This year, with Thanksgiving falling so late, the gap between the holidays is greatly shortened. This also means that the end of the semester for my college kids (three at present) is approaching faster than usual.
We’ve been our usual selves, and not made complete travel plans for a lot of reasons. My daughter in Iowa will be driving part way home and I’ll be meeting her for pickup. When I drove her back to school, we took a smidgen of the 5 hour drive to discuss the travel plans. And arrived at no firm conclusion. Pretty much par for the course.
Her twin sister is at Colorado Boulder, and we’re a bit in limbo due to her work schedule and a couple of other factors. We’ll figure something out, but that’s just another line-item that has to be addressed before the Christmas holiday can really begin in earnest.
My oldest daughter is living in NYC, and she won’t be able to come home for the holidays. It pulls at my heartstrings, but I also understand why she can’t make it home. It’s rough when you’re starting out and lowest face on the totem pole. You’re the one keeping everybody else out of the mud, but you do get pushed to the end of the vacation day line.
My youngest college daughter goes to school in Castine, ME. If you imagine that the Earth is flat, Castine would be on the very edge of the planet…practically hanging off the binding. To say that it’s a pain to travel to and from Castine would be an understatement.
We’ve spent the last three days trying to figure out her travel plans home. We’ve talked about routing through Bangor, Boston, NYC, Washington DC, Detroit, Chicago, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, and a couple dozen other places.
We’ve discussed buses, planes, automobiles, and trains. We’ve talked about different airline combinations…including some where you can’t check bags through.
We’ve talked about layover “visits” in NYC, Boston, Chicago, and Kansas City. We’ve juggled dates for departure and arrival. We had so many combinations at one point that at least two travel sites crashed on us.
All in all, it’s been…ummm, what’s the word I’m looking for…errr…oh yea…interesting.
Did you know that if you fly out of LaGuardia in NYC (which isn’t actually in New York City, but who’s nitpicking?) on Christmas Day you’ll get the cheapest far in a 14 day window? Christmas Eve is the next cheapest.
Did you also know that the direct flights from LaGuardia, Philadelphia, Detroit, and Reagan National (DC) all route through each other to get to Bangor. There are “direct” flights, but they are four to five times more expensive than the routed flights. I learned all those things in the last 72 hours.
Don’t get me wrong…this has my blood pumping in a good way. I love a challenge. I’m a data guy, so I’ve got a couple spreadsheets, pages of notes, and I’m watching fares like a hawk. Not just airfares, but Amtrak, Greyhound, you name it…I’m probably watching.
We’re trying to figure out the value of a 28 hour train ride that still leaves her four hours (by car) short of her final destination. And that 28 hour train ride starts at 2:50am in our little town. Honestly, there is practically no one awake in Hutchinson, KS at 2:50am except those select few who are taking the train. Or the even less common group several blocks away trying to catch the Greyhound bus headed East/Northeast.
Yet I’m doing this with a smile on my face, because it means that one more of my little chickens will be coming home to the house to roost for a while. While their visits will range from a few days to several weeks, I’m happy that each and every one wants to be here. I know that those who can’t be here would love to also. Sometimes life happens, but their desire to come home to be together warms my heart.
So, as you’re putting up your Christmas decorations or lighting you Hanukkah candles, enjoy the time with family. Honestly, when things are good with family…they’re really good. And when things are bad, well, they’re still pretty good.
Now get off your backside and go give somebody you love a hug!
