travel day

well, i guess all of these are travel days, but this was the longest travel day ever!

we wake up and get ready. we leave the hostel around 9:30, lugging our bags down the four flights of stairs. after checking out, we go straight to the metro stop (which was oddly vacant, unlike the day before) and make our transition to the metro line that takes us to the airport.

the train is hot and muggy, but we found a spot in the back where we could stack our luggage and sit by ourselves. for the first time on this trip, a guy stands up and plays the violin. after a couple of songs, he walks down the train with his hand out, then past us to the next train. shortly thereafter, another guy hands out gum and a card, setting it on people's laps or on the seat next to them.

as i see this, i comment to the girls that i saw this all the time on my prior trip and especially in mexico. i also crack wise: "that guys blind or deaf...he drops the gum off, then walks back by and, collects either the gum or a donation for the gum."

other than that, our train ride is uneventful. kelli or erika make an observation about the graffiti, which we saw plenty of in italy. once we arrive, we disembark and enter the gigantic building that is charles de gaulle airport. we make our way to the northwest check in line, grateful that we got there as early as we did because the line was not moving very quickly.

once to the checker-inner guy, he asks us if we want to spend another evening in paris. we'd be put up in a hotel that evening and they'd give us some cash. maybe even another ticket too, but i didn't hear this part.

"no. i want to go home!" kelli blurts out, almost before the guy finishes telling us.

"nope. gotta go to work," erika quickly states in short succession.

"now, wait a minute... another night, eh?" goes through my mind. i am not anxious to go home, as these ladies clearly are. now busted broke, i'm thinking about the wad of cash they'd give me (probably at least a hundred euro, enough for my meals...maybe), another ticket to come back, and the fact that i'd be in paris another night! i really, really, really want to take this dude up on the offer.

then reality sets in: kansas city airport is 60 miles away from kelli's house. they'd be going there earlier in the day and wouldn't be coming back for my ass later that night, meaning i'd have to get a hotel. that's not that big of a deal, but the fact that my phone and some other belongings are still at their house is! i reluctantly drop it, but think about it until we get on the plane.

we get a bite to eat at the airport and then board. i was lucky and scored an exit row. in my luck, i was unlucky and scored the window seat. which actually wasn't that bad, there was a pocket (which was hard to manuever around when sitting and getting up, but it held my ipod and shades nicely).

no one takes the seat for a good long while. this always frightens me. who likes to take the exit row? one of two people: little jerks who think like to kick their tiny little legs (which they can easily do in normal seats) or big people, like me, who actually need the space so that their legs are not in contorted positions for the next nine hours. the longer i don't know, the bigger this dude gets in my mind. at least he has the aisle on one side, i've got the plane on my side!

then i hear, "that's our seat," a grumpy lady and, i'm assuming, her daughter. uh oh. then barbara springs forth, a little blond cutie. what a relief! my seat-partner's no 7'11" behemoth requiring two seats, not like her fly-mate for the chunk of her life. she has room to spare, right?

i did what i probably should've done with the guy flying over, and starting talking with her. that makes the whole "you're flying with someone really, really big, which will probably make this flight very uncomfortable" thing a lot easier to palate. -ish.

we even engaged the grumpy flight attendant that sat in front of us. he was hilarious. an actor by trade, he didn't really give a good answer why he was a flight attendant, but he said that he hated it. he was quite the prima donna. he had gone out partying the night before, so he was hungover. he corrected barbara - she wasn't going to new york, she was going to jersey, which he said with such disdain.

anyhow, we talk about a myriad of topics. she lived in shanghai for a year, speaks a number of languages, has a killer apartment on a hill in paris, is a graphic designer consultant. you know, shit like that. pretty interesting and, more importantly, quickly passes the time. i was really glad to meet her, and, in that moment, thought that i made the right decision. after all, had i flown the next day, i might've been sitting next to king kong, and that would not have been pleasant, for me or him.

about halfway into the flight, we run shy of topics. so, we discover our video screens and go to our movies. "run fatboy, run," "chaos theory," and a part of "flawless," were my companions for the rest of my flight.

passing through customs took awhile. a long while. but, the length of time was somewhat expected and we had plenty of time to make our gate to catch our connecting flight to kc.

we were talking about where we were going to eat once we got in to kansas city. i may have had a craving for this place called jack stack since kelli's husband, dan, told me about this bbq joint (if you don't know by now, bbq is my favorite food). he told me in great detail about its crown prime rib beef ribs that were the best he's ever had. their sides were allegedly very good as well. we were supposed to eat there the saturday that i got in town, but the girls had to practice, so we went closer to home instead. but we agreed to go there for supper - which is why none of us even got a snack in detroit. mmm...i was hungry for it, too!

that's when i talked with my first fan - kelli's stepmom, who she called to check in with (here's me giving you props, martha!). of course, i received lots of comments and encouragement from y'all, but hearing the excitement in her voice was very encouraging.

the call was cut short because we were boarding. that was when we stepped into hell.

