I made it to Bar Harbor but not without a little stress. The flight last night left San Francisco on time but apparently we had headwinds ’cause instead of a one hour 38 minute layover, I arrived at the gate for the leg from Philadelphia to Boston as they were boarding the first class passengers (of which I was one – big smile). No stress yet since I didn’t even know about the shorter layover until I arrived at the gate and got on the plane.
Well, we sat in the plane for quite a long time without leaving the ground. Now I’m starting to get a little stressed because the layover in Boston is only 59 minutes and I’m changing carriers, don’t know anything about the layout of the airport, and will have to go through TSA again. We did arrive late in Boston and there were no employees manning the information booths. My ticket did say I needed to be in terminal C and I was in terminal B. There was a phone at the info booth so I used it. The woman on the other end said to go out the door and follow the signs. The signs led me through a parking lot but I ended up back in terminal B – aaacck!
Then I saw a man who looked like he might work at the airport (maybe a porter?). He gave me more instructions and I eventually found the correct terminal but now had to figure out where the Cape Air desk was. I lucked out and found it pretty quickly. The woman working there called to let the crew know I was on my way. She tried to get me into a short line for TSA but that didn’t work. Then another woman showed up and led me to another line. So I finally got to the front of the TSA line and thought I was good to go…no, had to remove my shoes (didn’t have to do that in SF). Now I’m in full panic mode but trying to calm myself with the thought of a second flight later in the day.
So, I’m walking quickly in my socks trying not to slip on the polished floor. I arrive at the gate and there are two lines. Which one is for my flight? Do I make a scene, cry, what? The woman behind the desk saw me, came and got my boarding pass, told me which line I should be in. And there was Alison, one of my new cycling buddies for the next 10 weeks. She, figuratively, held my hand for a few minutes while I put my shoes on and calmed myself. Then we all walked out on the tarmac and boarded our 12 seat, twin engine Cessna 402C for the final leg of the journey.
A big thank you to all who helped me at the Boston Airport especially the Cape Air employees.
After all that, I am in my motel room with all my gear from the post office and my bike from the bike shop. I had something to eat. I figured out how to lock and unlock the rental car without the alarm going off. Life is good.
thecyclingdiva 