Alaska gets bonus points for super nice flight attendants. Also good blankets…not those skinny crappo faux-fleece tissues that some places have…the kind that, when folded are still thinner than your book. These are like, real-deal fleece blankets. Which is good because I have one wrapped around my feet right now, which are freezing! I always forget that I hate to travel in flip-flops, but of course I was rushing out the door and screwed that up this morning. But with the blanket, my situation is improving dramatically.
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Tuesday, December 2, 2008, 8:45 a.m. PST
Breakfast! Actually pretty yummy…eggs and bacon and pancakes and didn't I say I was going to stop eating everything in sight after Thanksgiving? Oh well.
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Tuesday, December 2, 2008, 7:10 a.m. PST
WHAT? I just discovered that there is a way to fly that is actually better than first class: SURPRISE first class! Man, when my boyfriend is good, he's good. I had completely prepared myself for coach—no food, freezing cold, cramped quarters. I had my blow-up travel pillow and everything. And now I don't need to worry about any of that! Amazing!
I have only ever flown first class one other time, and it was RAD, so I'm excited for this…
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Tuesday, December 2, 2008, 7:00 a.m. PST
We're through security, which was quite short, and on to the Alaska Airlines gates. This is Terminal 3 at LAX, and it's one of the older boarding areas. But, there's a lot of character here….and a lot of characters. In this giant, open space, it's a perfect area for discovering…erm…interesting people.
Off to get coffee…
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Tuesday, December 2, 2008, 6:00 a.m. PST
Although it feels as though I am just continuing to blog from Thanksgiving, I actually did spend one insane day back in LA before departing again. Yesterday, after flying back from Tampa, I went straight to work and got home way late, unpacked my suitcase, repacked my suitcase, and went to sleep around 1:30 a.m.
Here's why this was a bad idea: my alarm was set for 4:00 a.m. but I was completely exhausted. So, it's not surprising that this morning, I woke up at 5:07 a.m. by some magical force, and then had negative-fifty minutes to get ready. My boyfriend was not overly pleased that I was later than the cab to get to his apartment, but we left for LAX from there and all is well. I have my swimsuits, I have my sandals, I have my passp…yeah, no, ok, I have my passport. And we're off to Mexico!
Not much traffic this morning. Unlike yesterday, when it was a nightmare trying to get from LAX to the Miracle Mile, today we are sailing down La Cienega. We pull up to the Alaska Airlines terminal…ok gotta go inside!
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Monday, December 1, 2008, 10:25 a.m. EST
After sleeping only four hours last night, I passed out for the first three hours of this flight. Upon waking, I am pretty disappointed in general with the Delta flight that I'm on. First of all, the flight attendants are speaking at an ungodly decibel level. I'm not sure if they just can't see that people are sleeping when they scream "COFFEE" at us over and over, but almost all the passengers are out like a light except for when we get yelled at.
Also, I woke up to start working and opened my tray table and it doesn't pull out…it pulls down, but not out. Come on, people. This is 2008. The man in front of me has reclined his seat, and I have a laptop, and now there's nowhere to put it. How old is this plane? Sheesh.
All of this comes on the tails of me having had to open a new Delta Sky Miles account for this flight because they closed my old one. Apparently, I hadn't used my miles in the past, oh, I don't know, twenty minutes, so they assumed I no longer wanted them.
Ninety more minutes to go…
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Monday, December 1, 2008, 6:25 a.m. EST
That was amazing. I discovered a new skill today, which is weaseling myself into the express security lane. As we approached, the TSA man sent about four people over there, all of whom looked relatively "businessy." You know the look…polo shirt, black pants, small rolling suitcase and laptop bag. We got sent to the right with a large group of people. TSA man told us it would "be the same amount of time," but we were behind about twenty-seven more people. Lies to my face.
Fortunately, we were still at the back, nearest him, and we looked at the express line forlornly and pulled ourselves together to appear less ragamuffiny, and sure enough, he sent the two of us over! We win! Of course, after that, I felt immense added pressure to prove to him from afar that this was a good choice on his part. I was moving at lightning speed through that line. I'm sure the people in front of my were frightened by my overly intense sense of urgency, but hey, I've got a reputation to uphold.
Grabbing breakfast now, and then we board…
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Monday, December 1, 2008, 5:55 a.m. EST
The only thing easier than getting the rental car was returning the rental car. I love the new system for Alamo and National. We pulled into the "Returns" lane, and before we'd even opened the car doors, the lady scanned something on the car and then said, "Welcome back, Ms. O'Brien." Creeptastic, but speedy. We're just waiting for the shuttle to the terminals now.
