Road Trip 2 2

[DWLange]

I'm sure everyone has heard about the meltdown in airline flights over the weekend. This affected the NGC team as it left the Whitman Baltimore show Saturday afternoon. Our direct flight from BWI to Sarasota was cancelled, and we were redirected to Columbus, Ohio with a connecting flight to Sarasota. After boarding the Columbus flight, we were then told that there would be no connecting flight before Tuesday night! The six of us elected to instead rent a van at BWI and drive the entire way, rotating stints at the wheel. It took us 18 hours to get home.

[Just Bob]

I am glad you were able to find a van. Beats having to catch a ride with some polka band from Wisconsin.

I am out of the loop, apparently. What happened with the airlines?

[GoldFinger1969]

WTH happened ?

[Alex in PA.]

On 4/4/2022 at 6:01 PM, Just Bob said:

What happened with the airlines?

Alaska Airlines for one had a walk out of pilots wanting more coin and better conditions.  With some others it was a bad weather front in Florida.

[VKurtB]

On 4/4/2022 at 5:11 PM, Alex in PA. said:

Alaska Airlines for one had a walk out of pilots wanting more coin and better conditions.  With some others it was a bad weather front in Florida.

I’ve done that run by myself several times, starting NORTH of BWI and ending up SOUTH of Sarasota. 

[tj96]

The whole stinkin' system is collapsing around us!  It's like we're living in a third world country!!  You can't even get a flight today, ridiculous!! And the excuses the airlines give is bogus!  The country is it decline!!  It's shameful and embarrassing!

Glad your van, gas and food were paid by NGC.  Don't want to think what that would have cost you out of pocket!   Glad you guys made it back safe! 

Thanks for all you do helping us guys!  👍🏻

[The Neophyte Numismatist]

@Just Bob I also had visuals of John Candy and Steve Martin.

@DWLange I am glad you made it home safe.  I love a good road trip... but, those impromptu jobs are never fun.  Hope you get a day to recover.

[Zebo]

I missed you guys in Baltimore this year, decided to stay home and save my gas money. I never fly any more unless I cannot help it. Trains and my gas guzzling truck are they only way to go. Besides - I just can’t wear a mask that long.

 

 

Edited April 5, 2022 by Zebo
Type

[Coinbuf]

Glad you made it home safe, I too am out of the loop as I heard nothing about any airline issues.

[Woods020]

Ah the joys of air travel. I’m a very very frequent flyer and these types of things happen more than most realize. You occasionally get stuck for a night somewhere random, connections cancelled and you have to get creative, weather, etc. My personal favorite is after boarding the plane the pilot times out. You would think they would know that before boarding but nope. I have that happen atleast once a year. With the worst luck in the history of man kind, and traveling enough to get somewhat accustomed to these issues, it’s never fun. And it usually happens when you are dead tired, as I’m sure you were after the show, and want nothing more than to simply get home. I hope you atleast had some laughs on the road trip. 

[tj96]

On 4/4/2022 at 7:43 PM, Woods020 said:

Ah the joys of air travel. I’m a very very frequent flyer and these types of things happen more than most realize. You occasionally get stuck for a night somewhere random, connections cancelled and you have to get creative, weather, etc. My personal favorite is after boarding the plane the pilot times out. You would think they would know that before boarding but nope. I have that happen atleast once a year. With the worst luck in the history of man kind, and traveling enough to get somewhat accustomed to these issues, it’s never fun. And it usually happens when you are dead tired, as I’m sure you were after the show, and want nothing more than to simply get home. I hope you atleast had some laughs on the road trip. 

Like a greyhound bus in the sky!  

What am I saying!?!?...  A greyhound bus on the ground would have been 100% better!!

[Hoghead515]

On 4/4/2022 at 5:44 PM, DWLange said:

I'm sure everyone has heard about the meltdown in airline flights over the weekend. This affected the NGC team as it left the Whitman Baltimore show Saturday afternoon. Our direct flight from BWI to Sarasota was cancelled, and we were redirected to Columbus, Ohio with a connecting flight to Sarasota. After boarding the Columbus flight, we were then told that there would be no connecting flight before Tuesday night! The six of us elected to instead rent a van at BWI and drive the entire way, rotating stints at the wheel. It took us 18 hours to get home.

