Buckaroo's Dad
<font color=green>Will suffer in happiness rather
- Joined
- Jul 5, 2002
- Messages
- 1,960
When making arrangements for our Disney Magic cruise next year, I'll have to include a contingency plan regarding blackouts. My heavens, what a mess! It's a good thing I packed earlier in the week. Our family spent thursday night reviewing packing lists by candlelight. Romantic? Nah, I'm a single parent and my Mom was visiting. In this instance "romantic" candlelight is as absurd as "romantic" self-pleasure...
The car service picked us up promptly at 6:57am. (When it comes to a Disney cruise, every minute matters!). I had been trying to call the airline for hours, but to no avail. The driver assured us the media assured the public that all area airports were operating - albeit on generators but operating nonetheless. I have learned (the hard way) that the longest distance between two points is wishful thinking - or no thinking at all. JFK was closed. The back-up generators were, in fact, running. Running out of fuel, that is. Fuel which couldn't be replenished because the power necessary to pump the gas into the trucks was non-existent. The gas companies should have put those high-powered executives to REAL use and have them personally suck the lead pipes to siphon gas from storage to the trucks. Anyway. So much for "he said they said." Besides, our driver left before we reached the terminal door.
On a hunch, I made my way over to the Jetblue terminal about half-a-mile's walk from where we were. Unlike Delta, they had company representatives working on-site to try and assist those travelers trapped by these unforseen events. I found a Jetblue representative doing their best to answer the multitude of questions being directed their way. I'll tell ya, whatever they were paying this poor soul (and any fellow employees), it could in no way compensate for the amount and level of aggravation they had to endure. Upon presenting my dilemma, they suggested I find another mode of travel in order to reach the cruise on time. Not what I wanted to hear, but certainly honest.
So much for hunches.
I walked back to the Delta/Song terminal. DS and DM were waiting patiently with the other displaced (no pun intended) Delta/Song strandees. This section of terminal happened to be shared with Saudi Airlines. Every one of their waiting passengers looked like an al-Qaida suspect. I shouldn't be so judgmental but memories keep filtering in of Saudi nationals dancing for joy in the streets of Elizabeth, New Jersey, as we were experiencing the terrorist attacks on September 11th.
Deep breath.
Slow exhale.
Ok.
So. Where does one go when one has nowhere to go? Home. How can we get there? Well, walking is an option but not really a possibility. A better bet would be a taxi. The cabs were only dropping suckers - oops, I mean people - off in a different area where no pick-ups were allowed. JFK International Airport rules - whether open or closed. With Mom and "Buckaroo" each keeping an eye and tush on our luggage, I walked off into the sunrise - again - to hire a cab for a return trip home. The taxi pick-up stand was only a short distance from the Jetblue terminal - which made it a long distance from the Delta/Song terminal. Fraught with fear of not reaching the Magic in time to make the cruise, I fought off all negative thoughts by singing the Mouseketeers song in my non-harmonious off-key voice - M I C see you real soon, K E Y why? because we like you, M O U S Eeeeeeeeeeee...
The cab driver sounded as though he himself just got off the proverbial boat from Russia. A deep, thickly coated voice, raspy from too many years of non-filtered cigarettes and Vodka. Still in all a kinder man I have not met since, well... since Ed (Hannosmom's DH). In another life he could possibly have been a friend, but the effects of the blackout were taking a toll on my ability to engage in pleasant conversation. I heard myself telling him about the days events, surprising even myself at the thought of how relatively little time had passed since we left for the airport. Humm. I guess because of the blackout even time couldn't fly...
So there we sat at home, after receiving a flurry of well-wishes from our Russiann-born cab driver, wondering what in heaven's name to do. Delta was unreachable. All airports/airlines in the northeast were affected. No railroads were ruunning. There were few options. "Ok," I said, "Let's drive to Florida." "Buckaroo" jumped up and shouted, "YES, DADDY! LET'S DRIVE TO FLORIDA!" In a more subdued tone, DM gasped and then put forth the ultimate question, "Do you think we'll make it in time?" Having absolutely no clue, I said, "Of course!" Nothing like shoveling optimism...
If we had had an open-air truck, I'm sure our car would've resembled the Clampett's on their way to Beverly Hills and the good ole see-ment pond. Traffic was light in New York, other than on Staten Island - the section beginning after the tolls at the Verrazano Bridge and extendinng all the way to the Outerbridge Crossing. Staten Island is little more than New York's doormat to New Jersey -- and we ALL know the qualities inherent in The Garden State. Ah, "Joisee," where everything is "20-minutes away," racial profiling gained national prominence and no insurance company wants to write business. The speed limit is 65. Fast, but not fast enough. However, any increase would upset the statutory "20-minute" distances.
