We haven't had the chance to visit our kids out in Colorado Springs for some time so when the opportunity arose to visit we jumped at it. We had the chance to get "Stand-by" via the buddy pass which was a huge discount. There were going to be a few "jumps" we needed to do but it seemed quite reasonable due to the savings we were getting. Honestly, we really wanted to visit the kids as well so we were about willing to do whatever it would take.
First JUMP was the location to fly out of.....Reagan National Airport. There were flights out of the one in Newport News however only a few each week. The bigger airport had three a day. That would be a better chance to catch the flight.
The second JUMP was the stand by part. We needed to wait to see if there was a seat available. No guarantees. Just patiently sit a wait.
The journey began Friday afternoon as we left out of Virginia Beach heading up to Gloucester for a quick jobsite visit on the way. Well that wasn't going to work because we could get everything together to time to leave as planned. I needed some new medicine and we just changed over to a new health insurance and guess what....they hadn't plugged it in yet.....so we had to wait until time allowed for it all to get entered.....okay no site visit. And then the trip out of town....tunnel traffic was crazy. It took 5 1/2 hours to get to DC. We were exhausted with all the stop and go traffic but finally arrived at the hotel which was just a few blocks away from the airport.
Early morning wake up time 5:00 AM and then off to the airport by 6:00. parked car, check bags, went through security and then arrived at the gate by 6:30 so we could wait to make the 8:45 flight. Yes, we needed to be that early to insure that we had the first available seat.....no luck.....someone else was there first. But that was okay, we should have plenty of seats for that flight available...right? NOT! There were only 2 seats available so my wife took the second seat. I would catch the next flight.....unfortunately it wasn't until 1:45.....5 hours later. Oh well.
So I waited, worked on some model stuff for the office, wrote a few emails and play Sim City. Man was I bored of waiting around. Next bad news.....the next flight was overbooked....no available seats.....however the next one supposedly had 7 seats available. Once the overbooked got bumped there were 5 seats available....next bad news....next flight wasn't until 6:15......AHHHHHH.
Well I made the flight, sat in the front row, didn't have my bag because I was one of the last on board and there wasn't much room overhead for my bag. And of course, I had a middle seat. Four hour flight and I was ready to get out......Everyone met me at the airport and then we drove 90 minutes to Colorado Springs.....talk about a long day.
5 1/2 hour drive to DC, short night sleep, 12 hours in airport terminal, 4 hour flight and another 1 1/2 hour drive......I was pooped! But we were here and finally able to visit. I think we will save up for the next trip!