Im not far off from Columbus. Bout 45 min from Portsmouth on the Ky side of the river. I used to work down there. Had to drive it every weekend for a couple months. Worked in Miami. I hated that drive after the second trip. Had to drive it myself because my road partner didnt have a drivers license. How far off from Miami or Ft Lauderdale is Sarasota? I loved Florida. Just not the drive. 

[tj96]

On 4/4/2022 at 8:00 PM, Hoghead515 said:

Im not far off from Columbus. Bout 45 min from Portsmouth on the Ky side of the river. I used to work down there. Had to drive it every weekend for a couple months. Worked in Miami. I hated that drive after the second trip. Had to drive it myself because my road partner didnt have a drivers license. How far off from Miami or Ft Lauderdale is Sarasota? I loved Florida. Just not the drive. 

Here you go Hog.

 

[Hoghead515]

On 4/4/2022 at 7:49 PM, tj96 said:

Like a greyhound bus in the sky!  

What am I saying!?!?...  A greyhound bus on the ground would have been 100% better!!

I hate flying. Im very nervous. My 15 year old son is going on a trip to Utah in a few days. Hes in the upward bound program in school and wrote an essay and got picked to go. They only pick a very small number out of around 500 kids. Whoever wanted to go had to write an essay on why they should be picked. He talked about it constantly. He really wanted to go. Hes very religous. He would say his prayers every night and pray to go on the trip to. He ended up getting his wish. Well Im very nervous and have been worrying myself to death about him flying out there. Its got me all tore up. Im not big on him flying. He told me not to worry. Said he trust in the Lord to keep him safe. I trust he will be safe but still worry. I guess thats just part of being a parent. The times I flew I was a nervous wreck. 

[Hoghead515]

On 4/4/2022 at 5:44 PM, DWLange said:

I'm sure everyone has heard about the meltdown in airline flights over the weekend. This affected the NGC team as it left the Whitman Baltimore show Saturday afternoon. Our direct flight from BWI to Sarasota was cancelled, and we were redirected to Columbus, Ohio with a connecting flight to Sarasota. After boarding the Columbus flight, we were then told that there would be no connecting flight before Tuesday night! The six of us elected to instead rent a van at BWI and drive the entire way, rotating stints at the wheel. It took us 18 hours to get home.

If you went down 75 in Ky you probably passed us putting up guardrail. Probably around 60 miles or so from the Tennessee border. 

[tj96]

On 4/4/2022 at 8:09 PM, Hoghead515 said:

I hate flying. Im very nervous. My 15 year old son is going on a trip to Utah in a few days. Hes in the upward bound program in school and wrote an essay and got picked to go. They only pick a very small number out of around 500 kids. Whoever wanted to go had to write an essay on why they should be picked. He talked about it constantly. He really wanted to go. Hes very religous. He would say his prayers every night and pray to go on the trip to. He ended up getting his wish. Well Im very nervous and have been worrying myself to death about him flying out there. Its got me all tore up. Im not big on him flying. He told me not to worry. Said he trust in the Lord to keep him safe. I trust he will be safe but still worry. I guess thats just part of being a parent. The times I flew I was a nervous wreck. 

You should be afraid to fly Hog.   It's not the fall that kills you, it's the sudden stop!!  

[Hoghead515]

On 4/4/2022 at 8:13 PM, tj96 said:

You should be afraid to fly Hog.   It's not the fall that kills you, it's the sudden stop!!  

Thats the part Im afraid of.  Ive walked away from several car wrecks. It dont happen often but when planes do go down not to many walk away from those. The jet fuel usually gets them if the sudden stop dont. Ill worry myself into chest pains when he leaves. I constantly worry anyways. 

Edited April 5, 2022 by Hoghead515

[tj96]

On 4/4/2022 at 8:15 PM, Hoghead515 said:

Thats the part Im afraid of.  Ive walked away from several car wrecks. It dont happen often but when planes do go down not to many walk away from those. The jet fuel usually gets them if the sudden stop dont. Ill worry myself into chest pains when he leaves. I constantly worry anyways. 