Far too much traffic clogged the highway as we approached Washington, DC. Our hopes of reaching the cruise on time were beginning to wane. I got on the cell phone and finally got through to a Delta representative: Mr. Harris. He worked out of their Miami offices. What a wonderful gentleman. I told him about our predicament. He started checking airport/plane availability as close to New York as possible. After nearly a half-hour of searching, we happened upon Greensboro, North Carolina. The Greensboro International Airport. Ohh-kay. Mr. Harris asked whether we could make a 6am flight out of Greensboro due in Orlando at 7:20am. To quote F. Scott Fitzgerald in Ulysses, "Yes."
It took us a total of 15-and-a-half hours to reach our North Carolina destination. The worst traffic we encountered was while driving on I-95 through Virginia. Well raise my taxes - the state is undergoing a road renaissance. With enough paving in the right and left places, we as a people might succeed in making grass an endangered natural resource. Six lanes in either direction and still insufficient room to drive. It's depressingly amazing. Well, enough said on environmental issues...
We decided to stop for dinner at one of the exits off I-85 near Who-The-Heck-Knows-Or-Cares-We're-On-Our-Way-To-A-Disney-Cruise-Line Vacation, Virginia. "Buckaroo" wanted McDonalds, of course. We went to the Ponderosa. "Buckaroo" was correct. We should have dined at McDonalds. The salad bar at the Ponderosa "restaurant" appeared to have been assembled in the tropics during El Nino: brown lettuce leaves, soft croutons, fruit aged to imperfection and so on. My 11-ounce (pre-cooked weight) sirloin steak was served at around 7-ounces, including the blackened ashes of what might have once been meat. The butter atop my baked potato melted a sleezy shade of orange. What substance related to butter melts orange? No answer is necessary - these questions are merely rhetorical in nature. On top of less-than-tasteless food, my shoe nearly adhered permanently to the carpeting under the table as it settled into a coating of not-so-maple maple syrup. Ugh. Perhaps I should have complained, but the enthusiasm of flying soon enough into Orlando superceded my culinary disdain.
Adjacent to the Greensboro International Airport is a Marriot Hotel. We arrived in sufficient time to allow for 2-and-a-half hours in a room. "Buckaroo" and DM went to sleep immediately. Every time I closed my eyes I just kept seeing "road." By the time I was able to shake these visions it was time for me to get up, wash and lead the family onto the promised flight...
One benefit to renting the room was that we were able to park our car for the duration of our vacation in the Marriot's parking lot free of charge. Thank goodness.
The Marriot provided a free shuttle to the airport. Even at 4am we were joined by a family of 3. It turns out they were not hotel guests. Rather, this was a local family well aware of the unmonitored free parking/free shuttle facilities at the Marriot. Coming from North Carolina they seemed to be financially stable - all 3 were wearing shoes...
Unlike after-hours coffee houses and similar venues in and about New York City, The Greensboro International Airport is hushed at 4:15am. Not a creature was stirring, except for some airline personnel, security screeners and our excitedly tired (or tiredly excited) family. "Buckaroo" and I were "randomly" selected to be searched. As there was nothing to find that is exactly what the screeners did find. I, myself, welcome enhanced security procedures with open arms - or should that be outstretched arms? - and only wish it was at all airports for all travelers.
We arrived in Orlando 10-minutes ahead of schedule. The Orlando International Airport, on a per cubic foot basis, is not drastically busier at 7:10am than The Greensboro International Airport at 5:45am. Our flight was the only arrival at Delta Connection's baggage claim. It was quiet. You could almost hear a mugger's victim drop...
In a perfect world, we would have been arriving the day before at 12:something in the afternoon. Since the world is far from perfect, I was glad to gain any time any time. (No, that isn't a typo). My Budget reservation had long since expired, and at this point in "any time" so had my desire/need for a rental car. I decided to call the same car service we had used last year: Tiffany.
The gentleman I spoke with on the phone told me they'd have a van pick us up in 30 minutes. The 30-minute van arrived in an hour. I didn't mind the additional wait. The weather was comfortably hot, I wasn't driving and we had arrived in Orlando well before noon on cruise day. Yes, life was good - again.
Our driver spoke fluent unintelligible-English. We had a very pleasant conversation during the drive to Port Canaveral. Too bad I didn't understand anything he said aside from the word "Disney." I gave the dear man a generous tip which he seemed to appreciate. At least I don't believe he was cursing at us. No matter. WE HAD MADE IT!
