She Works Hard for the Money ...

It's back to reality (and the comfort of a much calmer set of surroundings) after a jam-packed trip to the Big Apple.  Just as I expected - the trip was (as usual) - eventful, hectic, and full of excitement.  An unexpected twist of fate?  It came on Friday night ... just as visions of my bed, DVR box, fiance, and an absence of the sound of Ms. Wright danced in my head.

Our plane had been delayed for 3 hours in the airport after our 3 day field trip in NYC with 30 high school students.  And if that doesn't give enough perspective to exactly how painful an experience such as this may be ... peer at this photo of La Guardia airport, most likely on a good day:

La Guardia Airport; which, by the way, makes the Newport News version look like the Hilton.

For the record ... I do realize I sound like a major complainer/whiner/moaner right now ... and probably look like it below: 

Friday, April 1st (NO JOKE!) at approximately 8 PM.



So now I must change my outlook on the overall experience, as its result turned out way more positive than I ever imagined.  My mom & I both worked hard for the money ... we (reluctantly) decided to voluntarily bump our seats until the next flight (at 10 AM the following morning) in exchange for free round-trip tickets for the flight of our choice.  My obvious choice?  My round trip ticket will be used with a destination of Nassau, Bahamas - a flight that leaves on Sunday, June 26th and returns the following Sunday.  MY HONEYMOON! 

So although staying in the city for an extra night (without our luggage, a shower, and any sense of direction) was hardly what either my mom or I desired on the Friday night after working as chaperones on a field trip ... it was definitely worth it.  And I couldn't imagine going through it with anyone else.  I just hope next time the new employee at the Airtran counter will tell us the correct "free hotel" the shuttle will take us to at 12 PM in the city.  Truly an experience I won't soon forget ...