Hubs and I hopped the pond on Monday. Barely. We were supposed to fly out of Atlanta at 5 PM and we even boarded the plane, got comfy, and settled in for the duration. Four hours later we were still on the tarmac.
Bother.
There was a problem getting fuel to the wings or some such nonsense, and after turning off the power twice so umpteen people could attempt a fix they decided we should de-plane and wait in the terminal. There was one more possible correction but that would take an hour so we were told to stay in the general vicinity of the gate. Everyone was very cooperative and well behaved and collected all their belongings to wait inside.
A little over an hour later they said we could re-board and would be taking off in about thirty minutes. The crowd cheered and got a little bit excited as everyone re-collected their belongings and re-boarded. We did not feel overly confident as we were sitting by a former Delta flight attendant who said she didn't think we'd get out on this particular plane.
She was correct.
We sat on the plane about another half hour when they announced the flight had been cancelled. No fanfare, just 'it's been cancelled'. At this point it was 11 o'clock ish and we got in the queue with everyone else on our flight to figure out a plan B. Hubs was already on the phone trying to shortcut what we knew would be a big ginormous hassle. Not his first airport rodeo. While we were waiting a fellow passenger informed us he had just received an email saying he'd been automatically rebooked on a flight leaving at 11:55 PM so we checked our messages and found the same.
Course we were in terminal F and the new flight was leaving from terminal E in thirty minutes, which if you know the Atlanta airport you know is a train ride away.
I was forced to do what I have sworn I would never do again, and that is run through an airport. Never say never.
We made it-yay! but our bags did not-boo. Our original flight found a new crew and eventually left Atlanta sometime after 1 AM, and our airline app said our bags were on that flight. We opted to plant ourselves in baggage claim and wait it out. The airport could deliver but it might be a couple of days or more, and we felt like going ahead and getting them same day was the better option.
Three hours later we had our bags and only a small headache
We rented a car as we're going to be hopping around a bit, and I gave hubs a pep talk before we took off. He wasn't the least bit worried, but I needed to hear the pep talk myself. Our driving instincts are so ingrained that you don't even realize how much so until you're once more sitting right, driving left.
Turns out it's a bit like riding a bicycle and hubs fell right back into it as soon as we left the airport. When we lived here cars did not come equipped with all the warning sounds they do now. If you're too close to a curb or another car your vehicle lets you know. Fifteen years ago you learned that the hard way. You shredded tires on sharp curbs and lost a mirror or two. C'est la vie.
It was an absolutely beautiful night when we pulled away from the airport. The sun was setting and as we zipped past fields of gold and green lit up by a full bright moon, the affection we hold for this place, this country, welled up all over again.
Little Miss had gone to bed by the time we finally arrived at our daughter's house, but we hugged the boys, chatted a bit, then hit the hay. Our girl left a few of our favorite sweet treats on the guest room dresser to say welcome back. We slept soundly and felt surprisingly good Wednesday morning.
My birthday.
It was a grand day made so sweet by so much. My daughter made us a wonderful breakfast and we savored a cup of coffee at her kitchen table which was filled with little people and their chatter. After breakfast we walked to a nearby park, saw where the boys are attending school part time, then wandered a little further to one of their favorite coffee shops/Italian markets.
I could have filled two shopping bags with goodies from the market side, but settled for a Cappucino instead.
We walked back home and momma made her crew lunch, then got her littlest one ready for a nap. Then hubs manned the fort (and by manned I mean he had a short nap on the couch while the boys watched a movie and little miss slept) and my daughter and I went out and had ourselves the loveliest of afternoons.
Tea on the sixth floor of a hotel restaurant overlooking Cambridge. The sun was shining. The sky was a brilliant blue. We sat on a glassed in patio and we had a whole complete entire conversation, uninterrupted.
We started with a glass of Prosecco because hey, it's my birthday, followed by a beautifully served traditional afternoon tea.
There were small sandwiches...egg and cress, cucumber and mint, curried chicken salad...along with scones with jam and clotted cream (why is this not a thing in the states???), and then a selection of sweet treats including a lemon meringue tart, a chocolate mousse, and a piece of raspberry swirl cake.
It was perfect.
We browsed in a couple of nearby shops before heading home and then it's possible I had a short jet-lag induced nap before we went to dinner. We rode a bus into the city center for dinner at The Eagle. We're all about a great pub and this one is special. The Eagle opened in 1667 as a coaching inn and is the second oldest pub in Cambridge.
It was in this very spot in 1953 Francis Crick announced he and James Watson had discovered 'the secret of life' after coming up with their proposal for the structure of DNA.
More importantly I had my first plate of fish and chips with a side of mushy peas.
Cheers to beautiful birthdays and another trip around the sun!
