Buckle Up - It's Going to Be a Bumpy Ride...



Last year when I flew to NYC, I flew Delta.

After the experience of STILL sitting on the ground

at my home airport,

a couple of hours after

I should have been on the ground at New York,

I opted for a different airline this year.

Lesson learned...flying is not what is used to be.

We started out great.

The first leg of my trip was to Charlotte.

 

Up in the air and on time!

I caught my connecting flight to La Guardia.

It looked like I would be there, on time at 3 PM.

Kate's company has summer hours,

so she would meet me at the airport.

About a hour into the flight

the captain announces major storms in the New York area

and that we had actually been circling for a while.

Since we were over Richmond and

we were almost out of fuel,

we would land, refuel, and hopefully

the storms would be cleared by the time

we landed in New York.

I have no problem with Richmond,

unless, I'm sitting there all afternoon and into the evening.

We had numerous updates:

**major storms,

**all three New York airports closed,

**AND some sort of major communication outage

in the northeast.

At 8 PM (remember, I should have been in NY at 3 PM),

we were told our flight was cancelled.

Our choices were:

1.  Fly back to Charlotte, where there were no more flights

to NY that evening, BUT there were hotel rooms.

2.  Fly to Pittsburgh, where there were no more flights

to NY that evening, BUT there were hotel rooms,

AND the airline was working on adding another flight

in the morning into La Guardia,

OR putting us on a bus into the city that night.

(By the way, because of a convention in Richmond,

there were no hotel rooms available,

so staying there was not an option.)

What to do?

I opted to fly on to Pittsburgh.

My logic was to keep moving north,

not to back tract.

Back in the air to Pittsburgh.

There were forty of us and

upon landing we were met by

an airline representative.

He had NO knowledge of

the possible extra morning flight,

or the possible bus into NY.

Instead we were given small cards

with an 800 number for rebooking our flight

and a slip of paper with an 800 number

for getting a hotel room.

(I'm going to date myself,

but I remember a time when

airlines did both these things for you.)

Around midnight I had finally booked a seat for myself

the next morning on a arriving flight into JFK at 10:30 AM.

Not too happy about that because I knew

it would take me much longer to get  into the city,

and I was watching my weekend tick away.

But, I was very happy to have the seat.

Then I tried finding a room for the night.

It seems by that time, there no more rooms

at "trip interruption discounted rates", but I could

"try calling individual hotels" for a full price room.

Since it now well past midnight

and I had a 9:30 flight out in the morning,

and I was totally flustrated and disgusted,

I opted to stay at the airport,

 with most of the other 40 passengers from the flight.

We WERE given pillows and blankets,

and bottled water.

(By that time nothing was open at the airport.

Many of us had not had a real meal since breakfast.)

Yea US Airways!

Next moring at 5 AM I discover my flight has been

"pushed back" a couple of hours.

Back to my 800 number and

in my nicest, most desperate and pleading voice,

explained to the rep my saga/situation.

She was able to rebook me onto a 8:30 flight into...

...Philadelphia...

with connections...

into LaGuardia !!!

Arrival time: 10:30 AM!!!

ONLY 19 and a half hours late

and a night on the Pittsburgh airport floor!!!

I understand weather happens,

communication failures happen,

planes have mechanical problems,

and a whole host of other things

can occur when you travel.

Therefore it seems, the airlines would be models for

handling unhappy customers.

(A tray of sandwiches at the Pittsburgh airport

would have gone a long way.)

No, not the case.

At any rate, NYC was fun,

and I had a great visit with Kate.

The icing on the cake was getting a recorded

phone message 15 minutes before heading to

the airport Monday morning for my return trip

that my flight had been cancelled...

If you're traveling this weekend,

have fun, travel safe, and don't forget to

pack your patience! 

Weekend in NYC



Last weekend I flew to NYC to spend the weekend

with my daughter Kate.

It was a whirlwind trip,

and I'm still playing catch-up.

I arrived around lunch time on Saturday.

We headed to So Ho and "Prune,"

a resturant I had recently read about,

but there was an hour and half wait,

so we wandered around and found

the So Ho Park and had lunch there instead.

