A hop, skip, and a lunch

There were more points to be had in 2018 and we got them! It was purely a point mission with enough time to get lunch in each place, begging the question, "how far will this family go for lunch?"

We first went to Dominica. Dominica was hit hard by Hurricane Maria and is still recovering but is very much open to tourists and visitors. At the bed and breakfast where we had lunch, the owners had been off island when the hurricane hit and upon return had to walk two days to get to their property. They suffered minimal damage compared to the rest of the island. Our brief stay overlooked the mountains and curvy mountain roads of the island. Rain storms moved quickly in and out and it was super windy.

From Dominica, we flew back to Barbados via Antigua. We were only in the airport but saw as many sights as possible.* First stop, obviously, a fort.

 Next, the coast to see the waves come crashing in.

 We took a break and waited for Dad's ship to come in.

 Then relaxed some more on the beach.

When we finally returned to the airport, Dad continued his quest for the perfect magnet and I continued my passion to try on hats.**

Our next day trip was to Grenada. As we learned at our lunch locale, Grenada's latitude is 12 degrees north. That was about all we learned, to be honest. The fish and chips were delicious and the bay was beautiful and wikipedia attempted to explain to us the 1983 US invasion.***

Dad did take a brief foray into body building, like ya do.

We had a slight delay on the way home but if there are two people equipped to hang out in an airport for an extra 45 minutes, it's these two.

This ends the country counting for 2018 bringing Dad to a total of 90 and me to 142. 

Since it's the new year and you, devoted reader, have come this far, we'll end the year with a few quotes from Dad.

(Unprompted) "I don't think I could have been a sailor back in the 1700s."

"Do you know what 'Liat'**** spells backwards?"

And finally, "maybe they'll have a big tree we can take our picture in front of!"*****

I hope you all have a wonderful new year and safe travels into 2019!
-KT

*Never before has there been as good a sport as Dad who was photo directed all over the airport.

**Sadly, AT had already headed home and was unavailable to try on hats. Oh, but she did put this one on in Barbados the other day . . .

***You can google it. This isn't that kind of blog.

****We are not sponsored by Liat but they did fly us everywhere. And if anyone from Liat is reading this, we are very open to being sponsored by Liat. We are also open to being sponsored by just about anyone that wants to fly us around the world. In a totally non-creepy way, obvs.

*****I never knew he was so passionate about Christmas trees before this trip.

Indirect Flights

Ah, the glamour of travel. It takes you to new locations, exposes you to new cultures, lets you try delicious new foods, and it makes you appreciate how people all over the world are living similar lives devoted to finding some piece of happiness in their country, state, or town. 

Today, travel has taken me to 14+ hours at the Copenhagen airport. 

Well, technically, it took me from Copenhagen to a runway in Norway to 10 minutes away from the Faroe Islands and then back to Copenhagen. After leaving my Copenhagen hotel at 5:15am, I finally arrived to my hotel in the Faroe Islands at 10pm (11pm Copenhagen time). Today, travel has given me the chance to evaluate my life choices and observe my fellow humans as we are all trapped calmly (though miserably) together. 

Have I learned anything about myself or humanity today? Probably not.* Jet lag and cat naps got me through the first half of the day in a pleasantly drowsy state. The second half of the day was mostly spent wondering why sitting was so painful or debating how far I had to force myself to walk before I could sit down. 

The few reflections I did manage, I give to you now:

Movies about hostages becoming unlikely friends in times of adversity are spot on. Walking around the airport and seeing fellow passengers consistently led to smiles, waves, and “solidarity, sister” head nods. 

The Copenhagen airport has some lovely architecture. I got to visit one particular hall multiple times. The first time I walked through at 6am, I actually thought, “oh, how nice.” Maybe I should have taken a picture then instead of the universe sending me back there six hours or so later to get it. 

Perhaps, Kelly, you could be less passive-aggressive toward the annoying people that want to rearrange their seats in your row for no reason. You think you’ll be next to them for a three hour tour, but really, you’re stuck on this island with them forever. There’s no need for any of this resentment and it’s only hurting you. 

