It was the third day of what should have been a one-day cross-country flight from San Francisco. I was wedged into my slender economy class seat watching David Byrne, former Talking Head/current old guy barefoot in a business suit, jumping around on a stage. Joined by a troupe of performers in identical gray suits, they sing about chicken brains and talk about voting rights in “American Utopia.”
WHY?
Trying to travel by air was my world for longer than it would take to fly to Asia. I watched American Airlines’ curated entertainment and read three books on my kindle. David Byrnes’ clap-clap-clap soundtrack provided background for a memoir I was reading: Braver Than You Think. The author, Maggie Downs travels the world, honoring her Alzheimer’s-afflicted mother by visiting the places on her mom’s bucket list that are now unattainable. While her mother is still alive. For a year. I momentarily set aside my reading to resume my own “travel” writing.
WHY?
Having concluded that air travel for COVID-vaccinated people is safe, I flew to San Francisco from my home in Providence, Rhode Island. Because the FAA hasn’t yet aligned with the latest CDC advisory, everyone on planes and in the airports must wear a nonstop face mask in the travel-by-air bubble. The trip out was easy peasy. The trip back was not. The flight out from San Francisco was scheduled to depart at 11:00am on Sunday morning. Granted, it did leave the gate. However, after sitting on the runway for about 1.5 hours, they needed to refuel. Due to a “technical” error, they overfilled the tank, spilling fuel on the runway. Fire engines were summoned just in case. The attempted clean up failed. The flight was cancelled, we stayed at the Marriott San Francisco Airport and we were rerouted for a morning departure.
On Monday morning, we boarded on time. After nearly two hours of sitting on the plane because airports on the east coast were closed due to weather, we deplaned to the lounge to stretch our legs while the rains cleared. After an hour of leg-stretching and food-buying, we reboarded the plane and took off for Philadelphia.
Scrolling through the entertainment options, I discovered David Byrne. The theater audience leapt to their feet, stomping and clapping to the song “We’re on the road to nowhere.” As I watched on the little screen on the back of the seat in front of me, I was happy to be on the road to somewhere.
However, because of the late departure, we arrived in Philadelphia after missing the connection and the rescheduled connection. We spent Monday night in a hotel not near the airport (the airport hotels were all booked). We checked into the Courtyard Marriott at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, overlooking the Philly sports stadiums, making my husband happy.
Finally, on Tuesday, the third and final day and after an hour delay departing Philadelphia, we landed in Providence.
The tally: Three days in California. Three days traveling back. But traveling to see family was beyond worth the trip.
WHY?