we board the plane. easy enough. we wait. we didn't know this at the time, but they were waiting for two people to board. they kept calling their names in the airport. finally, they gave up the seats to a couple flying standby. unfortunately, they botched the seats, giving one of the seats that was already filled to the wife. the husband sat next to a kid (he was in his 20s) who saw his life flash before his eyes. when they sort it out, a grumpy lady from the desk points to the open seat in first class and directs her gaze to the frightened boy, "you, sit here, you," looking at the wife, "sit there. done," and quickly walks away. "you owe me big," the wife says as she sits next to her husband.

once all the commotion settles down and we're about to push back, a storm rolls in. "well, folks, looks like we have a delay. this storm looks to be moving pretty quickly, so we hope to be in the air in a half-hour. stay in your seats, though, 'cause if we get the okay before then, we'll push back from the gate and be on our way. thanks for your patience."

there was some lightning in the storm, so this made sense. but that half-hour moved by pretty quickly (it only took about 30 minutes). no announcement. the storm was still coming on strong. 7:00 pm in detroit is 1:00 am in paris. not late, but sitting around waiting or flying for most of that day is extremely boring. and with bbq on the brain - it's time to go eat, damnit! don't these guys know?

the girls were talking about whatever they were talking about, and my name popped up, but my focus was on the cockpit. how could they tell us that we'd be in the air in 30 minutes and then, once we hit that mark, not give us an announcement? i mean, come on! and airlines wonder why their approval rating is lower that george bush's! i was stewing, man, paying no mind to whatever the girls were slinging my way.

after an hour, they get on the horn. "yeah, we don't have approval to take off yet, so we're just going to hang tight. we'll keep you posted," yeah, right, "we're still hoping to be on our way soon, though. thanks again for your patience."

the flight attendants start handing out water. people get on their phones. "oh, there's golfball sized hail in kansas city? well, shit - why didn't they tell us that it's not the storm here, that it's because we can't land there? this is stupid," a girl behind me says into her phone. "i guess we have a terrifying drizzle out there and can't take off," a guy says, then recounts his travel experience, which started long before ours did. another hour passes by.

"looks like they're going to start sending flights out in the direction we're headed here soon, so we just need to hang tight for a little while and get the thumbs up. we should be out of here in no time."

the door was still open to the plane. we were connected to the gate, but the air was hot. poor erika, sitting next to me, experiencing the fear that i described with that open seat next to me, was starting to feel ill. we were connected to the gate, though! they didn't put on the air or anything. the storm had died down. kelli's looking out the window and tells us about a plane that is parked, coming off the runway, but not unloading.

not only that, but, by now i start to believe the horrible news that kelli has been saying for the last hour and a half: we're not going to make it to jack stack tonight. nooooooooooo!!! my agitation is jumping. wait for it...

after about 30 minutes, we get the following announcement: "this flight has been canceled. head to gates a38 and a39 to get further instruction. please take all of your belongings as you will not be returning to this plane. thank you."

what! you mean - you held us on this plane for 2:30, and now we're getting canceled? this is bullshit!

i can feel the blood in my face, i'm hot. not acting-out hot, but i'm definitely angry at this whole situation. i understand that the delay is weather, but, what're we going to do? because it's weather, they're just going to tell us that we're screwed and have to hang out in the airport until the flight takes off at its rescheduled time. right? i mean, it's an airline - do they care about the consumer really? well, maybe we can get a bite to eat at least. we hadn't eaten since a sandwich and strawberry sorbet (gross strawberry sorbet that i didn't eat) about an hour and a half before we touched down. we get our stuff and start heading up the jetway.

"it's not canceled. go back down." this was somewhat exciting news, but, by this time, we're all irritated by the circumstances, so the gentleman who said it had the tone as though he was rolling his eyes as he said it. we turn, but there's a plane full of people heading our way. we at least stop, and a different lady comes down the jetway to dispel the rumor that the flight's canceled. we stand around for another half-hour or so, then get back on the plane and find our seats.

shortly after we get situated, the door closes. we get pushed back. now there's a line of flights in front of us, but at least we're heading towards the tarmac.

we take off. at 11:30. we were supposed to take off at 7:30, landing at 8:20 (time difference), providing ample time for some bbq beef ribs, goshdarnit!

i cash out. kelli wakes me once, telling me that i'm snoring real bad. unlike her overexaggerations throughout the trip, i really believe her this time. but then i go back to doing it the rest of the flight. erika told me after that she tried to wake me up too, but didn't succeed. my throat hurts from snoring. everyone must hate me on the flight, and i don't blame them, but i don't care, either.

we had been on a plane for 15 hours. more than a quarter of which was completely unproductive. just sitting there. not doing a damn thing. on a plane. this is not a place where i want to spend four hours of my life if i don't have to. but, i had to.

luckily, the baggage claim was just out the door. dan picks us up. we get to their house at 1:10 am. had i stayed in paris, i would just be waking up after a restful night's sleep at the hotel of the airline's choice. at this moment, i wished that i would've taken that offer and stayed in paris.

i go to bed around 2:00 am, exhausted. but, i'm back state-side and can text and call all my friends now. that's my silver lining...everyone i love.

so, there you have it. the daunting trip back from the lovely trip to europe. sure, it had its ups and downs, but it was awesome. eye-opening in many regards, i loved the experience and can't wait to go back...in the meantime, i'm dreading my return to 115 degrees in the desert...

dread. -ing.