May/June 2001 Trip -- Part 36: Going to Ohio

BarryHom

DIS Legend
Joined
Aug 20, 1999
Messages
14,159
June 1, 2001

The cast:
Me (the 29-year old)

I woke up around 5:30 and checked out. This version of check out today was tossing the key on the bed and running out of the room. I wanted to get to the airport early. I thought I was starting too early.

I went to Burger King for breakfast at 6:00. There was only one person working both the drive thru and the counter. He must have been the hardest working man in town! I got my breakfast after 15 minutes. I wanted a soda, but the soda fountain wasn’t working. I didn’t want to bother the hard-working man, so I took the only thing that was working – the ice tea fountain. I made sure I used lots of sugar to wake me up.

I headed to the airport and parked in long-term parking. The Tampa airport names their parking areas after famous aviators. I don’t recall what name my parking area was, but it was the purple section. A small sign beside the parking area said to write down your color and row. After what happened at Epcot yesterday, I was sure to do that.

The parking lot has monorails that take you to the terminal. As I entered the monorail, I expected it to say, “Por favor…” There was no front seat to ride in either.

I was flying Continental and I found the ticket stand. The line was really long. I was glad that I got an early start! I managed to be checked in about 30 minutes before my flight left. I found the gate and went into the plane. Thankfully, I got an aisle seat. I hate crawling over people to go to the bathroom. A man and his son sat to the left of me. A man and his baby sat on the other side of the row. He hid a squished banana under his seat.

The airplane was about to take off, but there was a problem with a flap. The plane was on the ground for 45 minutes until things were straightened out. I was worried that I would not make my connecting flight in Detroit, MI at around 11:55 pm. The man that sat beside me got up and never came back. During the flight, I noticed that he was sitting behind me.

The flight was uneventful otherwise. We had breakfast and the baby yelled a lot during the flight. The son that sat beside me was pretty courteous and he played a flight simulator game on his notebook computer.

As the plane made the final descent to Detroit, I noticed that my ears started to hurt and I had trouble hearing. I heard faint mumbling. The only thing I heard clearly was a baby crying. The pain was starting to get to me and I was about to cry out, but I tried to keep myself under control. I wondered if I could get anything in the airport gift shop to counter this effect, but I didn’t have time. We landed about 5 minutes before my connecting flight.

A Continental Representative had a printout of gates for connecting flights. My connecting flight gate to Columbus, OH was on the other side of the terminal! The Representative said that I better hurry up. I did! I felt like O.J. Simpson! As I approached the gate, the ticket-taker said, “You must be Barry!” I guess they were holding the flight for me. I got there right on time at 11:55. The connecting flight was pretty deserted. For such a short flight, I was amazed that they were serving drinks and snacks.

During the descent into Columbus, my ears got the stuffed-up feeling again. It didn’t hurt as bad, though. After departing the plane, I went to the baggage claim area and watched the bags go around and around. I didn’t see my bag, so I went to the baggage area for the airline. The Representative was talking to a Chinese man who did not speak a word of English. I tried to talk to him, but he was speaking a different dialect. Too bad I can’t write any Chinese. The Representative said that my bags were delayed and were coming in on a 2:00 flight. I should have figured as much since the flight out of Tampa was delayed.

My plan was to visit COSI and then come back for my bags later in the evening. I went to Avis and picked up my car. I got a Chrysler, but I don’t recall the make of the car. All I remember is that I got a lot of legroom! I have to push the seat all the way back in some cars and I still don’t have enough legroom. In the Chrysler, I only had to push the seat back halfway and it felt fine. The Avis office was in the lower floor of the parking garage. As I exited, I felt a rush of cold. It felt like it was 60 degrees. When I got on the plane in Florida, it must have been at least 75 degrees! I had shorts on when I got on the plane in Tampa and I figured weather would be about the same in May.

I headed to COSI. I had printed out Mapquest.com directions and they were pretty good. I didn’t think to print out directions back to the airport, though.
 
I can see you running through the airport now. What a sight that must have been LOL I'm glad you made your flight though. It would have been awful to have to hang around waiting on another one.
 
of the airport if my flights are close together......but make me have an hour layover and wham....the next door terminal is where I end up having to go........thanks for the run
 
Can't wait to see how you liked COSI!
 






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