Alice Goes to the Airport

Okay... maybe not Alice.. but still.  I think I fell through the looking glass yesterday.

As most of you are aware, a large winter storm worked it's way across the mid-west earlier this week and left in it's wake lots of snow and ice.  This is the background to our story.

This story doesn't include the fact that the airline had cancelled every one of their Cincinnati to Newark flights the day before... or that they cancelled all the flights but one on Wednesday.  See.. I was scheduled on the one flight they didn't cancel, so unlike the rest of my fellow passengers my story starts around 2pm on Wednesday afternoon.

I made it to the airport without too much drama... so we'll leave that part out.

We'll also leave out the part about going through security, changing out of my interview clothes and the salad from h*ll I had for dinner.

Let's start this story around 4pm....

I'm sitting in the waiting area at the gate, reading a book but listening to the people around me who are praying that this flight actually takes off and gets them vaguely close to where they were supposed to end up.  The nice lady at the desk announces that due to a FAA airspace delay, our flight wouldn't be taking off till 6:15pm.

Now... that's not a horrible delay for me, I'd only been there for an hour or so.  Feel sorry for the guy next to me who was supposed to take off at 8am that morning.  I do, however, look into who is going to pick me up (dad can't, Mom doesn't want to... ) and look into the alternative of flying into Allentown if this flight is cancelled.

6 o'clock rolls around and we start boarding.  Again, I get lucky and the seat next to me is empty.  See... after the delay, quite a few people decided they didn't trust this flight to take off and had the airline rebook them on other flights to other destinations.

6:20pm... we push back from the gate and head over to a de-icing pad.  Again, I say, this airport is huge... it must have taken at least 15 minutes to get there.  A brief stop and we start moving again, leading me to wonder if we were driving to Newark.

6:40pm... we hit a second de-icing pad and the pilot explains the other one was unavailable because of mechanical issues.  So they de-ice the plane and we start moving again.

7:10pm... we take off.  Now... I stop paying attention after the first minute or so... but something wasn't right.

7:15pm... the pilot tells us that the nose landing gear won't retract, so according to the checklist we have to go to the nearest airport, which is Cincinnati.

8pm... we're on the ground and back at a gate.  The counter people are saying they will either try to fix this plane or will get a new one for us to board at the original gate.  I'm hungry at this point, but we have no idea how much time we'll have till we board.

9pm... they gave up on fixing the original plane and we board a new one.  This time, we de-ice on the first try, take off with no problem and put away the landing gear.  

11:45pm... land in Newark.  Alice is home.

Cincinnati

I flew to Cincinnati today so I could have a few days to look around town before I interview at Cincinnati Children's.

Besides the plane taking off late (they found a mechanical issue while doing the pre-flight), the flight was wonderful.  It was a smaller commuter plane, two seats on each side of the aisle.  I was a bit afraid my Aeronaut wouldn't fit in the overhead compartment, but it fit with a bit of squishing.  Best part of all???... there were only six passengers on the flight.  It was the quietest most comfortable flight I've ever taken.

If you've never been to the Cincinnati Airport (which is in Kentucky.. btw), may I suggest wearing REALLY comfortable shoes.  That place was HUGE (plus, I totally missed the tram/monorail cars that ran from terminal B to terminal A)

From there.. my cousin picked me up and took me to Skyline Chili.  I had the veggie option and all I can say is YUM!  I could see that quickly becoming a favorite place to eat.

We drove around a bit and she showed me the hospital and surrounding areas.  I'm going to need a map to get from one end of that hospital to the other.  Not to mention that I'll probably need a GPS to find my way around town.  Cincinnati seems to be laid out  like central jersey (roads that go every which way and that you can only navigate if you were born there).

After dropping off my gear and meeting her doggie, Zack.  

We headed to Graeter's for ice cream and explored a few of the local thrift shops.  I'm going to reserve judgement on Graeter's.  They ran out of the flavor I wanted and I'm not sure I really liked the one I got.  

Dinner tonight was at the Montgomery Inn.  I had the most delicious beef ribs there.  Joining us for dinner was a friend of my cousin who works at Cincinnati Children's and was able to tell me more about the hospital.  

This was a very nice day and I'm grateful that my cousin and her husband were willing to host me and show me around.  He even took tomorrow off so he could play tour guide and really show me around Cincinnati.

LOL

Okay, I'll admit it. I look at the I Can Has Cheeseburger and I Has a Hotdog sites almost every day. I usually smile, but I very rarely find one that makes me laugh. I've never found one I wanted to share before... but this one...

Growing up..

In the past, I left behind all my family and friends and moved to a strange land for a new job in a different role. I'll never regret that move.. heck, I'd move back up there if I could.

I once again find myself looking for a new job... that first job in a new role. For some reason, I find myself more cautious about the location this time. I guess I'm getting more cautious as I get older.