Day 10 - Travelling Home

The news has been filled with stories of long lines at the TSA due to the current government shut down.  And last night certainly proved difficult by the lines we saw wrapped through the lobby area near the entrance of our hotel.  But the staff here has shared that the lines in the mornings are quite normal but the backups build throughout the day.  Even so, we wake up a little early to give ourselves the extra time.

We decided to eat in the terminal AFTER we made it through security.  So we hopped a bus to Terminal E and checked our bags. Yup, we had six coming home because I always pack a duffle.  It allows me to be a little messier on the way home and leaves plenty of room for souveniers and dirty clothes.

Security was a breeze... we were first in line.  Once we made it through we separated so Scott and Sam could get a breakfast sandwich while I went in search of a Starbucks and Tyler scoped out cinnamon pretzels.  We met back at the gate for our 9:50 am departure.

It was a smooth flight to Atlanta. Tyler was sitting with a stranger and the two of them shared in conversation the entire flight.  It made me giggle remembering how as a kid he used to talk his seat mates' ear off. His neighbor this time seemed to be enjoying herself as well!

We grabbed lunch from a food court - Qdoba and pizza - and then headed to our next gate.

The flight was smooth all the way back to GR.  Because we flew out of Detroit, we didn't have a car waiting so we ordered an Uber and arrived home right around 6:00 pm.  Its been a busy week but we've experienced so much - and so many different things too!

Day 2 - Fort Worth: Cars & Cattle

We had a great night's sleep. Honestly, we never would have known it was an airport. Our room was well-appointed, the airplane sounds minimal, and the lobby felt completely separate from the hustle and bustle of the airport.

We packed up our room and headed to the lobby restaurant for breakfast. It was a great meal! Scott and I shared croque madam and avocado toast... Yum! Tyler went for a bowl of frosted flakes and Sammy enjoyed the pancakes.

We collected our luggage and jumped a shuttle buss to the car rental lot.  We have a great vehicle - a Jeep Grand Wagoneer - so much space makes it very comfortable for the week and lots of leg room for the guys.

We are spending the first day in Fort Worth so its only around 30 mins to our first stop. The DFW Car and Toy Museum is a three level collection of Ron Sturgeon.  There were so many fun varieties of cars with sections for minicars, race cars, European, Asian, and celebrities.

We even found a section of "Cars That Shouldn't Exist" and the very first car was a 1985 Fiero which happens to be Scott's first car.  We had a good laugh.

Once we wrapped up, it was only a 10 min drive to the Historical Stockyards and our hotel for the night.  We were really excited that our room was available even before the early checkin time of 2:00pm. 

We decided to quick run over to the Stockyard Experience and learn more about the Long Horns that made this town famous.  

Then we walk around to explore.  First a raised walkway over the pens and then looked for a treat.  The area is full of stores and restaurants with so much to see and do. Sam grabbed a little cup of specialty ice cream and Tyler was thrilled to find Dr Pepper made with Cane Sugar.  

Today's temps hit 93* which is unseasonably warm for this time of year and definitely above Sammy's typical threshhold.  She had done great so far but we decided it was worth unloading our luggage and taking a short break in our room. I worked on some planning for tomorrow since we finished much of what I had planned already today. At 4:00 pm, we headed out to Exchange St to see the long horn parade.  

Since we didn't have lunch, we decided on an early dinner at Riscky's Steakhouse.  This place was opened in 1927 and has stayed in the Riscky family ever since, a whole four generations!  On our walk back we checked out a handmade leather shop with beautiful handcrafted bags and then the kids grabbed a shake from Shake Shack.  

We headed back to the hotel for a relaxing evening. Tyler and I worked on homework and then Sammy and I hit the pool to go swimming.  

Sammy got ready for bed. Tyler played some video game and Scott caught up on the news.  I decided to head outside and enjoy the last few moments of sunlight so I found a rocking chair on a porch and enjoyed people watching and reflecting on our day.  Once I had finished, I took a walk down the street, past the rodeo, and up Mule Alley.  There's so much going on and much to take in.

Today's Weather: Sunny: High of 93*; Low of 61*

Day 1 - Travel to Texas

Today was busy! Tyler had classes at GVSU, I was wrapping up an intensive class with LU and Scott had work this morning.  So rather than rushing to the airport to catch a 3:00 flight only to wait 4 hours for our connecting flight, we decided to rent a car and catch the second flight from Detroit. We left our house around 2:30 and enjoyed a more relaxed itinerary.