We shared the onion rings, which caught both our eyes

because of the curry mayonnaise served with them.

First rate!

Kate and I have always been big movie fans,

so we caught Tom Cruise's new movie,

Rock of Ages.

Kate, who  had just seen the Broadway play

the weekend before decided she

liked the movie better.

It was fun to see Tom Cruise

in a totally different role and finally,

not taking himself too seriously.

On Sunday morning Kate took me to

Ess a Bagel

to try her favorite NY bagel.

We had a great brunch and the bagels are wonderful!

Afterwards, we took a long walk through Central Park.

It was the perfect day for it--pleasantly warm

and there were lots of street performers.

That evening we saw a Broadway show,

Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.

It was the show's final night,

so I can't urge you to see it!

It was a big, flashy, campy, over the top,

show and we both had fun!

Did I mention it was a whirlwind trip?

The next morning Kate put me in a taxi

for the airport as she headed off to work.

Short, sweet and non stop,

a perfect weekend!

Home Again

I made it home last night from my NYC trip

and I'm happy to report all is well.

Kate's procedure went well and

with no side effects,

so we were able to do some fun things.

***

Getting there was a challenge.

After sitting all day at my local airport,

one delay after another,

I finally flew out... an hour AFTER I was

scheduled to have arrived in NYC!!!

The upside to all that was I got

bumped up to first class on the

flight from Atlanta to NYC,

so I was somewhat appeased.

Flying first class versus coach is a

whole different world!



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Kate was able to go to work on Thursday and Friday,

so I had lots of time on my own to explore.

I spent lots of time just walking and soaking it all in.

I wandered into the NY Public Library

because I couldn't remember if I'd ever been inside

and happened upon a wonderful exhibit

celebrating the 100 year anniversary of this building.

It was a eclectic display of all sorts of things

ranging from music scores notated by Beethoven

to an actual Ku Klux Klan robe (creepy).



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I walked into St. Patrick's Cathedral

and spent over an hour enjoying the beauty

of the building and the artwork found there.

It wasn't all serious touring though.

One night while at Times Square

I caught a picture of "The Naked Cowboy."

He's quite an attraction/street performer and

there was a line of gals waiting to have

their pictures taken with him.

Kate and I choose to pass on that experience!

We got lucky one evening and were able to pick up

tickets (half price!!!) for CHICAGO at the

TIX Booth in Times Square.

They were excellent seats, center mezzanine.

This is a show I've wanted to see since

the movie came out a few years ago.

It did not disappoint!



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On Saturday we went to the

Metropolitan Museum of Art

and saw the Alexander McQueen exhibit,

SAVAGE BEAUTY.



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This special exhibit was organized by

The Costume Institute,

includes more than 100 of McQueen's pieces

and spans his career from

his post graduate collection of 1992

to pieces from his last runway collection

after his death

in 2010.



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The pieces range from the sublime...



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...to the absurd.

But every piece is a stunning  work of art.

***

New York City is a world unto itself.

I enjoyed every minute of it, but

on the flight home yesterday,

I couldn't help but think,

my most favorite place to go is...

home.



Flying Away...

Isn't this a lovely, whimsical little painting?

It is the work of Heather Buchanan

and you can find it here.

Tomorrow morning I'm flying off to NYC

to spend a few days with my daughter Kate.

My bags are packed and I'm all set.

I cannot even tell you the last time I traveled alone.

I don't mean day long car trips--

I do that quite often.

This is a REAL trip.

And although I do REAL trips fairly often too,

they are never alone.

So, I'm off for my big adventure

tomorrow morning.

"Counting Sheep" an art instillation by Kyu Seok Oh, earlier this year.

On a serious note, I'm going because Kate

is having a medical procedure done and

she wants her Mom with her.

Which means, I would WALK to NYC

if that's what I needed to do.

Keep us in your thoughts.

I'll be back next week.

(All pictures are from Google Images.)

Beginning Fall with a Trip!

