When I lived in Albuquerque, going to New York to visit family meant flying there. It’s too far to drive for a quick trip. Then, when I moved to Singapore from Albuquerque, flying was a definite must. The first time I visited New York after moving to Ohio, my brother asked me in a phone conversation, “So what time is your flight?”
‘We’re driving,” I said.
“Oh, that’s right. It seems weird that you’re driving.”
It did seem weird, but what a relief to not be rushing out of the house to try to catch a flight. When the car is loaded, we go. If we forget something and remember it by the time we get to the highway, we go back and get it. If we leave by 9 a.m., we arrive (with stops for a sit down lunch and gas) about eleven hours later. Along the way, we can see where we are going and know what has passed behind us.
There is such freedom in driving knowing that one can control time variables–unless of course, there is road construction or a wreck that slows down progress.
My dad about an upcoming trip that has reminded me, once again, why we’ve decided to drive to Montana this summer. In May, my dad is flying to Albuquerque from New York on a vacation, and he just received notice from Delta that his 6:40 a.m. flight is now at 6:00 a.m. His new departure time means a three-hour wait in Atlanta. As he said, “You can’t count on airlines when you’re making plans.” Because he has to drive a couple hours to the airport, this earlier flight is not welcome.
The unforeseen travel circumstances because of flying is one reason we’re getting our car tuned up and relying on our own volition to go from point A to point B during our summer trip. Flights have gone up in cost. Baggage costs more and delays are almost guaranteed. The past two years, we’ve flown, but it doesn’t seem worth it.
One beauty of driving is that we get to choose the places we may want to hang out for three hours or so to break up the scenery. My choice is an historic site over an airport. We’ll depart when we leave, and we will arrive when we get there. We can chose our route. Simple. We don’t charge extra for more luggage either.
The thing about driving, though, is that you have to have enough time to get there. We have the time and have friends we can stay with along the way to cut down on motel costs. Sometimes, you have to fly. In that case, make sure you check your departure time. It may be earlier than you think.
Check Flight Arrivals.com. It’s a Web site that lists the commercial flight schedules in the U.S. and Canada.