July 29, 2010

Airport Drama, Angry Mama, Sleepy Llama, HOT-o-Rama... (ECA Day 1)

{I am driving myself a bit crazy knowing I have another entire week of vacation pictures and stories to share, as well a list of important to-do topics to post on. So, I will attempt to share our vacation pics as quickly as possible- here's fair warning that, depending on time, there may be several posts in one day covering our trip. For those small few of you who actually want to see all about our trip, make sure you scroll back to ensure you haven't missed any of the fabulous details!}


It was finally time for our highly anticipated East Coast Adventure (ECA). Dawn, a dear friend from college, was set to marry Keith, whom she met in grad school, out on Cape Cod.

The trip out there came to fruition in small steps. It was determined early on that Ashley and I would attend, and that Tyler would not be making the trip. We soon decided that we might as well make a week of it and rent a cottage, after paying for flights and all. Lastly, I decided to see how everyone felt about me bringing Miss Sassy, as I felt too guilty making a trip like that by myself, and I just knew she would be out of her mind excited about seeing the ocean for the first time and all that good stuff. Seeing as I have awesome friends (who I consider to be family, really), the idea was very well-received, and it was decided that Sassy and I would embark on our ECA together.

Fast forward several months, with all of our ducks in a row, we were ready to head east! Our flight was slated for 6:00 AM Saturday morning, and I was {of course} up packing until well past midnight. I am one of those people who just have to take a shower in the morning on travel days, regardless the time, to start off fresh. So, I was in the shower at about 3:45 AM when Tyler rushed in and tells me that our house phone just rang and there was an automated message about our flight getting cancelled and something about 5:30 AM departure...

Have I mentioned that I live 45 minutes from the airport, and not around the corner, like the airlines must vainly assume?

I truly didn't even have time to make a phone call- I just assumed that our new flight left 30 minutes earlier, and in order to make it, we had to leave the house in about 6 minutes. Did I also mention the fact that Sassy was still sound asleep?

One may question why I did not allow any extra time for airport dealings. Two phrases: 6 AM flight. Wichita airport. Enough said.

Long story short, we arrived to the airport "in time", but had about 3 minutes to check our luggage in order for it to make it on. There were about 60 people waiting in line (that never happens, seriously...) but they ushered everyone from our flight to the front (after all, they did make it 30 minutes earlier...) and got us our boarding passes. We were told to run to security (HA!) and it wasn't until I got there that I realized 2 things. The check-in chick had a) failed to print Sassy's boarding pass and b) failed to return my ID. HELLO?!? I know everyone was frazzled, but geez...

So, I had to run back, get those things, and book it to security. All the while, dragging Sassy and all my carry-on crap in tow. Two amazing things happened, though. 1) With all the confusion, the check-in lady forgot to charge me for my checked luggage and 2) they actually allowed us on the plane after the had closed the Jetway doors! I have never in my 28 years seen that happen, and I've seen people much more deserving than I beg and plead with the airline folks. It was nothing short of a small miracle.

Bad news again... once we landed in Atlanta, the Delta lady printed our next boarding pass, and it was then I learned that we did not have one connection to Boston, but TWO connections, first to JFK, then to Boston. I quickly saw my day-o-fun in Boston slipping away from me. And, I kid you not, I ran my ass off to make it to each connection. It was ridiculously stressful.

Sassy didn't seem to mind all that much:



Alas, we made it into Boston. Ashley was waiting for us, and we left the airport. We had originally planned to Ride the Ducks, but we headed straight to Feneuil Hall.





We did a quick self-tour and then headed to a place that came highly recommended- Mike's Pastry in the North End. Sassy was out like a light the entire time in Boston. Thank God Ashley had bought a little cheap umbrella stroller! Once we got the the bakery, there was a line through the shop that extended outside. CRAZY! But, we waited.

It was EXTREMELY hot and sticky, and we were all just so tired. We still had to grab dinner and stop at the grocery store before we got onto The Cape, so we called it a day, and saved our special treats for when we arrived at our cottage!



We stopped in Braintree, MA (loved the name), had dinner, and did our grocery shopping for the week. We continued on to The cape before we hit our final destination- our adorably quaint little cottage in Dennisport, MA.

We settled in a bit, enjoyed our awesome treats (cannolis for us, a cupcake with sprinkles for Sassy), and got to bed.



We had a very busy week ahead of us... ♥


To give credit where credit is due: For anyone with whom the title of my blog post did not ring a bell, run straight to your nearest bookstore and check out this children's book author. We adore her at the SPH!

1 sweet tweets:

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