It seems like ages since I've posted! I'm still in the process of "being home" after a whirlwind trip last week with my "neighbor upstairs." We returned last night after a ten hour drive from NYC back to Tennessee. I love to go, but isn't it always great to return home again? The first leg of our trip was to Maryland for a visit with my brother Rick and his wife Terry. Here they are, with Nancy in the middle (three of my favorite people in the world). We had never been to Maryland before and Rick and Terry showed us the sights!

Terry is a crafter extraordinaire and had just finished several of her Fall projects. This small hanging paper decoration is one of several she crafted from pages of an old book and embellished with stamping and other techniques.

We spent some time prowling through this huge and interesting shop.
The Apple Basket is an emporium of antiques, floral designs and a mix of old and new collectibles.

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Since we don't have an IKEA near Buttermilk Cottage, it's always a real treat when we get to visit one. We found several "must haves" at this one just outside Washington, D.C.

Some of our "stash" from IKEA

En route to Ladew Topiary Gardens
in Monkton, Maryland we unexpectedly came upon these gorgeous fields of sunflowers! What a surprise and delight! Those fields of yellow you see are all sunflowers!

The Ladew Topiary Garden is noted by the Garden Club of America as "The Most Outstanding Topiary Garden in America."

In addition to the whimsical topiary, the garden also includes a nature walk and a house tour of the garden's creator, the late Harvey Ladew. We spent a wonderful afternoon here.

Then, on to New York for a visit with my daughter, Kate and her guy, Dylan.

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We caught the Broadway show MEMPHIS at the Shubert Theatre. This production is the 2010 Tony winner for Best Musical and is about "The Birth of Rock 'n' Roll." Lots of fun!

An unexpected treat was that we just happened to be in NYC for "Fashion Night Out," the kick off for Fashion Week. Hundreds of designer stores were open late for shopping. What fun! A real party atmosphere was created by many of the stores stationing attendants at their entrances to welcome you in, serving drinks and food, deejay music and live models. We felt as though NYC was throwing a huge party and we got to go!

And...what, there's more??? I had a nice treat waiting for me when I returned last night. I was the winner of a giveaway hosted by Laura at Bright, Bold and Beautiful. I haven't yet had the opportunity to try the several products included in my gift from Perricone MD

but I'm looking forward to it!

A Couple of Crazy Weeks at Buttermilk Cottage

It's been a crazy couple of weeks at Buttermilk Cottage...

My daughter Kate has spent the last two weeks packing for her big move to New York City! After graduating at the end of May and before leaving for vacation, she moved out of her apartment at school. That means all her belongings came to Buttermilk Cottage. Since returning from vacation two weeks ago, she's been sorting and packing. What to take, what not to take, what to keep and what to get rid of? Too many decisions to make in a couple of weeks' time. She finally got it narrowed down to a couple of huge suitcases and one carry on bag to take. I'll be shipping some boxes later this week. The rest is overflowing in my basement. We are anticipating a huge yard sale later this summer.

The big day arrived yesterday when my sister Nancy and I put her on the plane and sent her on her way! Intellectually, I know you raise your kid with the intent of making them independent. When you see them go, however, it's a whole different ball game. My emotions have been on a roller coaster this week. She's ready to go, but I'm having a hard time letting go... I'll get over it.

To Kate, it's your big dream. Make it happen. I have no doubt you will. I'll admit I've felt the need to share every ounce of advise that crossed my conscience this week and you've felt a bit of overload from it, but just let me pass on three more tidbits...

Work hard, but remember to enjoy this adventure.

Always strive to do the right thing (you'll know what it is in your heart).

Never forget where home is.

Love you lots!

After getting Kate on her way, we met a couple of our dear and longtime friends, Wynona and Patricia (sisters too!) and had a great lunch together catching up with each other. Friends can always help ease you over the rough spots can't they? Love and thanks to you two, too!








Finally, we had a quick visit to TJ Maxx (another longtime and good friend) and look at this darling plate I found! Actually I got three--all they had. As a knitter I absolutely could not walk away from them, not to mention they were only $2.00 each!!!