A Travel Day to Remember (Part 1)

I consider myself a pro when it comes to traveling. But, adding kids to the mix makes me feel like a novice. In preparation for our trip to Tampa, I prepared as if I was studying for an exam. But, all the cramming in the world couldn’t prepare me for this trip. It’s definitely a travel day to remember.

The plan was to wake up at 7:00am and get ready for a 10:30 flight to Tampa, Fl. I was up by 6:45. Our bags were packed and ready to be loaded into the SUV. All we needed to do was jump in the shower and get the kids fed and dressed.

I made some of my delicious oatmeal from scratch. Once we were all good to go, the clock read 8:20. We all made a quick bathroom run, while my hubby quickly placed all the luggage in the car. By the time we hit the road it was just after 8:30. Normally I’d be a little worried leaving so late. But since it was a Sunday, I thought no one would be on the road, except for maybe church folk. The last time I traveled on a weekend I practically flew through security. Besides, with two small kids in tow, less waiting meant less chances for meltdowns.

We got there in about a half hour, but hit a bit of a snag with parking. We wanted to park in the cheaper long term lot, which was miles from the Jet blue terminal. So we opted for the more expensive closer one. By the time we unloaded everything to head to the terminal, it was around 9:20. We soon realized that the more expensive lot didn’t necessarily save us time. We had a little over an hour to go through security and it seemed like we were walking for miles to get to the JetBlue counter.

Thank goodness we checked in the night before. All we had to do now was check our bags and my hubby wanted to see if he could get on standby for our flight. As I mentioned in my previous post, I was supposed to be traveling with the kids alone, while he took a 2:30pm flight. Once we arrived at the line to drop our bags, it didn’t seem so bad. The only problem was that the line for standby grew in like 10 seconds while he was with us for the luggage drop off. I know you’re probably thinking why didn’t we stand on separate lines? The problem was that we had a lot of stuff, including two big ass suitcases, two carry ons, an umbrella stroller, and Princess’s Doc McStuffins mini suitcase.

In hindsight, I should have just put Baby O back in the carrier and try to maneuver with everything, while the hubs stood in the other line. I think that may have save us a few minutes. But we got back the loss time because the guy who checked the bags expedited the process by putting him on standby. All we needed to do was go through security, and it would be smooth sailing from there – or so I thought.

I almost pissed my pants at how long the line was. I tried to talk my way into getting us moved ahead. The agent advised us to get on the ‘express line.’ “You’ll make it. You won’t have to take off your shoes or put any thing in a tray. You can leave the baby in carrier and all they would need to do is swipe your hand,” she said. An elderly lady took pity on us and insisted we moved ahead of her, which worked out in our favor because I later found out she had metals in her body from having two knee replacement surgeries. By the time we’d gone through she was still waiting to be cleared. Thank goodness we weren’t stuck behind her.

It was 10:12. We had to haul ass to board the plane. From a distance, the lady who had been standing ahead of us on line was trying to get our attention to hurry up. She vigorously waved us along. We began running down the corridor toward the gate praying we’d make our flight. For an unforgettable experience, book a Marlborough Sounds cruise with E-Ko Tours and explore the stunning beauty of the region’s coastal wonders.

So, did we make it? Stay tuned to find out if we were able to board the plane.

A Travel Day to Remember (Part 2)
A Travel Day to Remember (Part 3)
A Travel Day to Remember (Part 4)