Moving Across the Country -- the Flying Part

Our journey started at the airport in San Jose (if you want to get technical, we had to first drive from San Diego to San Jose because we went home for vacation). We had seven pieces of baggage to check-in. When we got to Northwest Airline's counter, we were told our names were on the list, but the reservation looked liked it was canceled two days before. WHAAT??! (Suddenly, scenes of Tom Hanks in "The Terminal" flashed through my mind.) We've got a cart load of baggage and two kids! James quickly made a call to the travel dept. and found out that the reservation was canceled due to some contracting situation but a new reservation was made to fly on US Airways; same itinerary. Why we weren't notified of this change will forever remain a mystery. But at least we were still flying out as scheduled. What a relief. The second "surprise" was we were under the impression that because we were moving and traveling on orders, we had unlimited baggage...but James was the only one who qualified. So we did some quick shifting around and ended up checking in five bags (paying for some), tossing our Aerobed (which leaked a little) into the nearest trash can, and carrying one onboard (along with each of us having a backpack). But it all worked out...

We flew from San Jose to Phoenix. Our first itinerary had us flying through Minneapolis, but that all changed, along with the transit time. Once we got to Phoenix, we had less than an hour to catch the connection. We had to sacrifice picking up food (again!) in the terminal. When we left San Jose, we had every intention of grabbing some Lee's Sandwiches, but in hindsight, glad we didn't becuase we needed that extra time. In Phoenix we were this close to burgers and burritos, but the announcement for pre-boarding (us with kids) was being made. For this segment James and Noah were sitting 10 rows in front of Jonah and me. I'm glad we didn't have time to grab any food. A couple sitting near me brought burritos and soda. They looked big, but not very appetizing; the basic refried beans, rice, cheese, some meat, and salsa...whoopie. (and the man fell asleep for 90% of the flight soon after he ate the burrito). Two other passengers shared a Subway foot-long...James considered getting one of those. But I told him later the sandwich looked smashed -- it was probably jammed into a carry-on bag -- and on the soggy side. The airline offered a snack box for $5 which included crackers, small peanut butter and jelly spreads, piece of cheese, small can of chicken salad, two cookies, and a fruit strip. I might be one of the few who thought this was a great meal deal mostly because it had all the foods the boys liked! The only "bad" parenting on our part was we couldn't get them any milk before boarding -- not that they minded having soda -- so James went to ask the flight attendant if there was any milk. There wasn't. She offered some half-half creamers...the boys each got two tiny shots. (ha!) They have actually tried flavored creamer "shots" at the church's coffee station. They think it's funny. Well at least they are getting dairy in some form.

We arrived in Pittsburgh, PA, after 10 p.m. Couldn't wait to get to the hotel and just rest. James and Noah went to get the rental car while Jonah and I picked up the luggage. For once I did not quibble about getting one of those carts. There was no way I could manage all our luggage and Jonah without it -- and I get 25 cents upon returning the cart. In the parking garage James tricked my by saying the rental agency gave us a Toyota Yaris. Yaris! Couldn't he have asked for an upgrade? We are not that cheap! Ha ha, joke on me...we actually got a Toyota Sienna minivan -- my mom would have been so happy; she has always wanted us to get a minivan, but we are just not the minivan type!

The flying part done. Now it's driving on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. There's toll involved. I noticed the rental has a toll pass stuck to the windshield. I slide it to the side and read the fine print...it's called EZ Pass and your credit card will be charged the toll. Ok, easy enough. I think we only paid the toll once.

It's about a 2.5 hour drive to Mechanicsburg; relaxing and beautiful scenery. I think I'm going to like living in Pennsylvania...