First Day of Travel

Our first day on vacation, once we got past the episode with the critters, went really smoothly, and got me to thinking that it's a great way to plan a trip. First off, it's nice to spend the night at a hotel prior to your plane flight. Granted, this makes travel more expensive, so it's not always an option, but it affords you a lot of time to get ready, not to mention salvage the destruction of your tomato plants if need be.

We took our time getting ready, and had a nice leisurely meal before we hit the road, which is great because eating while on the road is not always easy. Learning from our past experiences, we packed a ton of food for the plane flight. Flying today is not the warm and fuzzy experience it used to be because the airlines don't give you much in the way of food or anything. It's a bare bones experience, but we really can't complain because it's still pretty affordable, and it's really about just getting to your destination. Besides, we complain too much anyway, when in fact we have so much we should be grateful for, but don't get me started.

As any parent knows, traveling is more of a challenge with the kids, so we pack plenty of sandwiches and snacks. You can't have too much, so we bring what's reasonable to carry. This allows us to try to bring stuff that is at least marginally healthy, as well. The drive down was smooth because it was Sunday and we avoided rush hour, and our hotel was nice, as well. We couldn't stay at our beloved Embassy Suites because it was just too expensive, but the Holiday Inn Express worked out just fine. The hotel was close enough to the airport, and the parking was great because we left the car in what seemed like a safe spot, really close to the front entrance.

The hotel is close to a shopping complex that has a Panera, which is a good option for a meal. You can get food that is reasonably healthy and reasonably priced. A win-win in my book. After a quick meal, it was back to the hotel and straight to be. We had a 8AM flight, which meant a 6AM departure from the hotel. Lucky for us, getting up wasn't too difficult. Plus, the breakfast people were nice enough to let us eat early, and we chowed down. The food was good, maybe a little more variety than the generic junk you always get most chain hotels, i.e. no pre-fab eggs and nasty waffle machines.

Then it was off to the airport, which again, was smooth. The hotel has a shuttle, and it was right on time. We checked in at the desk and had some time to spare at the gate. As hard as it is to wake up, an early morning flight has many perks. First off, you have the whole day still ahead of you, but it's also a little quieter at the airport, and the airlines haven't had as much of a chance to fall behind schedule. It's not much, but I'll take it.

Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to Alan_is for the pic.