Floaty float float June 4, 2007 ~ 11:43 am
Posted by Julie in : Urban Family , trackbackI’ve been working on a sinus infection for a while now, not wanting to take antibiotics until I was sure it was in fact a sinus infection and not just the allergy season from hell. I did a little internet research last night and discovered that hey! Sinus infections can start out as the allergy season from hell! Who knew? So yesterday when I definitely had that sinus infection smell in my nose and it wasn’t going away, I started the antibiotics. And I don’t know whether it was letting the sinus infection percolate for a long time or if it’s the drugs, but today I am just floating along. I feel like Jack Sparrow in Davy Jones’s locker, people, and if you’ve seen At World’s End you know exactly what I’m talking about and if you haven’t…go see it, I’m not going to ruin it for you.
But hey, floating and “Why is the rum gone” aside, I owed you a tale of my Memorial Day vacation, didn’t I? Two months ago, I got an email from the mother of my best friend from high school, Colleen. Leenie’s 30th birthday was coming up and her mom wanted to give her a huge surprise. Could I take the Friday before Memorial Day weekend off from work? Yes, I could. Great, then she would fly me home the Thursday night before Memorial Day, and I would just “happen” to bump into Leenie in the baggage claim at the airport, our flights arriving within minutes of each other. And then we would have a fun and exciting vacation weekend, only I wasn’t to know any more of the details so it could be a surprise for me, too.
Fast forward to the Thursday before last. JFK is a nightmare, and I somehow have a feeling that I am going to be delayed. I am right. First by ten minutes, then by a half hour, then by an hour as the assholes in Air Traffic Control…well, I don’t know what they were doing, but it sure as hell wasn’t controlling air traffic because we didn’t even take off until I had been sitting on the plane on the runway for over 45 minutes. I called Leenie’s mom, my “other mom,” and told her to go to plan B, whatever that was. (And yes, I used my cell phone. We were still at the gate when we were told 25 planes were in line ahead of us for takeoff.)
When I landed in Pittsburgh, I called her and found out that she had been faking illness for the past 45 minutes and was ensconced in the bathroom, hiding behind a pole so Colleen wouldn’t see her if she came in. Colleen was talking to Other Mom’s boyfriend, Paul, apparently completely unaware of the plan unfolding. I made it to baggage claim and stealthily pulled up my hoodie so Leenie wouldn’t recognize me by my hair, and followed Other Mom over to where Leenie and Paul were waiting. Other Mom said she was feeling better and would risk the car trip home now. And then I made my grand reveal and Leenie did a double take. We drove home and I was dropped off at my mom’s house for the night with strict orders to be ready for the weekend at noon the next morning.
I was picked up a little before noon by Other Mom, Leenie, and Leenie’s grandma and we were off. We stopped briefly to pick up Paul, then went to Applebee’s for lunch, and then drove. And drove. And drove. Through Pennsylvania, through West Virginia, and into Maryland. Now Leenie and I had figured we were going camping somewhere, because that’s what we always did with her family on Memorial Day weekend throughout high school. We were figuring a tent. We were wrong. We ended up in Deep Creek, MD, and pulled into a huge cabin on the side of a mountain. I now understand what those kids on the Real World are screaming about, because like those lofts, the awesomeness of this place just didn’t end.
On the first floor there was a giant kitchen/dining room, a great room, a bathroom, and two bedrooms - and the entire floor had a wraparound deck outside. Up a flight of stairs was a loft with a computer and internet, and the master bedroom (complete with jetted tub). Down a flight of stairs from the first floor were another three bedrooms, another bathroom, a pool table, a family room with a wet bar, a laundry room, and another smaller deck. Down the final flight of stairs and there was an exercise room and a heated pool (16′ x 20′, 4′ deep, perfect for water volleyball). Out on the patio was a jacuzzi. Scattered throughout the house were a bunch of TVs - we even had one in our room.
As if this weren’t awesome enough, mystery guests started arriving! Ken and Nancy and their two daugters, Leigh and Mandy (old family friends - the girls were in Leenie’s wedding many years ago) were first, then Colleen’s brother Bill and his wife Heidi and their two kids, Avery and Reese, then Leenie’s Aunt Colleen and Uncle Jeff. All told, there were 15 of us in that cabin but it was so huge that I never felt like there were too many of us. This is also my other family - I spent as much time at Colleen’s house in high school as I did at my own - so it was like a wonderful family reunion. We played in the pool, drank tons of daiquiris and margaritas, visited the white water rafting course up the hill, ate way more than was good for us, and even got a chance to see Pirates 3. All in all, a perfect weekend. My only complaint was that it was over too soon and I had some problems with Delta on my return flight as well. Lesson learned, I’m never flying with them again.
And now I really have to do some work, because I start short weeks for the summer this week, and there is a pile of crap waiting for my attention.
Comments
Delta @ JFK is the worst combination in the world. They’ve screwed up my travel plans twice in a humongous way. Not sure why it’s that particular airport, but the whole thing is run like dog crap.
Your vacation sounds FAB though!!!
Lately flying just plain sucks. Stupid terrorists!
That has to be the best weekend EVER. I swear I may have to convince my family to do a family vacation sort of thing there. The Wife might not want to be around them for that long, but with the size of that place, damn if it wouldn’t be manageable.
Now get to work. Oh, and in case you don’t get back to my place, I mentioned that when I get my Red Special (I swear one of these days I’ll get one), you can not only see it, I’ll let you VERY GENTLY hold it and strum the strings. How could I not?
Sounds superfantabulous. Now I am jealous and want my own cabin in the woods exactly like that. Just not in MD. That is too far to drive from here.
First mistake was flying out of JFK, but that is something you know all to well by now.
That sounds like an awesome weekend. I hope your sinuses weren’t bothering you too much then. How’s the weather there? I’m wondering about the humidity in NY. My hair can get pretty fuzzy. We’ll be there this weekend and I’m pretty excited about it. Can you give me some advice about stage door etiquette? I’m thinking about trying to hit the Atkinson Theater to see Kevin Spacey when he comes out. Do you know how that works? Is it a bad idea?
Geewits~Humid like you wouldn’t believe right now. I woke up with a head full of Little Orphan Annie curls this morning. But it’s supposed to be in the 70s the rest of the week from what I see, so it will be completely doable. You can definitely wait for Kevin by the stage door, and will probably be able to meet him that way - only a few actors take different exits to avoid fans and I don’t think he’s one of them. Bring your own sharpie if you want an autograph and ask before you take any pictures, those are the only real “rules.”
Sparky~Flying out of JFK is better than flying out of LaGuardia, and cheaper since I can take the AirTrain instead of car service. Delta is the only airline I’ve had this problem with.
Grace~Yeah, it’s on the wrong side of Maryland for me to get to from here. Close enough to Pittsburgh, but not to NYC.
Vince~Your boys would love it. And the Wife probably would, too - it’s hard not to love a place with a pool and a hot tub.
Lisa~That particular combination is hell. Jet Blue and JFK? Never had a problem. Any other airline and JFK? No problem. Delt and JFK? Pure misery. Never again.