Our Alaska cruise vacation: Day 1
I was ready for this vacation.
I packed four days before our flight, planned for weeks, got a good night's sleep the night before and then had an easy, smooth morning. Never-mind that two days prior, the cruise line cancelled one of our excursion days (Our favorite day, at that. Grandma, the boys and I were going on a train ride to Canada. And see the sled dogs!).
We were ready.
I packed four days before our flight, planned for weeks, got a good night's sleep the night before and then had an easy, smooth morning. Never-mind that two days prior, the cruise line cancelled one of our excursion days (Our favorite day, at that. Grandma, the boys and I were going on a train ride to Canada. And see the sled dogs!).
We were ready.
Loaded in the car at 9:30 a.m. Friday morning, to arrive two hours early for our 12:30 p.m. departure, I received a text that our flight was delayed an hour and fifteen minutes. We returned to the house to figure out a new plan. Our connecting flight from Dallas to Seattle was scheduled to leave 3 minutes after we would arrive in Dallas...so, that wasn't going to work. We booked a later connecting flight and headed toward the airport for the second time that day.
Thus began our adventure, and what an adventure it would be. After our flight from Austin was delayed another two (or three? I lost count) times, we ended up taking a direct flight from Austin to Seattle on a different airline. It departed at 6:47 pm. That's right, folks, Mr. Voigt and I survived a good six hours in an airport with three little boys.
They were well-behaved. We passed the time with walks through the terminals, hangman, leappads and a movie. By the time we made it on the plane, Lucas had been awake since 7 a.m. with no nap. There was one moment in the air where he unbuckled and said loudly "I want *off* this plane!" But by the grace of God we averted a full fledged tantrum.
Truly, the delay was not what we would have asked for but our day was well-spent. I talked with several people who were also affected by the delays, in different ways...one woman was headed to Mexico City for her 30th birthday party with her entire family, only she wasn't going to make the party. Another girl was waiting to get home to Arkansas and this was the only way she could get there because it was an out-of-the-way airport. A man from Dallas was trying to get home after being gone all week, working in Austin. So many stories and we were just along for the ride. Even though we joked about all the time spent in the airport later, I truly didn't mind and I felt blessed once again to have Justin by my side--there was a time in my life where I would have allowed myself to be frustrated by a situation like that and irritated at whomever's fault it was--but truly life is so much better spent making the best of every situation, even the less than desirable ones.
Truly, the delay was not what we would have asked for but our day was well-spent. I talked with several people who were also affected by the delays, in different ways...one woman was headed to Mexico City for her 30th birthday party with her entire family, only she wasn't going to make the party. Another girl was waiting to get home to Arkansas and this was the only way she could get there because it was an out-of-the-way airport. A man from Dallas was trying to get home after being gone all week, working in Austin. So many stories and we were just along for the ride. Even though we joked about all the time spent in the airport later, I truly didn't mind and I felt blessed once again to have Justin by my side--there was a time in my life where I would have allowed myself to be frustrated by a situation like that and irritated at whomever's fault it was--but truly life is so much better spent making the best of every situation, even the less than desirable ones.
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| Boarding the shuttle bus to the airport! |
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| Movie time. |
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| Lucas Cole: adventurer, bald eagle lover, and airport navigating pro. |
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