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Monday, December 1, 2008, 5:00 a.m. EST
Just got into the car. We're on our way to Tampa International to return the rental car and then head home. It's a clear day so far, and despite storms here yesterday and snow in Chicago, our flight is still on time.
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Monday, December 1, 2008, 4:15 a.m. EST
Why am I awake. Ugh,
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Sunday, November 30, 2008, 9:40 p.m. EST
Today was pretty relaxing. I think that by this point, everyone is so totally exhausted from all the eating that we've given up any pretense of having to come up with "activities" to do together. We don't need to keep ourselves occupied. It was a loungey day…and a great one. Heading back to the hotel soon, because our flight tomorrow is at 7am and I haven't packed. It was so great to get to spend all this time with my parents…now that I live in California, I don't see them anywhere near as much. So, having an entire week together was great, and hopefully they'll get to come out to LA sometime this spring!
Alright…enough chatting…I have to shove everything back into that tiny suitcase.
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Saturday, November 29, 2008, 11:30 p.m. EST
I woke up early this morning. Somehow, despite being on "vacation," I am incredibly, undeniably exhausted from all of the visiting and eating and walking around and sitting around. Although I will say, last night my entire extended family played a very rousing game of Trivial Pursuit (Yes, we're nerds. Yes, you would have been impressed.). Girls beat boys (obviously) but the game ended up lasting until about 1:30 am. So, yeah, we're kind of intense. It happens. Anyway, it was great, the boys were way behind and make a glorious comeback but the girls were still smarter, etc., etc. Anyway, today I've been pooped all day.
I did have lunch at a fantastic Cuban place on Clearwater Beach called The Columbia. Ropa Vieja (my secret favorite) and guava cheesecake that should be illegal….yum yum yum. Remind me again why I am still eating SO MUCH even though Thanksgiving is over? I mean, I did wake up this morning and go work out, but I'm not even sure why. I could barely move because of the 75 pounds I have gained over the past few days. Whatever. You call it "gluttony," I call it "talent."
After several days of gorgeous weather, tomorrow is supposed to have a big thunderstorm. Which will just mean that we are completely justified in staying indoors to watch the Patriots game all afternoon.
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Friday, November 28, 2008, 6:40 p.m. EST
Today has definitely been an excellent lazy day-after-Thanksgiving. I went for a really long walk with my dad this morning, down to the beach and back, and the weather was absolute perfection. I made sure to do very little of anything for quite a while, and then in the afternoon, I walked down to a separate section of beach and sat on the deck of a hotel restaurant, watching the sun set over the white white sand and blue ocean. Came back afterwards for leftovers (which, if you ask me, is the actual best part of Thanksgiving) and games and chitchat with my family. Relaxation is fully setting in….but I can't always fully embrace it, which must be why my computer is now open. Maybe after my slice of pie I'll be able to relax for real…because by then the food coma will be real and it will be heavy.
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Friday, November 28, 2008, 9:33 a.m. EST
I would have written during the day yesterday, but I literally couldn't move. My fingers were too full of stuffing and sweet potatoes to even lift them onto the keyboard so that I could mash them against random letters and give you some semblance of what's going on. And you know what that means? Success.
Thanksgiving was great. We had fourteen of us in all, and I spent the day with a happily large group of really fun relatives that I almost never get to see. It was great! And what's the best part about Thanksgiving in Florida? Three words: Lemon Meringue Pie. Like, as in, my great aunt picked the lemons right off the tree and made this pie out of them. And it was AMAZING. Later in the evening, there may have been slide shows involved, but fortunately, it was no "family vacation" set of photos. My mom's cousin works in Denali National Park, so most of the shots looked like a coffee table book. But at heart, it was still a slide show. I'm pretty sure the song "Angels" came on, followed by "Walking on Sunshine."
Not really sure what the plan is for today, but I'm going to try to go running. When that doesn't work, because my ankles can no longer support my body weight now that I've added a twenty-pound turkey to it, I'll probably roll myself back over to my aunt's house for more hanging out!
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Thursday, November 27, 2008, 10:50 a.m. EST
Happy Thanksgiving! I just wanted to send good travel karma vibes to everyone who is flying today and trying to make it in time to see their families. I hope that you have no delays, no overly upsetting seatmates, and all the best pie you can have! I'm headed to my great aunt and uncle's house to start prepping for the dinner, but I will be back later on today!
