North Florida Writer
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Life Around Us
  • Contact
  • MY BOOK PAGE

NOSTALGIC MEMORIES OF THANKSGIVING TRAVEL

11/21/2018

1 Comment

 
Picture
All of us have memories of travel for Thanksgiving.  It’s a wonderful time to gather together in thankfulness with those who are far away that we love.  The memories are good ones, we always forget the not so hot moments, but even they are funny when we look back at them later.  One such occasion in my family was about twenty years ago when we were living in Jacksonville.  We wanted to go home to Virginia to visit family and our plans were to fly to Norfolk, then rent a car at the airport and drive across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. We would visit at the home of my father-in-law in the quaint bayside town of Onancock on the Eastern Shore.

Always looking for a good deal, we decided to fly out in the wee hours of the morning on Thanksgiving Day.  I had to work all day Wednesday and did not want the hassle of a late- night flight, then the two-hour drive to Onancock. Besides, Thanksgiving morning flights came with a huge discount and according to the ticket agent on the phone, there were quite a number of empty seats, allowing us to spread out a bit with an empty seat in the middle of the row.  I could really stretch out. 

The airline agent on the phone informed me there would be a stop with change on the way due to the heavy volume of previous night flights but that it would only lengthen our travel time by about an hour.at Thanksgiving time. I made the arrangements and bright and early we arrived at the airport and picked up our tickets, took a seat in the waiting area and awaited boarding. The plane was on the tarmac and passengers joined us but there were only about forty, which even at this strange flying time seemed very small. After all, connecting flights to Norfolk were through either Atlanta or Charlotte and were usually quite full any day of the year.

I pulled out my ticket and looked at it and quickly found out why.  Our connecting flight was taking us to “Motown,” Detroit, the Motor City. Talking about going around my knee to get to my thumb, I couldn’t believe it. But then I realized the mistake I had made for I told the telephone agent I was willing to take a connecting flight as I wanted to save money and she took it upon herself to find the cheapest flight, which happened to be via the roundabout route through Detroit. So, sitting there building a slight stew, I had no one to blame but myself.

Luckily, the layover in Detroit was very fast and the connection was at the gate adjacent to arrival, so when we made it to Norfolk, we were only forty-five minutes behind schedule. We were blessed by a strong jet stream that pushed the plane along its way.  As we walked off the plane in Norfolk and went to the rental car station, I decided to splurge a bit and got an upgraded rental.   At least I could go into the in-law’s house in style while my wife told her mom about my cost saving flight arrangements.

But even the car pickup wasn’t without an issue, for when I was dropped off at the lot and the bus headed back to the airport, I noticed a significant dent in the fender and I didn’t want to be blamed for it. So, I flagged down the next bus and told the driver. He laughed and told me not to worry.

“Every car on this lot probably has least one dent, Captain,” he said in a joking voice, “This is Navy Town USA and they send all the minor defects to us to rent.”

 I did write out a note and asked him to give it the person on duty, citing lot and space number and condition and I made a note to memory about it for later and then we were off.  Well, the big Town Car was nice and drove like a charm and the traffic was light since most travelers already had completed their journey. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon as we drove across the bay and we made it to Onancock by three, two hours before dinner would be served.

The weekend was a long one, we stayed until Monday and all went well on the trip back until we started our descent into Detroit. The rental car company acknowledged the car was fine so at least that potential problem was out of the way. But looking down at Detroit on a drab afternoon with snow falling, I could see that most of the runways were covered.  The Captain came on before touchdown and told us connecting flights would fly, but there would be significant delays. My mind thought back to college days and flying home under similar conditions and being grounded for nearly twenty-four hours in Chicago.  The good news, however, was that the storm was ending so that runway clearing would begin soon.  And I had to thank God for clearing us to land on the last open runway at the airport.

We arrived at four and decided to get a bite to eat.  That was fortunate since we didn’t depart until almost nine. And Wayne County Airport was in the midst of a big renovation, so with the large going home crowd of impatient flyers, the limited places to sit due to the construction, I’ve never been so glad to get on a plane with a seat instead of sitting in a crowded hallway on the floor. But we did make it.  A day that should have ended with arrival home l at six-thirty didn’t end until eleven and I had to go to work the next morning.

We made the trip several more times before loss of parents, but from then on, I decided to drive. We took our time, often took less crowded back roads and saw places of interest that we would have never seen otherwise. And now I always try to look for the blessing in the clouds of daily life even when it looks gloomy . There are many when we open our eyes and look.

 
 
 
 

1 Comment
Ross Parks
11/22/2018 08:57:11 pm

Thank you, James, for sharing your life adventures with us. Always a joy to read about and see, through your photographs, where you have traveled.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    ABOUT ME

    Hi, I'm James, a writer who studies nature,  animals and all things created by God. I also write from time to time about what I think God expects of us.  I would love to hear your thoughts on these subjects. I hope you enjoy my comments.