Scandinavia does have sunny days! We flew over and through and around more sunshine than I’ve seen in weeks.** 

Norway looks awesome! I should really go there for real! Thanks for that bonus point landing, though. I was SUPER PUMPED when I put together that we were landing and that the only logical place it could be was Norway. 

Don’t understand the announcement in Danish or Faroese but too impatient to wait for the English version? Read the room’s body language. Furious head shaking and grumbling means the delay is indeterminately longer. Bemused “huh!” faces mean they say we are boarding in ten but we’re reserving judgment until they open up that gate door. A smattering of applause means the latest pilot is planning to fly us all the way to the proper destination. 

And finally, was it worth all this? Was it worth napping on and off next to strangers while pilots and crew personnel made sure the plane was safe enough to land properly? Was it worth sitting in terminals and concourses reading and doing crosswords and sudokus to pass time? Of course it was, you moron.*** You had truly nothing else to do today other than get to this place, you put zero effort into looking like your life is together, and you even got an extra country point for all your trouble. Suck it up. This is the true glamour of travel and every once in a while karma has to give you a crappy day so you can really be appreciative the next time you pull into the gate three minutes ahead of schedule. Today, travel reminded you that 15 hours to go a two hour flight is still better than not going there at all. 

I was really hoping to post pictures of the island when I landed but . . . it was dark. But it looks really cool! Very Iceland-ish. I’ll definitely get pictures tomorrow. Tomorrow is another day to travel, Scarlett.

-KT

*Definitely not.

**Why is Norwegian Air celebrating a Spanish scientist on their plane? I don't know and I refuse to look it up but it made me happy enough to see it so here you go.

***As always, this term is directed at me. Not you, dear reader.

13 Reasons Why . . .

. . . Train Travel is the Best Travel: An Incomplete List

Do I always travel by train? Of course not, I'm American.* But when I have the chance, I love to travel by train, especially European trains. On this trip I have a Eurail pass that allows me to travel on any train for five days in a month-long period. Some trains require a specific seat reservation, but none have been required on my routes so far. With the pass you can download an app that has all the train routes and lets you put in your to/from location and times.

In no particular order, here is why I think train travel is the best:

1. No security lines! No need to sort your liquids into baggies, you can keep your shoes on, and you don't need to feel awkward when you stand in the body scanner with your legs spread and hands up for what is definitely longer than five seconds. 
2. You don't need to be there hours early. This is probably because of reason #1 but since you can jump right on the train, there is absolutely no reason to be to the station more than ten minutes before departure. Do I still show up too early because my father** has made me paranoid? Of course I do, but I'm trying to make it only about 20 minutes early and then I buy a baked good to take on the train so it's all worth it.
   
3. There are reserved and unreserved seats. I enjoy the freedom of unreserved where you can pick your seat for best window view or whatever your pleasure is. Sometimes it's nice to have a reserved seat, though, so you don't have to hunt around and can just plop yourself down. 
4. The View!
   
5. You can walk around all the time. On a plane*** you're very limited. Sometimes the seatbelt sign is on, sometimes you're in the window and would need to trip over strangers, and sometimes you're faced with the fact that there's nowhere to walk to. Not on the train! You can walk to other cars and move around freely. 
6. Wide aisles and no seat belts. I mean, you're either moving forward or stopping so there's not too much to secure. As for the aisles, I don't know why this feels like such an absurd luxury, but it does.
7. You are often reminded of your favorite train songs. Mine include:
1. "Casey Junior" from Dumbo
2. "C'mon Ride the Train (Whoot Whoot)" from 1990s Jock Jams
3.  "This Train is Bound for Glory" (this train)
4. "She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain"****
5. "Midnight Train to Georgia "(I got ta go, I got ta go) 
8. You can get on and off the train quickly. Ever feel like the plane is loading but everyone in front of you has simultaneously lost the ability to walk or function as a human? Not on the train. 
9. You can get food all the time! They have a car for that!*****
10. Want to get there at a different time? Take a different train, no bigs! You don't need to change your ticket or talk to a gate agent. Just get on a different train. 
11. Unlimited baggage. Sure, you have to carry it, but if you want to bring eight different bags, no one will stop you. 
12.  Free Wifi. It hasn't been on every train but when it has, it has, again, felt like a complete luxury.******
13. Finally! A chance to use all those vocab words from Spanish class! It was never explained to me in eighth grade Spanish why we learned all about the train station. Now I get it. 