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Wednesday, November 26, 2008, 11:45 p.m. EST
Wow. My feet are killing me, my back hurts from standing in line, I am sunburned and stuffed with junk food, and I just had the best day! We had a group of twelve of my favorite relatives that I never get to see often enough and we spent the entire day at Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. I haven't been to these parks in about a decade, so almost everything was new. Except the Jaws ride…which is so old and plastic-y and crotchety that it now provides comic relief during a day of otherwise terrifying and highly enjoyable rides.
The Mummy ride, the Spiderman ride, and Dueling Dragons (an intense roller coaster with two tracks where two separate coasters race and often almost collide…..gahhhhamazing!) were my favorites. Also, I totally was on a mission to find a churro, which is my number-one favorite food that I only ever eat in amusement parks. It was totally worth the search.
All in all, a fabulously successful day! Now it's time to crash so that I am well rested to eat tons of turkey tomorrow! Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
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Wednesday, November 26, 2008, 8:05 a.m. EST
UGH. It feels like 5am still. We're downstairs at the hotel having breakfast, which is enjoyable. I'm just really tired. Today promises to be amazing though. We're going to meet up with more family in Orlando and go to Universal Studios. My excitement for Universal has little to do with the rides and everything to do with my dad. For as long as I can remember, my dad has had an inexplicable obsession with Universal. He loves the rides, he can't get enough of walking around all day and seeing all the roller coasters and motion simulated rides and fake explosions. Literally every time we exit a ride, I hear, "Aw, Kate, that was neat!" And I love this. This is my favorite thing. I think that we could all use more times when we let ourself totally be a little kid about something. My dad is the best. ☺
I'll let you know at the end of the day what his favorites were.
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Tuesday, November 25, 2008, 10:06 p.m. EST
So, I basically got to the hotel yesterday, passed out for two and a half hours and then felt human again. We spent the rest of the day with all of the family, eating, talking, catching up, and laughing a lot. Yay for Thanksgiving!
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Tuesday, November 25, 2008, 9:45 a.m. EST
After a vertigo-inducing shuttle ride at breakneck speed around all of the terminals, we arrived at the Alamo and National center, which is really quite nice. Best of all, we got to do an all-kiosk check-in. This is SO convenient and speedy compared to going through all the usual questions with the desk agent. “Would you like insurance? Would you like an additional driver? GPS? An upgrade? Prep-paid gas? Full set of Barry Manilow CDs? A faux passenger doll in case you get lonely while you’re driving and want to chat?” This way, we did everything through the simple touch-screen and were ready to go. Then, in what felt like an extremely weird thing to do, we just walked outside to the lot, picked a car, got in it, and drove away. Seems strange, but they check your printouts and key tags as you’re leaving the lot. Bonus points to Alamo: you’re far away but you make up for the queasy shuttle ride in how much time you saved us actually getting the car!
We’re off across the causeway to Clearwater…talk to you soon!
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Tuesday, November 25, 2008, 9:27 a.m. EST
Second flight was uneventful…I slept the whole time again. Now we’re at the Tampa airport, which is also pretty quiet. Although it is very Tampa-tastic. From the ocean-blue and teal-green color scheme to the giant manatee/porpoise/dolphiny/unclear-aquatic-mammal pattern in the main-entrance rug, there’s a whole lotta Florida goin’ on. I especially love airports that really make you immediately aware that you’re in a new city with a specific character.
Just past the porpoise rug are the doors that exit to the ground transportation. Across from them is the giant building with all of the rental car agencies. Well, all but two: Alamo and National. Since we used Priceline (super-successfully…$15 a day, WHAT?) for our rental car, we couldn’t choose which company. Therefore, we of course have to hike a bit to find something to drive. Crap….gotta flag down the Alamo shuttle.
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Tuesday, November 25, 2008, 7:20 a.m. EST
The Atlanta airport is actually great in terms of having many things to do. There are tons of open, spacious concourses with plenty of restaurant choices and abundant seating—great for a long layover. We’re heading back to the gates for our second flight now. This one’s not full, so we’ll have a bit more room and a bit less drama with the overhead bins.
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Tuesday, November 25, 2008, 6:30 a.m. EST
No! No Dunkin’ here. Figures. Well, I’ll sit and work for a bit…can’t decide if I’m sleepy or awake or hungry. This feeling is probably familiar to others, and can be described as “travely.” I feel travely.
