Arizona is going well. It’s shaping up to be a great season! The rain of the beginning of the fair seems to have subsided. That’s good news. Arizona is a great show for us. After 17 years it feels like a home away from home. The only thing that’s missing is Sharon. Now that she’s off the road this is a long span of time to be apart and with gas prices on the rise, air travel is getting more expensive. That’s where our friend Jeff Brand comes in. He works for Delta. He was able to get a buddy pass for me so I could get back to Florida for a reasonable price.
[portfolio_slideshow include="1548,1549,1550,1551"]
I didn’t really plan it that way but the week that made sense to go home was the week of St. Patrick’s Day. Not only that but it was also spring break. That meant that flights would be at a premium. Now, when you fly on a buddy pas you fly standby, which means you don’t have a confirmed seat. You only get on the flight if there is an open seat. I’ve heard stories that people have waited three days for a flight. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen.
On the way out of Arizona I decided to take the Sunday am flight at 12:15, so technically it’s Monday morning. Jeff told me the flight loads looked the best going through Minneapolis. I know it’s not so direct… AZ to MN to FL, but whatever gives me the best chance of making it there. I got on the flight to MN without a hitch. I had a small layover in Minneapolis and got on the first flight to Tampa. Awesome!
I arrived in Tampa about 10:45am Monday morning. I couldn’t have asked for a better set of flights! Our roommate Jeff picked me up at the airport at about 11:10. (We rented out a room in our house to a friend of ours for extra $$ and so Sharon wasn’t alone when I’m outta town) We went to an early lunch, then back to the house so I could wait for Sharon to get off work. It was great to be home and great to see Sharon. We got to spend some quality time together as short as it was.
Since I was flying standby, I kept in touch with Jeff from Delta so he could keep me informed on the flight loads. With spring break upon us, he said my best chance to get back to AZ was to fly out thru Minnesota once again, but on Thursday. Cuz if I didn’t make it out on Thursday, I still had Friday. So, as recommended I left on Thursday. Of course Thursday was St. Patrick’s Day, so it looked like I’d be spending my day in airports.
The week flew by and on Thursday afternoon Sharon dropped me off at Tampa International. I made the first flight I tried for bringing my record to 3 for 3. Once in Minneapolis, which was VERY cold by the way, I headed to my next flight bound for AZ. (BTW - I had no jacket since I was going to the desert) I waited as the flight boarded and watched the video screen that displays the seat load. There were 4 available seats and 24 standbys. It didn’t look good. Of course, I didn’t make that flight. No Worries, I still have two more flights later in the day. Since I had time to kill it was time to hit a restaurant/bar to get a snack and something to eat. It was also the perfect time to do a twitter/facebook update since there was a group of people following my little adventure.
After my snack and a couple o’ beers I headed to the gate where the next Phoenix flight was. Once there I saw how bad the standby situation really was. Anytime you don’t make a flight, you are automatically transferred to standby on the next flight. Me and about a dozen other people. So once again, there were over 20 standbys for only 6 seats. I knew I wasn’t gonna make it on the flight but waited anyway just in case there were some “no shows”. There were, but not enough. After all the luck outbound, it looked like my luck had run out. Only one flight left tonight.
Once again I was left with time to kill so I hit the bar. It was St. Patty’s day after all. Just like before, after a couple beers and a shot or two of tequila, (I know, not very Irish) I walked over to my next gate. It was gonna be close. I think I got within two seats of making it, but no luck. I was stranded in MN for the night. The next flight was 8:00am.
Since I was stranded in Minneapolis and it was St. Patty’s Day I decided to call some friends. My hope was that someone might want to join me for some St. Patrick’s Day drinking and maybe a later dinner. I was in luck!
My friends Jenn and Rob called back and said they’d pick me up and hit one of our favorite haunts, the Buffalo Wild Wings in Crystal. Yahoo! I’m gonna make the most of this day after all. Once Jenn and Rob showed up, I hopped into their car and we headed to BWW. BRRRRRR…… No jacket. We got to BWW’s and our favorite bartender/server Lana was working. Bonus! She took great care of us and it was just nice to see her.
After some good food and drink with good friends it was time to head back to the airport. I got there about 2 am. Boy, was it a ghost town! Not a single person was to be seen and all the gates were closed. The only opening thru security was for employees. After about an hour I walked over and found out they’d let me thru that gate with my ticket. Since nothing was open I just went to my gate and tried to sleep on my carry-on bag. I tossed and turned but managed to get some sleep until about 6am when the shops started to open and the sound of vacuums was too loud to ignore.
As my fight time approached I watched intently as the number of open seats dwindled but I moved steadily up the standby list. I think I was within two seats of making it. Finally everyone was boarded and they called the last set of standbys. “Passenger Hall” I heard them say. Woohoo!... Unfortunately there was another woman there with the same last name and it was for her. The funny thing was that we had the same first initial too… so for the last 24 hours we’d both been wondering why there were two J. Halls on the standby list. She wished me luck and boarded the plane. The gate agent chuckled and then looked at me saying “MR. Hall”?... I laughed and said “Yes?” She had a ticket for me. Thank God.
I arrived to the warmth of Phoenix about 10 am. Drove to the house and started my day. What an adventure! Thanks to all that helped along the way, especially Jenn and Rob. You guys rock!
[portfolio_slideshow include="1552,1553,1554,1555,1556"]
After the trip home it was back to business. The following weekends went well and we were able to spend some time with our favorite people in AZ. Dave and June, Gail and Brittany, Julius and Heather were just a few of our close friends out there. Thanks to them for helping to make Arizona kinda feel like home.
Arizona is winding down and I’m feeling the pull back to the east coast. All that’s left is the Meet and Greet and then the long drive to Florida. It looks like we’re gonna do a weekend at the Bay Area Renaissance Festival before the Georgia Fair. Make sure you come see us!
