Holiday Travel Minutiae

It was a lovely holiday this year - my family and I had a grand time together, as always, even though we passed a cold back and forth.  I still have a cough, which is annoying.  This year, I thought it might be fun to post some photos about my travel adventures. 

Normally, I fly AirTran from LaGuardia, which is close to my apartment, to an airport that's really close to my parents' house.  This year, that ticket was way too expensive, so I got a ticket through Orbitz to fly in and out of Pittsburgh.  The ticket cost maybe a third as much, though Pittsburgh is about an hour and half from home.  I guess it was an ok exchange. 

Flying Delta out of LaGuardia meant taking a shuttle from one gate to another, and then riding a smaller plane home.  Thankfully, it wasn't too small a plane, and all went relatively smoothly.  The Delta terminal we were shuttled to was quite nice (the bar that had iPad menus was very attractive), though the bathrooms were miles away.  Flying out six days before the holiday was a good idea; the lines weren't that long and the flights weren't filled with crazy people with screaming children.  At least the flight to Ohio wasn't.  I got in on time and wandered around the very large Pittsburgh airport until I figured out where to meet my dad and sister.

The Pittsburgh airport is so big, you have to take a shuttle to get to the baggage claim area!  And it has a dinosaur in it!  Woo hoo!  :)  My sister had to text me and tell me where my bags would be coming in, since the signage was nowhere near the escalator.  Other than that design flaw, this airport wasn't so bad.  Oh, and they need more food options.  Thank you. 

We decided to head down back roads to get home, so I could see lots of holiday lights in small-ish Ohio neighborhoods.  Sadly, that plan didn't go well.  I would like to take this opportunity to chastise Ohio neighborhoods between Pittsburgh and Mogadore - where were your holiday lights???  You couldn't decorate one tree in your front yard??  You couldn't put up one string of lights on your gutters??  Not one blow-up Santa??  Seriously.  I expect better from you next year.  At least we enjoyed our early dinner at an Amish restaurant Dad remembered.  I love me an Amish restaurant and this one was really good.  My sister and I had a giggle when Dad said, well, this place might be expensive.  Um, no, $8 for a huge sandwich, fries and a drink isn't expensive, Dad.  LOL. 

 

After a fun ten-day holiday visit with my loved ones (though the cold we passed back and forth was less fun - but I did get a lot of couch-time and watching-TCM-with-my-mom-time), it was time again to travel.  Happily, the weather cooperated on both of my travel days, though it did snow a bit when I was heading out of Pittsburgh back to New York.

I don't recommend taking those same back roads back to Pittsburgh - it took us entirely too long to get to the airport and I was starting to panic we wouldn't get to the airport on time.  I'm a very panicky traveler (I believe I've mentioned that before).  So, note to self:  if flying in and out of Pittsburgh - back roads are ok upon arrival, but use the interstate when heading back to airport.  Write it down.

The view is prettier on the side roads, though, I will admit.  The trees looked really pretty with snow on them and the countryside is always peaceful-looking.  Plus, you can have quieter conversations on the back roads, since there are so many stop lights along the way.  I guess you just have to decide what's more important - leaving three hours early to get to their airport so you can meander on the way there, or spending more time at home and less time in the car by taking the interstate.  Six of one. 

Even with all my angsting, I got to the airport in plenty of time, though the airport was much busier, since I was flying out on New Year's Eve.  The lines were longer and the flights were fuller.  Happily, my bag still wasn't overweight (I was smart enough to bring an extra carry-on bag for all my wonderful holiday gifts), so we checked in pretty quickly, even with the long lines.  There was a Bruegger's bagel place just outside my gate, so I got a couple of bagels and settled onto the small plane. 

 

Unfortunately, I was seated in front of two completely obnoxious kids.  I was tempted to turn around and ask how old they were, since they were acting so immaturely.  I mean, they looked fourteen or fifteen, but they acted like they were five or six.  Loud laughing, kicking the seat, obnoxious 'stop touching me!' fights.  Blech.  Even their father (at least I think it was their father) kept telling them to stop acting like babies, but it didn't really deter them.  Nor did all the times my seat neighbor and I turned around to give them dirty looks.  The time to put on my headphones couldn't come soon enough.  I don't know why the father didn't split them up, but...oh well.  I guess I should be relieved we were only flying an hour from Pittsburgh to New York and not flying all the way to California or somewhere.  But still...

 

Moral of the story:  I'm going to have to buy my holiday air tickets much earlier next year to get back to the quick and easy Air Tran flights.  Though I think they've been bought out by Southwest, so I have no idea what next year will bring.