We packed up our chargers and bath bags had some snacks for breakfast. We were downstairs waiting on the curb by 4:30... and were still waiting at 4:50 am. Hmm. That's not good. Our ride never showed! So we asked a security guard if he could help and he called a friend who drove a taxi. The man showed up quickly but only had a mini-van... for 6 of us, 6 luggage, 6 carry-ons, and a stroller. We squeezed in and were on our way as soon as possible.
The ride to the airport was interesting. The van lacked suspension in the rear so it was bouncy! Beyond that, every dash indicator was lit up and the gas tank read empty. BUT... we were on our way and beggars cannot be choosers.
Once we arrived, we stood in line for 20 minutes waiting to check our bags. We were already 30 minutes behind from the driver, so I started getting nervous. But, God just blew open the doors for us as we were never more than 5th in line as we approached each of the 5 security stops. We had no time to stop for breakfast as we immediately boarded the plane.
We had about 1.5 hours to get our luggage, get thru immigration and go back through security. Everything went smoothly and again God took care of the details allowing us short lines and friendly staff. We were speed-walking through JFK to find our gate... no time to stop for lunch! As the gate came into sight we looked up at the displays and realized our flight had been delayed an hour. Ugh! Although we were disappointed, we appreciated having the time to slow down and made our way back to The Shake Shack for a good lunch. We relaxed a while longer with a few rounds of Uno and Spot-It.
As we headed back to our gate, I received a notice on my phone that they had upped the time of our flight and it was LEAVING in 15 minutes. Again, we had to speed walk to get to the gate and walked right on the plane. The flight staff was quick to settle us all in our seats so we could take off and make up some of the time... until we had a glitch with the boarding agent and needed to wait 30 minutes for take off.
Eventually we did take off and we had another uneventful flight. The kids did amazing!
I made a Starbucks run while we waited for the stroller. Then we made our way through the Detroit airport to find our bags. When we arrived, the carousal was stopped and our 6 were the only remaining bags on the belt. Wonderful! We grabbed them and headed out for our trolley to the parking lot.
Since we drove two vehicles, the girls loaded up the black truck while the boys headed on to the red one. Scott was surprised to find his battery was dead! So we waited just a second while the driver went to get jumper cables and were on the road in minutes!
From the outside it seems we had a lot of things go wrong today... but none of them caused issue. Each time we felt God intervene and take care of the situation on our behalf. It was an adventure and so fun to see our Heavenly Father at work.
We drove home, stopping at Wendy's in Howell for supper. We pulled in the driveway minutes before 8:00 pm. Its been 16 hours of travel and we are tired and ready for bed. It is good to be home!