    Archive

    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012

    Picture

    Categories

    All
    America
    American Sports
    Animals
    Armed Forces Day
    Conservatism
    Doctorpatient0717615167
    Elections-2016
    Florida
    Florida-politics
    Freedom
    Freedom-of-speech
    Geese
    God
    Gods Glory0546cd6883
    Health Care
    Honor
    Integrity
    Jesus Christ
    Koch-brothers
    Leisure-time
    Love
    Military
    Nature
    Primaries
    Proverbs
    Safety
    Savior
    The Future
    Top-political-donors-list
    Tyrannical-government

    RSS Feed

Thanks for contacting northfloridawriter.com.
Photos used under Creative Commons from Arian Zwegers, trvlto, thomas pix, taberandrew, Justin A. Wilcox, Glyn Lowe Photoworks, ckay, phalinn, curtis palmer, bnpositive, oddsock, HooLengSiong, jespahjoy, illustir, ljlphotography, Out at Bob's, The Labour Party, ljlphotography, Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com, eli.pousson, JasonParis, Fibonacci Blue, wht_wolf9653, bsabarnowl, ` TheDreamSky, Ken_Hoffman, dsearls, NCinDC, James Byrum, DonkeyHotey, Waiting For The Word, cliff1066™, possan, dpape, David Holt London, akeg, Waiting For The Word, Glyn Lowe Photoworks, MilitaryHealth, yukali, infomatique, goforchris, cliff1066™, Wootang01, dctim1, Donald Lee Pardue, LizMarie_AK, campdarby, CedarBendDrive, bill85704, faeparsons, TMAB2003, cliff1066™, Rennett Stowe, KOMUnews, cliff1066™, chris.huggins, USDAgov, mat_walker, gruntzooki, DonkeyHotey, ljlphotography, Elvert Barnes, Paulsasleepwalker, facebook.com/snapshotsofthepast, foto3116, Miller_Center, digitonin, BostonCatholic, Watt_Dabney, jepoirrier, EpicFireworks, derekskey, cletch, DonkeyHotey, KOMUnews, DonkeyHotey, ravensong75, Alan Cleaver, Francisco Diez, hermmermferm, cod_gabriel, Marxchivist, Fibonacci Blue, dbgg1979, “Caveman Chuck” Coker, David Barrie, rjs1322, Just Another Wretch, Keith Laverack, Waiting For The Word, whoohoo120, AFS-USA Intercultural Programs, Brett Jordan, yisris, Michael Hodge, Waiting For The Word, MilitaryHealth, doceggman, AlmazUK, taberandrew, cliff1066™, krossbow, shinya, The Jewish Agency for Israel, kudumomo, “Caveman Chuck” Coker, cliff1066™, johntrainor, emilio labrador, cliff1066™, EraPhernalia Vintage . . . (playin' hook-y ;o), **emmar**, Mrs. Gemstone, Andrea Westmoreland, Jeff Kern, Waiting For The Word, Abdulsalam Haykal, Donald Lee Pardue, roberthuffstutter, Dougtone, b1mbo, DonkeyHotey, paularps, kaatjevervoort, Simon Davison, BONGURI, Marion Doss, ex_magician, Bergfels, Brett Jordan, Tim Evanson, Art4TheGlryOfGod, Jeff Kubina, sskennel, DonkeyHotey, VirtKitty, Rodrigo_Soldon, resistealeau, MilitaryHealth, edalisse, Mervi Eskelinen aka tasselflower, Kaz Andrew, nitram242, Andrew Aliferis, uitdragerij, Paul J Everett, Joe Shlabotnik, Jeffrey, Harry Thomas Photography, Tim Evanson, U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Northeast Region, Ron Cogswell, Nationalmuseet, escapedtowisconsin, Michael Cory, DonkeyHotey, timsamoff, mrbillt6, bnilsen, themonnie, dichohecho, Waiting For The Word, technochick, cliff1066™, RTD Photography, Randy Wick, Enokson, Rising Damp, DonkeyHotey, Waiting For The Word, SteveNakatani, Fovea Centralis, Dru Bloomfield - At Home in Scottsdale, lisaclarke, Mulad, Roswell_UMC, Bengt Nyman, U.S. Embassy New Delhi, FreedomHouse2, SuperFantastic, Rory Finneren, Alaskan Dude, Larry1732, Mr. T in DC, ikewinski, Ivy Dawned, RLHyde, Waiting For The Word, heartajack, dyogi, dailymatador, David Paul Ohmer, Pleuntje, Leonard Bentley, midwestnerd, Donald Lee Pardue, DonkeyHotey, Oli-Oviyan, PatrikWalde, flamesworddragon, The U.S. Army, Zach Heller Photography, DonkeyHotey, EvinDC, Marine Corps Archives & Special Collections, Ronnie Macdonald, Gerry Dincher, The U.S. Army, Jeff Belmonte, DonkeyHotey, Texas Military Forces, jim.greenhill, Ben Sutherland, the Original Jeff Martin, Loz Flowers, CBP Photography, spbpda, OCVA, Hot Rod Homepage, brianholsclaw, dozodomo, quinn.anya, KOMUnews, wtstoffs, Leo Newball, Jr., lilli2de, dmott9, Justin A. Wilcox, sören2013, boboroshi, newagecrap, CoreBurn, simminch, ninahale, EvinDC, Mister Awesome, HeyRocker, beggs, Donald Lee Pardue