Dropped off the rental, checked in at the airport and found a pub to have dinner.  The waitress seemed super grumpy until we ordered our drinks and then she started dropping off trivia questions to the table for us.  We had a couple good laughs and enjoyed our meal.

Then we headed to our gate and waited for our 9:30 pm flight.

We landed in Dallas around 11:00 pm after a really smooth trip.  We grabbed our luggage and then took a bus to the Grand Hyatt.  We stayed on site at the airport because our flight arrived after the rental car offices had closed.  But we are all super tired so I'm grateful for a quick and convenient option!

Day 6 - Heading Home

 The alarm went off early and as I did a quick check of my phone I confirmed we were up on time (check) saw the driver was en route (check) and then an email from the airline (uh oh).  The flights been delayed 45 minutes and they don’t think we’ll make the connection in Dallas.  Shoot.  

Since the driver was already close, we decided to head to the airport anyway and work out options when we arrived.  At checkin, the lady suggested we fly standby on the 8 am flight which would give us extra time in Dallas (sounds great).  So we grabbed some food and proceeded to the gate.  When I approached the podium, the lady said that unfortunately the flight was completely full and that we were 3rd and 4th in line so it wasn’t likely.  Oh well, we went to sit down to eat our donut.  Just then someone shouted out Green, approach the podium.  My ears perked but hearing a different name relaxed.  Then someone else shouted to get our attention.  We are hurried to the podium only to find out there are 3 open seats and they are ready to go NOW.  I tell Tyler to go.  He’s got all of his things in his hands and is shuffled aboard.  Then I realize, they just put him on a completely different flight… this one was scheduled to leave at 6 but was delayed til 7:40.  The flight attendant told me that I was now next in line for the 8:00 am flight if a seat opened up.  If not, I’d be three hours behind Tyler.

I sat down with a bit of head spinning and started to draft a text to Scott…

“Tyler took an earlier flight.  I think he’s good with it, but we didn’t really have a chance to talk…” no 

“Only one seat, sent Tyler on ahead of me.  We’ll connect in Dallas…” no

“Hey honey, just wanted to let you know that I put Tyler on a separate plane…” no

To be clear, I wasn’t concerned about Tyler.  He flies often… he often sits apart from me… it was more an unsettling because we didn’t have a chance to talk, let alone make a plan for once we got there.  So I sent off my text to Scott, trying to sound all confident and would you believe it they shouted my name again.  I stood up and swung around and they said they can get me on if I hurry.  So I scooped up all the things and headed to the plane.

I never scanned my ticket, heck I didn’t even have a ticket for this flight but they shouted 8C and I headed to that seat.  Honestly, I must have looked like a walking yard sale with my donut bags, chai, water bottle, headphones and phone in my arms… a backpack on my back. 

I sat down with a huff and started to look around for Tyler.  Where was he?  Finally I saw his head sticking up from the very back row, smiling ear to ear.  Ah yes.

The lady next to me got up in a tizzy and stormed off the plane.  Not sure what happened there but when a flight attendant came over to take that seat, I asked if she would mind switching with Tyler and she willingly agreed, “you mean the tall guy that got on a few moments ago?  Ah yes, I know where he is!”

So, Tyler and I ended up on the 6 am flight (delayed to 7:45) AND got to sit together.  How crazy is that?

The best part is after all that fuss with now 5 people deboarding the plane and the four of us boarding, they make the following announcements. “Ladies and Gentlemen, because we’ve added some additional passengers here in San Francisco, we will need to complete the safety briefing once again.”  I kid you not, there was an audible sigh and I felt the eyes of SO MANY passengers burning into the back of me.

The flight to Dallas was a bit bumpy but otherwise uneventful.  We had 2.5 hours to grab lunch and rest in a MinuteSuite.  We grabbed our next flight to GR without incident and landed around 7:10 pm.

It took a while for the luggage to finally make the carousel but we were so happy that it finally caught up to us, we didn’t mind the wait.  Our driver Terry was waiting at the curb and was super fun / bubbly as he drove us home.

What an incredible trip!  Planes, Trains, and Automobiles for sure… but also a whole lotta fun and memories with my boy.  I’ll never forget it!