Taking into account all the obstacles we encountered due to the blackout, I breathed content upon seeing that ours was the second family in line to board the August 16th Magic.
The car service picked us up promptly at 6:57am. (When it comes to a Disney cruise, every minute matters!). I had been trying to call the airline for hours, but to no avail. The driver assured us the media assured the public that all area airports were operating - albeit on generators but operating nonetheless. I have learned (the hard way) that the longest distance between two points is wishful thinking - or no thinking at all. JFK was closed. The back-up generators were, in fact, running. Running out of fuel, that is. Fuel which couldn't be replenished because the power necessary to pump the gas into the trucks was non-existent. The gas companies should have put those high-powered executives to REAL use and have them personally suck the lead pipes to siphon gas from storage to the trucks. Anyway. So much for "he said they said." Besides, our driver left before we reached the terminal door.
On a hunch, I made my way over to the Jetblue terminal about half-a-mile's walk from where we were. Unlike Delta, they had company representatives working on-site to try and assist those travelers trapped by these unforseen events. I found a Jetblue representative doing their best to answer the multitude of questions being directed their way. I'll tell ya, whatever they were paying this poor soul (and any fellow employees), it could in no way compensate for the amount and level of aggravation they had to endure. Upon presenting my dilemma, they suggested I find another mode of travel in order to reach the cruise on time. Not what I wanted to hear, but certainly honest.
So much for hunches.
I walked back to the Delta/Song terminal. DS and DM were waiting patiently with the other displaced (no pun intended) Delta/Song strandees. This section of terminal happened to be shared with Saudi Airlines. Every one of their waiting passengers looked like an al-Qaida suspect. I shouldn't be so judgmental but memories keep filtering in of Saudi nationals dancing for joy in the streets of Elizabeth, New Jersey, as we were experiencing the terrorist attacks on September 11th.
Deep breath.
Slow exhale.
Ok.
So. Where does one go when one has nowhere to go? Home. How can we get there? Well, walking is an option but not really a possibility. A better bet would be a taxi. The cabs were only dropping suckers - oops, I mean people - off in a different area where no pick-ups were allowed. JFK International Airport rules - whether open or closed. With Mom and "Buckaroo" each keeping an eye and tush on our luggage, I walked off into the sunrise - again - to hire a cab for a return trip home. The taxi pick-up stand was only a short distance from the Jetblue terminal - which made it a long distance from the Delta/Song terminal. Fraught with fear of not reaching the Magic in time to make the cruise, I fought off all negative thoughts by singing the Mouseketeers song in my non-harmonious off-key voice - M I C see you real soon, K E Y why? because we like you, M O U S Eeeeeeeeeeee...
The cab driver sounded as though he himself just got off the proverbial boat from Russia. A deep, thickly coated voice, raspy from too many years of non-filtered cigarettes and Vodka. Still in all a kinder man I have not met since, well... since Ed (Hannosmom's DH). In another life he could possibly have been a friend, but the effects of the blackout were taking a toll on my ability to engage in pleasant conversation. I heard myself telling him about the days events, surprising even myself at the thought of how relatively little time had passed since we left for the airport. Humm. I guess because of the blackout even time couldn't fly...
So there we sat at home, after receiving a flurry of well-wishes from our Russiann-born cab driver, wondering what in heaven's name to do. Delta was unreachable. All airports/airlines in the northeast were affected. No railroads were ruunning. There were few options. "Ok," I said, "Let's drive to Florida." "Buckaroo" jumped up and shouted, "YES, DADDY! LET'S DRIVE TO FLORIDA!" In a more subdued tone, DM gasped and then put forth the ultimate question, "Do you think we'll make it in time?" Having absolutely no clue, I said, "Of course!" Nothing like shoveling optimism...
If we had had an open-air truck, I'm sure our car would've resembled the Clampett's on their way to Beverly Hills and the good ole see-ment pond. Traffic was light in New York, other than on Staten Island - the section beginning after the tolls at the Verrazano Bridge and extendinng all the way to the Outerbridge Crossing. Staten Island is little more than New York's doormat to New Jersey -- and we ALL know the qualities inherent in The Garden State. Ah, "Joisee," where everything is "20-minutes away," racial profiling gained national prominence and no insurance company wants to write business. The speed limit is 65. Fast, but not fast enough. However, any increase would upset the statutory "20-minute" distances.
