When we travel, Sharon and I have always said that any day you end up where you were scheduled to be at the end of the day is a good day. [Cooperstown] [Chamonix]
We got up, packed up the room and asked the concierge where we could get a bite to eat in the area around the hotel. The only thing open at 8:30 a.m. on a Sunday morning was a Starbucks!
It was about a 20 minute taxi ride to the airport. We took advantage of an offer to upgrade our transatlantic seats from coach to envoy. This made the first leg of the trip very easy. It is an eight hour flight from Madrid to Philly.
The plane got into Philadelphia on schedule at 3:15 p.m. local time, but just ahead of a thunderstorm. Once the plane was on the ground, the lightning and the rain cut loose. They actually suspended all gate operations and it was about an hour and fifteen minutes before we got our luggage. Although we got some odd questions at passport control, we breezed through customs and rechecked our baggage.
At this point, the fun began. Our flight to Sacramento was scheduled to take off at 6:00 p.m. Our plane was coming from Las Vegas and was forced to land in Pittsburgh when they closed Philadelphia due to thunderstorms. Over the course of the next four hours, they gave us updated times of 7:00 p.m., 8:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. for departure. The plane from Las Vegas was on the ground with maintenance issues in Pittsburgh. Eventually, the plane arrived about 8:45 p.m and we loaded about 9:45 p.m.
It was 1:00 a.m. by the time the plane landed in Sacramento. We were originally scheduled to be in Sacramento by 9:00 p.m. This six hour flight went amazingly fast for me; I actually slept most of the way.
By the time, we collected our luggage and got home, it was after 2:00 a.m.
It was 25 1/4 hours door to door; from the time that we left the hotel until we pulled into the garage.
The question that Sharon and I debated on the way home is whether this was a good day; technically, we were not where we were scheduled to be at the end of the day [Sunday]. I say yes. I would much rather be home than in a hotel room in Philly on Monday morning!
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