July 4th - I woke up to a beautiful, cool morning. Had breakfast, cuddled with the kids and then set out for Indy and the beginning of my latest travel adventures.
My first observation was that Samantha (my GPS) seems to take me to Indy via a different route every time I go. I think she just likes to test my faith in her ability to get me where I'm going. But I was in a good mood, so I just let her do the navigating and bopped along with Casey Kasem's AT 40 from sometime in the 70's. good times.
I received a text while driving, from the grandson of a friend asking me to get a picture of a Leprechaun for him and his twin sister. I was concerned for a minute that he didn't realize that they weren't real, but then decided that the odds were than we'd probably see someone dressed up like a leprechaun during the trip, so I accepted the challenge. Yes, I admit that I texted my response while driving - this was bad of me.
I drove straight through to Indy which, in retrospect wasn't wise. I was almost crippled (my knee, remember) when I was getting out of the car at Chez Burns. A friend of Tom's came and picked us up to take us to the airport - I thought this was very nice of him. Turns out I think he was just killing time before the next World Cup game.
Upon arrival at Indy Int'l Airport, upon checking in, I discovered that I could "upgrade" my seat to a bulkhead seat for a mere $19, which I did - this was a wise decision, as it allowed me more leg room and I was able to stretch my leg out more. We also made arrangements for a cart to assist me in getting from gate to gate in Chicago. After going through security, we immediately hit the gift shop! I bought a bottle of water and a couple of adorbs refrigerator magnets.
The flight from Indy to Chicago was uneventful and upon arrival, there was a cart to trek us from our gate to the security office, where I was then was transferred to a wheelchair for transport via trolley to the international terminal. Turns out that the decision to do this was also wise, as I'm not sure my knee would have made the trip. Plus, the guy who was steering my wheelchair, and getting us through security, was incredibly nice and funny.
At Chicago, I was able to "upgrade" my seat to the "infant" seat aisle. This aisle, it turns out, has more room because there are baby changing tables on the wall (like in a McD's bathroom) that can be pulled down. Fortunately there were no babies. And while the leg room wasn't great, it was much better than it could have been and I was right near the bathroom, so if I needed to get up, I could easily make sure there wasn't anyone in there before I got up. Also, I know about the mile-high club and all that, but while contemplating raising myself from the seat in the tiny bathroom, (which action requires thought and preparation), I'm noticing how small the room was. Now I realize I'm a big girl, but this is a tiny room. HOW do they do that??
Our flight didn't leave until a little more than 30 minutes after it was scheduled to leave, but yet, due to fabulous tail winds, we arrived in Dublin almost an hour ahead of schedule! Incredible. Oh, and just let me point out that if you're going to travel, traveling on July 4th is highly recommended. The airports were all quite empty. Two thumbs up for traveling on a national holiday!
As I said, we arrived early, but it turns out that Bill, our traveling companion, was arriving late due to a flat tire. I think I've mentioned Bill. He is Tom's best friend, was his best man, and is a fun guy and a very picky eater. Other than the picky eating thing, he fits in well with the group. I have christened the two of them, Bill and Tom, the Spice Girls because spicy foods are not their forte.
Bill's plane finally arrived and after a few Abbott/Costello-like moments, we found him. On to the rental car place! Now remember, we're in Ireland and there's the whole driving on the left side of the road thing... along with the steering wheel being on the right side of the car. I was very glad that I'm not the one driving. Although more leg room would be nice :) ! We found Bill and Tom's hotel, got them checked in and (after first being given someone else's room,) dumped their luggage. Next we were off to find Holly's and my's hostel. I was under the misunderstanding that we were staying in a college dorm. I know we are in Edinburgh, but this is an actual hostel. The room is very small. In fact, square foot wise, I'm thinking it's about the same size as a cell that we saw in the gaol (jail) later on on the trip. But we have a working toilet. But for about $45 per person per night, and considering we aren't spending that much time in the room, it is fine. Plus, we get free breakfast! Which is more than Bill and Tom are getting at their hotel. But they have TV and we don't, so it's a draw.
After dumping our crap at our hostel (I seemed to want to incorrectly call it a brothel at first, and now I just lovingly refer to it as our hovel), we met up with the guys and took a walk to the Temple Bar district to the actual Temple Bar - it was very noisy and busy, and really sort of what I envisioned. Not being a big bar person, I would have preferred a nice meal at a restaurant, but it was definitely an experience to be had. There appeared to be two different bachelor parties going on and despite it only being like 6-ish, they were well onto having a very good time!
We trotted back to the hovel, hitting a gift shop or two on the way, and then finally Holly and I collapsed in our room. I called Mom using the Viber app (which if I haven't mentioned before, allows for free telephone and texting over the internet, so you don't have to deal with international calling) and the sound quality was off the charts! Very impressed. After reassuring Mom that her precious baby girl (and the other one) had arrived safely and inquiring as to the status of my precious babies, Rose zonked out. It had been a long day, covering six different time zones, and I'd earned a good night's sleep.
No comments:
Post a Comment