Far too much traffic clogged the highway as we approached Washington, DC. Our hopes of reaching the cruise on time were beginning to wane. I got on the cell phone and finally got through to a Delta representative: Mr. Harris. He worked out of their Miami offices. What a wonderful gentleman. I told him about our predicament. He started checking airport/plane availability as close to New York as possible. After nearly a half-hour of searching, we happened upon Greensboro, North Carolina. The Greensboro International Airport. Ohh-kay. Mr. Harris asked whether we could make a 6am flight out of Greensboro due in Orlando at 7:20am. To quote F. Scott Fitzgerald in Ulysses, "Yes."
It took us a total of 15-and-a-half hours to reach our North Carolina destination. The worst traffic we encountered was while driving on I-95 through Virginia. Well raise my taxes - the state is undergoing a road renaissance. With enough paving in the right and left places, we as a people might succeed in making grass an endangered natural resource. Six lanes in either direction and still insufficient room to drive. It's depressingly amazing. Well, enough said on environmental issues...
We decided to stop for dinner at one of the exits off I-85 near Who-The-Heck-Knows-Or-Cares-We're-On-Our-Way-To-A-Disney-Cruise-Line Vacation, Virginia. "Buckaroo" wanted McDonalds, of course. We went to the Ponderosa. "Buckaroo" was correct. We should have dined at McDonalds. The salad bar at the Ponderosa "restaurant" appeared to have been assembled in the tropics during El Nino: brown lettuce leaves, soft croutons, fruit aged to imperfection and so on. My 11-ounce (pre-cooked weight) sirloin steak was served at around 7-ounces, including the blackened ashes of what might have once been meat. The butter atop my baked potato melted a sleezy shade of orange. What substance related to butter melts orange? No answer is necessary - these questions are merely rhetorical in nature. On top of less-than-tasteless food, my shoe nearly adhered permanently to the carpeting under the table as it settled into a coating of not-so-maple maple syrup. Ugh. Perhaps I should have complained, but the enthusiasm of flying soon enough into Orlando superceded my culinary disdain.
Adjacent to the Greensboro International Airport is a Marriot Hotel. We arrived in sufficient time to allow for 2-and-a-half hours in a room. "Buckaroo" and DM went to sleep immediately. Every time I closed my eyes I just kept seeing "road." By the time I was able to shake these visions it was time for me to get up, wash and lead the family onto the promised flight...
One benefit to renting the room was that we were able to park our car for the duration of our vacation in the Marriot's parking lot free of charge. Thank goodness.
The Marriot provided a free shuttle to the airport. Even at 4am we were joined by a family of 3. It turns out they were not hotel guests. Rather, this was a local family well aware of the unmonitored free parking/free shuttle facilities at the Marriot. Coming from North Carolina they seemed to be financially stable - all 3 were wearing shoes...
Unlike after-hours coffee houses and similar venues in and about New York City, The Greensboro International Airport is hushed at 4:15am. Not a creature was stirring, except for some airline personnel, security screeners and our excitedly tired (or tiredly excited) family. "Buckaroo" and I were "randomly" selected to be searched. As there was nothing to find that is exactly what the screeners did find. I, myself, welcome enhanced security procedures with open arms - or should that be outstretched arms? - and only wish it was at all airports for all travelers.
We arrived in Orlando 10-minutes ahead of schedule. The Orlando International Airport, on a per cubic foot basis, is not drastically busier at 7:10am than The Greensboro International Airport at 5:45am. Our flight was the only arrival at Delta Connection's baggage claim. It was quiet. You could almost hear a mugger's victim drop...
In a perfect world, we would have been arriving the day before at 12:something in the afternoon. Since the world is far from perfect, I was glad to gain any time any time. (No, that isn't a typo). My Budget reservation had long since expired, and at this point in "any time" so had my desire/need for a rental car. I decided to call the same car service we had used last year: Tiffany.
The gentleman I spoke with on the phone told me they'd have a van pick us up in 30 minutes. The 30-minute van arrived in an hour. I didn't mind the additional wait. The weather was comfortably hot, I wasn't driving and we had arrived in Orlando well before noon on cruise day. Yes, life was good - again.
Our driver spoke fluent unintelligible-English. We had a very pleasant conversation during the drive to Port Canaveral. Too bad I didn't understand anything he said aside from the word "Disney." I gave the dear man a generous tip which he seemed to appreciate. At least I don't believe he was cursing at us. No matter. WE HAD MADE IT!
Taking into account all the obstacles we encountered due to the blackout, I breathed content upon seeing that ours was the second family in line to board the August 16th Magic.