Go ride a train and discover what living is really like. 

-KT

*Meaning I am not freight, there is an ocean between my departure and destination, or it's just really far, y'all. 

**Love you, Dad! Happy almost-Father's Day!

***Do not even get me started on road trips. 

****I don't think this song is even train specific but it really works. 

*****It feels wrong that this falls so late in the list. I remind you that these are in no order.

******This post is coming from inside the train.

Airport Time

Happy Teacher Summer 2016!!

To my fellow teachers, we did it! To everyone else, I hope you're reading this at your desk!

I want to kick off this teacher summer with a tribute to my dear old dad. We are one week away from Father's Day and I am celebrating him in style...at an airport!

This certainly seems strange unless you know him and know the quality time he has put in at airports all around this world. And, like every good father should, he has instilled in me a love for the things he loves. Or, in this case, a complete disassociation from reality about what time you should actually get to the airport to make your flight. 

Let me tell you all about it. 

My dad is a Virgo and, if you're into that sort of thing, you know that means he's a planner, he's a list-maker, and he's a "need to have a plan in case the original plan doesn't go to plan" man. And it's awesome. If you need to be somewhere, he will have you there in plenty of time because he checked the traffic schedule and knows the best route. If you just moved to a new city and have to immediately go to your new teacher training session, he will unload the Penske truck with all your things, drop it off, take you to your training, and wait for you until it is finished.*

If you have a flight, you'll be at the airport in plenty of time. PLENTY. OF. TIME. 

He has a system, obviously. The family calls it "airport math" and it goes something like this:

Start with the time your flight leaves, say 6:50pm. 

The flight boards at 6:20 and you should be at the gate a half hour before that. (5:50)

You have to go through security, plan at least a half an hour. Busy airport? Add 15-30 minutes. (5-5:20)

Checking a bag? Need to get your boarding pass? Add 20. (4:40-5)

Driving and need to park? Add 30. (4:10-4:30)

You should leave your house with plenty of time and you'll want to add time for rush hour, potential traffic accidents and road closures, and UFO attacks. (In the ATL, 3:10-3:30)

Now, I know what you're thinking: what if I have ways to cut this time down, e.g., not parking, no bag to check, boarding pass on my phone, TSA pre-check?

Doesn't matter. The airport math remains the same because that time will be filled by some other unplanned event and you'll be glad you had it. 

What does airport math usually mean? It means that this family has spent countless numbers of hours waiting at the airport. It means that if you miss your flight you have either been completely thwarted by life or you don't understand numbers.** It means that I have lost all logical knowledge of what time you should really get to the airport and I just continue to get here really early again and again. 

There is an upside. There's always time to eat before your flight. You can definitely get a seat at the gate area because no one else is there yet. You can leisurely walk the 20 minutes to your terminal instead of catching the plane train. You can comparison shop the Cheez-Its at the various Hudson News locations. You can write this entire blog post, talk to your family twice, complete the list above, and still have time to do a few sudokus. 

Dad, I love you, and I am definitely going to make this flight!!

-KT

*This is a real life story from Teacher Summer 2008. My dad is the best.

**I have missed one flight in my life ever and it was due to a blizzard, three taxis that didn't show up, a train to a bus situation that broke down, and a frantic run through the Boston airport that resulted in me openly weeping for a very lovely flight attendant who booked me onto another flight immediately.