Travel Tips

This is my top ten list of travel trips. It's developed after my somewhat problematic travel experience to and from the US and Germany over the last week and a half involving one canceled flight, weather problems resulting in diverting to Lexington then back to Cincinnati then one missed flight and a 24 hour stay in Cincinnati (or actually, northern Kentucky).

1. Put a change of underwear in your carry-on. Wearing the same underwear for 48 hours is not fun!
2. Don't finish your only book on the short domestic flight leaving you nothing to read for the rest of the time.
3. There are no direct flights from Lexington to Frankfurt, Germany (this wasn't much of a surprise for me).
4. If you just went to a wedding and have hundreds of pictures to download to your computer, remember the computer, camera AND the cord that connects the two!
5. Refer to comment one but insert "socks" instead.
6. If your cell phone doesn't work in the US, always remember to have a calling card (This I did thankfully have).
7. Be sure to always have money/credit card with you. The airlines are nice enough to pay for part of your hotel, but not the entire hotel and likely you'll want to eat at some point.
8. Delta gives a really cut overnight kit, complete w/ an XL t-shirt, so you don't need to sleep in your clothes. However, wearing the t-shirt on your next flight is probably poor form!
9. Make friends, even if temporarily, with others in the same situation as you (especially if you're walking across a dark street to a gas station to get food).
10. Be nice to the employees trying to help you: it's not their fault and they can't fly the plane!

Back to the US (part 1)!

After one delayed flight, one canceled flight, 2 trips to Starbucks, and 6 hours trying to sleep in JFK airport, I made it from Frankfurt to the Reagan National Airport. I have never been so thankful to see my sister!

I relaxed w/ my sister, her fiancé Mike, and their two dogs, Copper and Filson, Sunday morning; frantically searched for silver high heels Sunday afternoon; and then was off to visit my friends, Pat, Lynn and Adeline. As my sister was driving me to my friends’ house, it started to snow…and it continued for the next 12 hours! Surprisingly, we don’t get much snow in Germany, so it was nice to see (even if the prospect of another canceled flight loomed on the horizon!).

Poor Pat had to go to work on Monday morning, despite the snow, and ended up being the only one there seeing everyone’s patients for several hours. I know it was painful, but thanks for your sense of duty and responsibility, Pat! Thankfully, he made it home by late morning to play in the snow!

We tried to make snowmen w/ Adeline, but the snow wouldn’t cooperate. Pat settled for placing Adeline in a deep snow drift and throwing snowballs at me (okay, I threw a few at him too!) We headed inside when Adeline had decided she’d had enough w/ the snow and stated “All done, snow!”

I have to say, I’m very jealous of Adeline’s toys! She has a bouncy castle that I would have loved as a child!

She’s much bigger than when I last saw her about seven months ago. Now she’s coloring…

Doing puzzles….

And helping Mommy cook!

One other secret about Lynn, she’s a mean ping pong player! At seven months pregnant, she beat me easily. She was bending and twisting in ways I did know were possible!

After visiting Pat, Lynn and Adeline, it was back to the airport (thankfully my flight was NOT canceled, only delayed) to fly to my parents’. I was thankful to relax w/ my parents for two days. I was able to play chess w/ my dad (and lost twice!), go to a movie w/ my mom (He’s Not That into You-cute!), go on a walk and just enjoy being w/ my parents. It was great getting to see them!

Next it’s off to Charlotte for my friend’s wedding. More to come!