Don't worry, it will all be fine.

[Woods020]

On 4/4/2022 at 7:09 PM, Hoghead515 said:

I hate flying. Im very nervous. My 15 year old son is going on a trip to Utah in a few days. Hes in the upward bound program in school and wrote an essay and got picked to go. They only pick a very small number out of around 500 kids. Whoever wanted to go had to write an essay on why they should be picked. He talked about it constantly. He really wanted to go. Hes very religous. He would say his prayers every night and pray to go on the trip to. He ended up getting his wish. Well Im very nervous and have been worrying myself to death about him flying out there. Its got me all tore up. Im not big on him flying. He told me not to worry. Said he trust in the Lord to keep him safe. I trust he will be safe but still worry. I guess thats just part of being a parent. The times I flew I was a nervous wreck. 

I know it can be nerve racking but it’s actually very safe. If you just look in a big airport at the number of planes and people coming in and out at a constant pace, and think about how rare you hear of a crash, it’s quite safe. However I do understand the concern. And out there over the mountains it can get a little bumpy. It’s just the way the wind is pushed up by a the mountains. But usually nothing to it. I was in Salt Lake City a month or so ago and slept until we landed. 

If it helps those planes have double and usually triple redundancy on all systems. A LOT of things have to go wrong before it’s even a concern. They have things to prevent any conceivable issue.

Do they have a chaperone? It’s always amazing to see the flight attendants tending to the unaccompanied minors. They treat them like kings/queens and they are the first ones off the plane. 
 

Also congratulations. It sounds like you have raised a fine young man. That’s not easy to do these days. You should be very proud. 

Edited April 5, 2022 by Woods020

[Hoghead515]

On 4/4/2022 at 8:23 PM, Woods020 said:

I know it can be nerve racking but it’s actually very safe. If you just look in a big airport at the number of planes and people coming in and out at a constant pace, and think about how rare you hear of a crash, it’s quite safe. However I do understand the concern. And out there over the mountains it can get a little bumpy. It’s just the way the wind is pushed up by a the mountains. But usually nothing to it. I was in Salt Lake City a month or so ago and slept until we landed. 
 

Do they have a chaperone? It’s always amazing to see the flight attendants tending to the unaccompanied minors. They treat them like kings/queens and they are the first ones off the plane. 

They have a few chaperones. Hes flying into Las Vegas. Then going to Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Capitol Reef National Park, Canyonland National Park, and Arches National Park.  Hes very excited. Im very worried but very happy too. That boy deserves it. Hes a really good boy. Hes worked hard and never been in trouble. Ive never been able to take my family on any kind of vacation my whole life. We grew up in poverty.  So Im so happy he gets to go. Thats a really good program they have for them. Both my boys turned out to be good kids. I was always afraid they would get on drugs or something. But I tried my best to raise them right and they turned out great. The youngest wants to be a preacher when he gets older. The oldest aint as religous but is still a good boy. Hes in college now and making straight As. 

[Woods020]

On 4/4/2022 at 7:35 PM, Hoghead515 said:

They have a few chaperones. Hes flying into Las Vegas. Then going to Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Capitol Reef National Park, Canyonland National Park, and Arches National Park.  Hes very excited. Im very worried but very happy too. That boy deserves it. Hes a really good boy. Hes worked hard and never been in trouble. Ive never been able to take my family on any kind of vacation my whole life. We grew up in poverty.  So Im so happy he gets to go. Thats a really good program they have for them. Both my boys turned out to be good kids. I was always afraid they would get on drugs or something. But I tried my best to raise them right and they turned out great. The youngest wants to be a preacher when he gets older. The oldest aint as religous but is still a good boy. Hes in college now and making straight As. 

He will have a blast. That’s a nice drive out through the dessert. 
 

Well many people won’t accomplish in a lifetime what you have raising two good men. You must not be too bad as a dad there Hog. 

[Hoghead515]

On 4/4/2022 at 8:38 PM, Woods020 said:

He will have a blast. That’s a nice drive out through the dessert. 
 

Well many people won’t accomplish in a lifetime what you have raising two good men. You must not be too bad as a dad there Hog. 

