Well, I made it to New York, finally. It was a very long trip, with a three hour layover turning into almost five hours. The Charlotte airport was nice, though, and I love the rocking chairs they have scattered around for waiting passengers. I was able to enjoy a comfortable place to knit while I waited.
I have decided that while I love to fly places, I don't like getting onto the plane. For some reason, I have a problem with the walkway out to the plane. I think it's stepping over the "grated" areas (which allow the hallway to be extended out to the plane, and retracted after use). Anyway, I ended up hyperventilating while trying to make my way into the plane. A wonderfully kind woman behind me and a young college student realized I was having a problem, and the two of them took me by the hands (literally) and walked me onto the plane. The flight attendent was sure that I was going to be a problem during the flight (my phobia was clearly evident from the tears and breathing difficulty), but was soon as I was on the plane itself I was fine.
My favorite flight attendent of the day was JoJo. My flight out of Charlotte into New York was on a little commuter plane, and at that time of the evening it was only about half full. Once everyone was seated, JoJo made an announcement: "Before I do the final passenger count, everyone get comfortable. Some of you in the front can move on back to the empty seats in the rear of the plane." Nobody moved, though, and the flight attendents went down the aisle, counting. A few minutes later, JoJo was back on the intercom. "I asked ya'll in the front if you wanted to move. Now I have to tell you. The flight needs to be balanced, so six of you from the first seven rows have to move to the back of the plane." Nobody moved, so five minutes later JoJo says "I'm not kidding around. The captain is not going to move this plane until it's balanced. If six of ya'll don't come back here, I'm gonna come up after you." Three people moved. JoJo announced, "For those in the front who can't count, that was three. I'm still waiting for three more of ya'll to move to the back of the plane or I'll let everyone in the back know you're the reason that we're running late." Six people moved. So JoJo had to sent three people back, amongst grumblings of passengers who can't follow directions.
Because of the long delay getting out of Charlotte, I didn't land in New York until close to midnight. My daughter was waiting for me, with gloves, scarf, and hat. Good thing, too, because it was much colder than what I'm used to in Florida. We did the subway back to her place, which took about an hour and a half. I got an extremely brief tour of her apartment, and then we fell into bed. I think I was asleep before she finished saying goodnight!
Cari has lots planned for our weekend, so I'm off and running...
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