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Tuesday, November 25, 2008, 6:09 a.m. EST
Big mistake. Because I’m so used to flying to New York City and Boston, while booking the tickets I immediately went for the red eye. “Oh, it’s cross-country. Perfect! I’ll sleep!” False. Unless the flight is making a diagonal line across our great nation, it turns out it is a terrible idea. The flight to Atlanta took slightly under four hours, and now we’re up again and roaming the very white, very brightly-lit early-morning corridors of ATL airport. You know I’m still in sleep mode when I refuse Dunkin’ Donuts, which I can never get in LA and LOVE. It’s alright – I’ll find one in concourse B, once I’ve woken up a bit.
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Monday, November 24, 2008, 11:30 p.m., PST
Alright, I am planning to sleep for this entire flight, so I’ll see you on the East Coast!
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Monday, November 24, 2008, 11:10 p.m., PST
As I was boarding the plane, the flight attendant at the door was in a very snippy fight with some man from Delta corporate, who appeared to be hovering over her, criticizing every aspect of how she was doing her job. She was doing well, sticking up for herself and taking care of everyone, but it did feel like we’d all gotten a visit from the Awkward Fairy. Afterwards, as I was telling my boyfriend about this, (he didn’t even notice…iPhone), the guy from corporate, (we’ll call him “Power Trip”) follows us down the aisle and rapidly taps my boyfriend on the shoulder, eager to notify him that his suitcase will not fit in the overhead compartment. This is not unusual; many people have doubted the abilities of this luggage, but it gets up there every time. Of course, Power Trip waits for us to put the suitcases up, scrutinizing the entire process. When they are successfully stowed, he says nothing but looks dejected at having lost an opportunity for confrontation. Then he went to pick on some ladies behind us.
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Monday, November 24, 2008, 10:55 p.m., PST
Oooh. At the gate now, and they’re playing an extremely unsuccessful game of, “Hey-let-us-convince-you-to-screw-your-travel-plans-for-a-totally-not-worthwhile-trade-off.” This is like bargaining for a palace and offering a banana. It’s Thanksgiving, for crying out loud. Poor Delta. Our flight is way oversold, and they keep offering people $400 to take the next flight out and be bumped. Already, my boyfriend and I are thinking $400 sounds a bit low, but we agree to check it out; it’s certainly worth it if the next flight out is in an hour or so. We heart free travel.
Well, no more flights go to Atlanta until tomorrow morning, a bit after 6:00 a.m. The representative also explains that they cannot offer higher than $400, so while most listeners are waiting for the price to go up as the airline becomes desperate, that amount won’t budge. This explains why so many people have cautiously approached the counter and then walked away with a great deal of certainty in their step. The only problem is that this probably means they’ll end up giving someone an involuntary bump anyway.
Whatever. I quickly file this under “N” for “Not My Problem” and board the plane. They were still trying to sort it out as I head into the aircraft.
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Monday, November 24, 2008, 10:15 p.m., PST
Ahhh, ok. Now I’m sitting down and can write more. Here we go on our Thanksgiving holiday travel, and thus we have the return of the quasi-useful, mostly entertaining FlyGirl travel blog! Tonight I’m flying from LAX to Tampa, FL with a stop in Atlanta.
We just got through security without a hitch. It’s fantastically quiet here tonight. The security line was easy as always, although I did have one additional annoyance tonight. I never wear belts, except tonight, for some reason, I was too lazy to pack the one I wanted to bring, so I wore it. This may not seem important at all (it probably wasn’t, in the grand scheme of things), but I did roll my eyes at having one extra thing to struggle and race to put on at the end, so as to not hold up the line (or get beat to the gate). Funny, how completely unfounded but very real my sense of competition is in that situation.
Anyway, I realized I haven’t ever been in Terminal 5 at LAX, because I haven’t flown Delta since moving to the west coast. It’s not bad – there are lots of restaurant choices. Although despite trying to get into El Cholo and Malibu Al’s, we had to settle on CPK because everything else is closed. Alas.
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Monday, November 24, 2008, 9:49 p.m., PST
Apparently we found the secret time when barely anyone is at LAX, because so far, this Thanksgiving travel lives up to none of the usual hype. After writing columns about what utter mayhem and Armageddon the airports would be, I feel slightly ridiculous. There’s barely anyone here; I think I just saw a buffalo roam across the Delta check-in area.