I tried my best with them. Tried to teach them right from wrong at a young age. I never could give them a whole lot like I wanted but I taught them alot of life lessons. Gave them way more than I had when I was a kid. Hopfully they make good choices and graduate college and dont struggled as bad. This is a bad geographic location for good money jobs unless you have a good college education. Ive always wished I woulda went to college instead of going straight to work but hindsight is 20/20. Thats why Ive always tried to teach them my failures and to strive to do better. Maybe they can give their children more than what I could provide. I guess at least they never went hungry and have always had a roof over their head tho. I just wish I could have got them more of the things they wanted growing up. Ive plum hijacked this thread. I will quit rambling on. But Im just happy they grew up staying out of trouble and doing good in school. I never was a trouble maker but I didnt do good in school. Barely passed. And got suspended a few times for smoking in school and things like that. Never hurt no one tho. 

[Oldhoopster]

I occasionally visit suppliers for work.  One is a 5 HR drive and one is 6.5 hrs.  I don't live near a major airport, so with the connections it's just a little longer to drive.  With all the delays and cancellations, I rent a car and drive to these locations.  I would rather control my trip than be stuck drinking expensive airport beer watching my flights getting one delay after another

[VKurtB]

On 4/4/2022 at 7:58 PM, Oldhoopster said:

I occasionally visit suppliers for work.  One is a 5 HR drive and one is 6.5 hrs.  I don't live near a major airport, so with the connections it's just a little longer to drive.  With all the delays and cancellations, I rent a car and drive to these locations.  I would rather control my trip than be stuck drinking expensive airport beer watching my flights getting one delay after another

I didn’t know you were with me coming back from Colorado Springs.  I am so sick of airlines. My fly/drive limit is about 750 miles. But the times when I CAN take Amtrak, I WILL take Amtrak. Much harder now than when my Amtrak station was 400 feet away in Harrisburg, PA. 

Edited April 5, 2022 by VKurtB

[VKurtB]

On 4/4/2022 at 5:11 PM, Alex in PA. said:

Alaska Airlines for one had a walk out of pilots wanting more coin and better conditions.  With some others it was a bad weather front in Florida.

So Alaska Airlines doesn’t have sled dogs on standby?

[RWB]

You guys could have taken Amtrak and slept all the way home.

 

I refuse to fly unless it is necessary. Airlines were once customer friendly, but with the accountants in charge, passengers might as well be chickens on their way to a Purdue plant.

[VKurtB]

On 4/4/2022 at 9:26 PM, RWB said:

You guys could have taken Amtrak and slept all the way home.

 

I refuse to fly unless it is necessary. Airlines were once customer friendly, but with the accountants in charge, passengers might as well be chickens on their way to a Purdue plant.

^^^ This! ^^^  Amtrak has GREATLY upgraded the travel experience the last few years. The dining cars are not good temporarily, but the passenger cars are MUCH better than they were. When all the COVID madness stops (a voluntary decision), Amtrak may get downright awesome. 

[Woods020]

On 4/4/2022 at 10:31 PM, VKurtB said:

^^^ This! ^^^  Amtrak has GREATLY upgraded the travel experience the last few years. The dining cars are not good temporarily, but the passenger cars are MUCH better than they were. When all the COVID madness stops (a voluntary decision), Amtrak may get downright awesome. 

You may be waiting a while for an Amtrak station to pop up in A-RAB Alabama. As I am sure you have learned by now they don't like strangers up on sand mountain 

[VKurtB]

On 4/4/2022 at 9:33 PM, Woods020 said:

You may be waiting a while for an Amtrak station to pop up in A-RAB Alabama. As I am sure you have learned by now they don't like strangers up on sand mountain 

Aniston, B-ham, and soon, ‘Nooga will be enough. 

[GoldFinger1969]

On 4/4/2022 at 8:35 PM, Hoghead515 said:

They have a few chaperones. Hes flying into Las Vegas. Then going to Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Capitol Reef National Park, Canyonland National Park, and Arches National Park.  

He'll have some super-dark skies so if he is into astronomy he should bring a small portable telescope or a pair of binoculars.