The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

May 28

Let's start with the good. We left early yesterday morning for the airport in Moscow. Jeff had to spend his birthday traveling, but he got a nice present from the airline. Jeff and I had discussed how lucky we were to have an exit row on the flight to Moscow. We thought we had been spoiled by all the extra leg room. Our seats in the way home were going to be a little more cramped. We were surprised then when we checked in and instead of seats in the middle of the plane, we were assigned to row six. We had been bumped up to business class. Happy birthday, Jeff!

Being a seasoned transatlantic traveler, I'd often looked enviously at those big comfy seats on my way back to the cattle compartment. I wondered about those people who spent huge amounts of money to travel in style. Now I know that occasionally those people are lucky schmucks who are given a free upgrade. Let me tell you what happens on the other side of the curtain. 

After getting preferential boarding, we were offered orange juice or champaign while we waited for the plebeians to board. We also checked out our complimentary travel bags filled with all sorts of goodies. The toothbrush and toothpaste would come in handy later. I'm sure the regulars up in business class were amused at our delight over the fully adjustable seats. Lunch was served an hour or so after take-off. White tablecloths were draped across our tray tables and we had real silverware and china (as opposed to the Barbie cutlery you get in economy.) Our first course was roasted cauliflower soup, hummus with caramelized onions, tomato and mozzarella salad, smoked ham and a dinner roll. By the time we finished this course, I was pretty sure we'd eaten twice as much food as the meal everyone else was getting in economy. For the main course, I selected chicken marsala with gnocchi and steamed vegetables. Dessert was an ice cream sundae. We were also offered a cheese and fruit plate but we had so much to eat, we couldn't possibly eat any more.

After lunch, I put my footrest up, pulled up my personal video screen, popped on my noise-canceling headphones and selected a movie. I watched National Treasure: Book of Secrets followed by Enchanted. About halfway through my second movie, the stewardess brought warm chocolate chip cookies and milk. It was at this point that I decided that if the plane had to circle the airport for several additional hours, I'd be OK with that.

When the movie ended, I reclined my seat, fluffed my pillow and cuddled up with my quilted blanket with the intention of taking a nap. I was so stoked about riding in business class though that I couldn't fall asleep for fear of missing some other amenity. Jeff, however had no such problem and slept soundly for three hours. Oh what an experience traveling international business class! I shall treasure it forever and recall it fondly in a few weeks when I'm crammed into the cheap seats (relatively speaking) for 10 hours with Colin on my lap praying he doesn't have a blowout diaper from the change in his diet. 

When we arrived in NY we grabbed a bite to eat and hung out in the business lounge before heading to the gate for our short flight to Cleveland. I was so excited to be just two hours away from seeing Riley. This is when things got bad. Our flight had been canceled. The ticket rep. assisting us said that it was due to severe thunderstorms. I can say with 99% certainty that that was a load of bovine excrement. There was no rain in Cleveland and only a light drizzle in New York. We had to get a hotel room because there were no other flights to Cleveland that day. Of course, Delta would not pay for the  room because the cancelation was "weather related." I was so mad and tired, I was ready to cry. 

Now comes the ugly part. Our baggage was checked through to Cleveland so we had very little but the clothes on our back. Jeff did have his toiletry kit in his carry-on and I had my toothbrush from my business class bag so at least I have fresh breath today. I have no make-up, no anti-frizz hair products, and my face is erupting with zits after two days of air travel. I smell like Jeff's Old Spice deodorant which I suppose is better than no deodorant at all, and I've worn these jeans so much on this trip, they can walk themselves off the plane. By the time we walk through the door we will have spent 39 hours trying to get home. I just want to hug my daughter, change into some fresh clothes, and take a nap. 

I don't mean to end the posts on our trip on such a sour note. God has been so good to us. He has taken us to the other side of the world to add to our family. By the time Colin is old enough to understand, he will laugh as we tell him the story about our flight home.