Departure Day: April 14
On the road to KCI Thursday morning, everyone is ready to go!
At KCI satellite parking. Where is the shuttle? We waited and waited and waited ... and waited!
After 30 minutes, a shuttle finally appeared. But now it's 10:40 a.m. and our flight departs at 11:20!!!
The situation inside KCI was a mess with an unusually long line at the security checkpoint. We wait another 20 minutes. A security officer mentions that apparently a large number of flights are all scheduled to depart within minutes of each other, causing the delay. OMG.
We pass through the scanners and arrive at our gate at 11:19 a.m. The plane is still at the gate, but the door to the ramp is closed. We missed our flight!
Jane is very upset. She thinks this means we have to return home and can't go on the trip. :-(
Our plane is gone.
Girls feel better when Southwest is great in helping us get on another flight. We can't fly direct to Tampa now, but we can still get there today, yay! We have to wait about 3 hours at the airport. Anna and Jane were pretty good about the delay. Airport snacks helped.
Below: the girls talk about why they like hotels.
Shortly after 3 p.m. and we're on our way to Nashville!
Anna was a little anxious on takeoff as we encountered some bumps. It upset her stomach.
Jane was super excited for takeoff. But when the engines started roaring she became silent, tightly gripping the arm rests with eyes closed. She was only like 2 years old the other time she flew. She finally relaxed around 10k feet.
Anna spots something odd. What is this, a Band-Aid stuck to the seat in front of us? Gross!
We will report this to the popular passenger shaming Facebook page for sure.
Smooth sailing above the clouds ...
Anna asks where the cabin gets its air. A very good question.
She wonders: if the air we're breathing at 39,000 feet is being recycled, someone having gas would result in us all being trapped and forced to breathe it. (She's very much the thinker.)
Dad finds his way through the first leg of the trip ...
Connection in Nashville, brief layover. On track for arrival in Florida around 7 p.m. -- or is it 8 with the time-zone change?
Girls enjoyed having a connecting flight instead of the non-stop from KCI to Tampa -- more takeoffs and landings. I guess this is one benefit of missing our original flight.
Below: Dad asks Jane to position herself strategically for a photo. Thank you Jane, you are the BEST!
The approach -- we're in Florida! The sunshine state?
Flight attendant notices Jane's outfit and says as we're leaving the plane in Tampa: "Hey, Rock Chalk Jayhawk." Cool!
The Tampa airport has a fun tram that takes you from the terminal to the parking area:
We got to the hotel around 9 p.m., a little tired, but so happy to be here!
Below: a view of the beach from our room on the 16th floor of the Hyatt:
A little bedtime reading in the room ...
Jane fell asleep almost immediately. Anna ordered room service, a grilled-cheese sandwich with fruit. Dad had a turkey burger. Anna thought the sandwich was "too cheesy." Huh?
Anna fell asleep shortly after. A long day but overall things turned out well for us. View of Clearwater Bay from our room:
Dad enjoyed the special hotel amenity package he won in the company drawing: bottle of cabernet with plate of cheese, crackers, fruit and meat. Sweet!
