The Beginning of Vacation

Greetings all! I am home fresh off a lovely vacation at the Chatham Bars Inn in beautiful Chatham, Massachusetts.

The Friday of our departure, Ryan returned home from work. As the dogs greeted him and the cats complained about being stuck inside, I exclaimed, “You’re on vacation, baby!”

My statement was a bit premature. Little did I know, we had plenty of stress and confusion to muck through before our vacation would really begin. First off, we had to make some final travel arrangements. We booked our hotel in Boston for that evening and made arrangements for the rental car. Then we drove to Hunt Club Kennel to drop off hopeful Jimmie and Henry. Next, we were making our way to the airport when I got a call from the airline. They noticed our Norfolk flight was delayed and we were going to miss our connection in Philadelphia.

The nice young man on phone kept me online as he keyed in search criteria and tried to find us a way to make our connection. He tried earlier flights, flights from different airports and different carriers. But alas, the best he could do was fly us out first thing the next morning.

“If we are flying tomorrow,” I overheard Ryan say, “we might as well take the jet.”

The “jet” would be the G4 my uncle arranged from NetJets to take my DC relatives to the Cape. It was leaving Baltimore at 11 AM the next morning. U.S. Airways agreed to give us a full refund for our airfare. Meanwhile we booked return flights for just $100 dollars! We cancelled our rental car, but unfortunately we took a hit on the hotel. Even though we had booked our room just a mere 80 minutes before, the Wyndham hotel in Chelsea, MA is still charging us our full rate for the room. We were supposed to cancel the room 47 hours before the actual reservation was made. Policy trumps common courtesy.

We had a lot of tunnel traffic, but eventually we made it to my parents’ house in Occoquan, Virginia.

Vacation time? Not yet! Sleeping at my parents’ house is sometimes a bit of a challenge. The next morning Ryan and I drove separately to BWI Airport. But first, we had to wake up Dad– which is more of a challenge than getting sleep ourselves. I tried to rouse Dad a mere 15 minutes before our departure time. It brought back a lot of memories. I had the unsavory job of waking up Dad my entire high school career. This day, Dad was as reluctant as ever to get out of bed.

“I know what time I want to wake up,” he grumbled, “and it is NOT time.”

You know, I do have to admit that perhaps my father knew what he was doing all along. When it was time to leave, there he was– wide awake and waiting on everyone else.

Ryan and I had an uneventful commute to BWI. We made it to the airport with plenty of time. We were flying back commercial, so we parked in Long Term Parking. The plan was for my parents to pick us up and take us to the private jet. Well, it turns out my parents had gotten lost. My Dad may have known what time he wanted to get up at, but apparently he struggled with which direction to go on the Beltway. No biggie. Perhaps Ryan and I could walk to the plane. So I called my Mom to find out where to meet the NetJet.

She had no idea!

So I called my Aunt Maria who told me what road I needed to go to. At the same time, I was negotiating with a shuttle bus driver to see if we could hitch a ride. I hung up with my aunt and I promptly forgot the name of the street, so with some shame I had to call her again and have her field the exact same question.

Ryan and I waited for a while outside Long Term Parking for my parents. As time ticked by and unfamiliar cars continued to whiz by, one certainty became strikingly clear.

“I don’t know where they are or when they are going to get here, ” I told Ryan, “But I *guarantee* you there’s a lot of yelling going on right now!”

Ryan and I were having some cell phone difficulties. My cell phone wouldn’t show my location, but it would show the mysterious Aaronson drive we needed to get to. Meanwhile Ryan’s cell phone didn’t believe Aaronson drive existed, but it did show his location. Just as Jack Sprat and his wife could eat their plates clean, Ryan and I were able to team up and determine we weren’t very far from the NetJet at all. We decided to walk!

Ryan Walking to the NetJets Terminal

We made it to the terminal right at 11… just as my parents were unloading their car. We had our stresses, but in the end we all made it on the jet.

Victorious Vicky at the Terminal

Family Boards Jet

It was at that moment, after two days of confusion and surprises and evolving travel plans– Ryan and I could relax and say our vacation truly began.

Yay! Vacation Officially Starts

And you’d be hardpressed to kick off a vacation better than NetJets. : )

Clint and Carolyn Enjoy Drinks

My Cousin on the Plane

NetJets Feed You Well

View From Plane

Happy Grandma

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