Wanderlusting: 24 Hours of Travel

“I have often said that the lure of flying is the lure of beauty.” ~ Amelia Earhart

Jetsetting Blonde

I have travelled quite a bit, and this year was the year I essentially flew the proverbial coup so to speak and really put my frequent flier miles to good use. I have had delays, and I have had flights cancelled on me pre-arriving at the airport, but I can honestly say that I have never truly had a bad travel experience until my flight back from Texas.

It all makes you stronger right?

Riiighhht. I think. I mean, it didn’t kill me. Well maybe just my back. And my neck. BUT I alive to tell the story sooo.

And I am rambling. I swear it didn’t traumatize me. Much.

DFW

For most of our trip, we were blessed with great weather. Sunday was the exception and I got to witness a real Texas storm. Guys it was so beautiful. I know, I know, I am that weird person who actually LIKES thunderstorms, and having heard so much about the storms Texas gets it was cool to experience.

Speaking of storms I am sending so much love to Texas which has been having serious flooding and is now bracing for a hurricane. Thinking of you all!

Dallas-Fort Worth area is on the edge of Tornado Alley. While they do get thunderstorms, they don’t typically get tornados. Imagine my surprise, after having such gorgeous weather, waking up (at the ass crack of dawn I might add) to a tornado alert on my phone for the area. It was already raining heavily and we quickly packed the car and made our way to the airport.

Coffee Run

Despite the vast size of the Dallas-Fort Worth airport, security was a breeze. Apparently holding a two year old and being polite means you are not threatening.

We had an hour so Piper and I went to grab some much needed Starbucks for myself and my brother. She was very proud of her mission, and I was very proud of HER because our plane left out of gate 10. Starbucks was by Gate 34. Which I didn’t realize until I was committed to our mission. Coffee was VERY much needed.

Alas, I didn’t realize until we were on our way back, that much closer to our gate at gate 18 was a Peet’s.

Yes guys DFW has a flipping Peet’s! It almost (ALMOST) made everything worth it!

When we got back to our gate, my SiL told me that we were delayed an hour. Deciding it was fate, (at the time) I decided double fisting was needed, and Piper and I went to Peet’s because it is ONLY the best coffee ever!

Disclaimer: Dunkin Donuts is NOT mine, but it did add to the picture of how much we ALL needed coffee!

Delayed. Delayed. And delayed

Peet’s in hand, I hunkered down and attempted to entertain my nephews and niece, the later who eventually took a nap! While delays aren’t fun, I can usually entertain myself with my laptop and work, thankfully a bonus of a digital nomad. Kids are different, but my nephews and niece handled it like pros. An hour turned into two, then three, and eventually it was nine hours at the airport.

I had a connecting flight from Logan to JFK at seven which just so happened to be the time we actually ended up leaving DFW.

I have to give a shout out to the amazing gate agents at JetBlue. Knowing I had a connecting, they attempted to move the sun, the stars, the moon, and basically the whole flipping galaxy to get me back to JFK that day. Unfortunately due to the storms, there were none, so they booked me for the first flight out of Boston the next day.

Exploring DFW

If we had to be stuck at an airport, DFW was the one to be at. Very modern, spacious and airy (we could see and hear the storms outside), it has tons of restaurants, couches to relax on, outlets, and other amenities. The airport also has a train that takes you from terminal to terminal without having to go through security again.

To entertain the kids, we decided to ride the train and ended up in the international terminal which had even more food options. I couldn’t resist getting some Pinkberry. Delayed times calls for desperate measures after all.

After nine hours we were finally able to board and I got Peet’s for the road plane.

Spending the night

Despite the flight attendants also having a long day, they were super nice and comped us drinks, which I happily took. The kids fell asleep, and while I tried, I ended up watching the latest episode of the Son’s of Anarchy spin off; Mayans MC which is SO good!

We landed in Logan around eleven. Because the airport shuts down for a few hours, I had to leave the terminal and walked with my fam to get their bags and say good-bye before I went to find a bench to camp out on.

I have never slept in an airport before, but I think I can officially say that I am now a seasoned traveller. For three hours the airport was deserted except for security and those of us who were forced to spend the night. (and there were people) It was also freezing! My body had acclimated to the ninety degree Texas temps and was not happy with the forty degree drop.

Around three the airport came back to life and I went back through security to catch my flight that boarded at four thirty. Once I boarded the plane, I passed out from sheer exhaustion as well as a full blown case of the creeping crud. Lord could I have used another Peet’s!

Finally! Twenty-four hours later, I arrived back at JFK and hopped on the subway to head back into the city. I was never so happy to be home. It was a memorable, albite exhausting, way to end my trip.

Have you ever spent a night at the airport? What was your worst travel experience?