Stand Back! It is time for a quick vaca (Part 2 of Standby)

So now that the "Standby flights" are done, and I'm back from that quick vacation, I can tell you all how it went...

Mmmm, a bagel from Boise...

My first experience of flying standby was a little nerve wracking, especially when the terminal was as full as the one I was in. Before I went to the airport, I had to pick up my travel buddy, Isaac.  He had no idea we were taking a trip to see his cousins.  When we finally told him, he was kind of in shock, no real reaction.  When we showed him the packed bags in my car, the squealing began.  Needless to say, he was very excited.  So off to the airport, hoping to get on a 5:30 flight to Seattle.

It turned out that another flight had been cancelled due to weather, so they were re-routing people that had connecting flights.  As a "Standby" flyer, all I could do was stand by and wait.  Turns out we didn't make that flight, then panic ensued.  I stood in line for 15 minutes before getting some help.  Turns out they were in the process of boarding another flight that was also going to Seattle, but it was connecting through Lewiston.  She asked me what my "final" destination was...I first thought eternal life with my Father up in Heaven, but then I knew that wasn't so soon, so I said Oakland.  She then told me that if I made this flight (which I did), they could get me on a connector that night to Oakland.  Please keep in mind I'm running on 3 hours of sleep and a 5 hour energy from 8 hours ago.  I just wanted to get to Seattle, go to the hotel, and get at least 6 hours of sleep.  We got on the 6:20 connecting flight and we're off.

Almost there...

After we left Lewiston, I kept thinking about the connecting flight to Oakland, so I asked Isaac what he would rather do.  Of course he wanted to see Nana and Papa as soon as possible, so I knew once we hit the ground in Seattle, it was going to get complicated.  I quickly put together a mental 'to-do' list.

• contact parents and confirm they can pick up from OAKLAND airport at 11:00
• contact AlaskaAir to make sure we could get on the 8:30 flight to Oakland
• contact hotel in Seattle to confirm that reservation can be cancelled
• contact hotel assuming reservation can be cancelled
• contact Becky to cancel reservation since I could not locate number to Expedia
• contact Becky to contact parents to confirm pickup since they did not answer their phone
• try and find some food before getting on the plane (FAILED)

Aside from the food, all the above tasks were completed within 10 minutes...we got on the plane and relaxed a little.  Turned out we could order some food on the plane, once we took off...we landed in Oakland around 10:40, picked up at the terminal by both my parents, and it was time to relax...sort of.

(Public Service Announcement: If you travel with your child, and he has a tendency to kick in his sleep...make sure he sleeps in some other location not occupied by you.)

The next morning we went to "Nana C's" to see my Aunts, my Nana, and Nanu.  The one thing you can always count on when you go to "Nana C's" is being fed.  It's almost like she's not happy till you're eating some of her delicious food.  In this case, she had some in the oven when we got there.  I don't want to offend, so I had to say yes...to my cousins who may be reading this, you know exactly what I mean, but how could you say no?

I found it very entertaining when my aunts said, no thank you, they didn't want any...at least till the plate hit the table, then it was the in home kitchen version of a feeding frenzy once the Għaġin il-Forn hit the table.  It was good to see the family though.


Finally made it to my brother's house and Isaac couldn't of been more excited to see his cousin Addison.  We ended up having lunch at a bakery called Boudin's in a local shopping plaza.  The food was good and the weather was nice so we ate outside, and it was 'LOUD'.  We managed, we always do.  It wasn't till later that day that Isaac's other two cousins, Olivia and Josh finally made it home...they the fun really started.

Since it's late, I'll finish this up in "Standby, Part 3".  Till then... goodnight, and only 8 months and 18 days till the HOBBIT.

-Brian