The Weary Travelers ( the Out-of-Towners ain't got nothing on us!)

So Justin and I have been married for 11 years this August and have never been on a trip together this entire time. We've gone away overnight a couple times, but never more than that, and I've personally never been very far from IF, born and raised here, haven't even traveled to all the states that touch ours. So this trip to Philly was to be a monumental event. The reason for going, was that Justin's youngest brother had his first baby. So we were supposed to leave IF at 5pm Wed evening, spend the night in SLC and rise early for a morning flight out. We ended up leaving IF at 8:30, getting there at 12:30, leaving us with 4 hours rest. Should have been a sign, but we were still pretty upbeat and excited at this point. We arrive at the airport on time, tickets in hand no sign of trouble. Walk through security and everyone else gets through but he tells me to wait in this glass animal cage for 10 minutes while others around me are walking by and
staring as I remain imprisoned behind a fish bowl. They won't even tell me why. Then some lady finally releases me and asks if I'd like a private screening or not. WHAT? My picture was blurry she says. And she won't even answer when I ask why I cant just take another one. "Whatever. Just get it over with." I reply. All the while during my public frisking and cage holding my dear husband and sister-in-law make sure to capture it on film for all to see. I don't have those pictures yet or I'd share (NOT). So we fly from SLC to Cincinnati in a reasonable airplane. Mid-sized. No screens. Originally we were supposed to wait one hour then fly out to Philly and arrive about noon. But it got postponed to a 3 1/2 hour layover. So we meander the airport for our allotted time, come back to the gate to find that it has been delayed another hour. More wandering, more mindless shopping. Return to gate. Sit. Wait. Flight canceled, and though we'd been waiting the longest, we were furthest from the gate so we were last in line to make "other arrangements". An hour later, we finally get our turn (the first lady in the first line was there 45 minutes arguing!) there's not many choices left. The next flight to Philly out of Cincinnati would get us there after 2pm tomorrow. We're thinking "More than a whole day lost? What else can we do" We look for alternate routes and finally decide on going to La Guardia tonight. Half of us then want to drive to Philly from there (2 hour drive - I vote that since we've already paid for a rental car and 2 hotels rooms in Philly that night than can not be reimbursed or canceled.) The others vote that we sleep in New York cause there's a 6 am flight from there to Philly. So we end up taking that options and Justin books 2 rooms near the La Guardia airport for $250! Even though we're also paying for 2 rooms in Philly that night. And no, Delta will not compensate for hotel or shuttle fair. So we wait 2 1/2 more hours in the Cincinnati airport and go to our gate. Flight to La Guardia has been delayed an hour. UGH! If we'd know we'd be spending the day in Cincinnati we'd have gone and seen Cincinnati! So we wait. Then we board the plane. The plane pulls out and heads to the runway only to stop. We've been delayed again, but now we're stuck on the plane. Meanwhile Justin's mom have severe claustrophobia. She had taken Valium, which is usually enough but since we weren't going anywhere she started panicking. She ran up and asked the pilot if she could get off. "yes, but you can't get back on " was his reply. So she tried to wait it out, but as time drags on she gets worse and worse. She takes another Valium. The plane finally gets clearance and we roll for one minute toward the runway and she explodes! " I can't take it anymore! Get me off this plane NOW!" So back to the gate we go. We suddenly have 2 minutes to decide what to do. All our ticket info is on the same paper for the 6 of us. Do we all stay in Cincinnati? We've already paid for 2 rooms in La Guardia because they couldn't fit all 6 of us into one. The rental car is in their name. UGH! So Justin's dad hands us all the airline info and the two of them exit the plane. Captain announces " Sorry folks but we had a claustrophobic passenger who had to get off and we can't keep anyone prisoner. We have 8 minutes to take off or we'll miss our last chance. We wait for something else to happen, but the plane takes off. YEAH! Oh but landing is a different story. We land and just stay there. Then they announce that they've lost radio contact with the tower. Oh goody. More waiting. Eventually we pull up to the gate and get off Justin's dad had sworn that the ticket lady told him our baggage was all going straight to Philly. So we'll have nothing tonight. I just get a gut feeling that that wasn't right cause I was there the whole time and never heard that. So I talk the 4 of us left at La Guardia into looking for the luggage while the hotel supposedly is sending a free shuttle to pick us up. One by one, the bags come. Including Steve and Kathy's who stayed in Cincinnati, EXCEPT MINE! And I'm the only person who wears contacts so mine is the only bag that if it's missing that means a trip to the store. We wait at 1AM in baggage claim in La Guardia for 45 minutes. They said it went to Philly. I ask where to pick it up at. "Oh no!" She says. "We will deliver IT to YOU!!" OK, well that's nice. So Justin and his bro Ryan had been looking for our shuttle to no avail, and some other guy approaches them. "Need a ride?" he asks. "yes" there weak voices and bleary eyes claim. We're getting in and we ask how much. He says $15 a person! Pretty pricey for a 5-10 minute ride. A cab would have been cheaper, but we're tired, we must get up at 4, so we get in. We pull up to this dingy place with bars on all the windows and people screaming outside. We in downtown Queens on Queens boulevard. Before he gives us our bags, he now says "$20 a person". We try to argue. He says "taxes". We're tired, we're scared. We pay. We check in, and they are mad because we never got into their shuttle that we never found. Whatever. We open the doors to our rooms and the strong oh so unpleasant scent of urine fills our noses. This is what we paid $250 for? To sleep for 2 hours in urine? And we can't afford another ride like that, so Justin and Ryan have to walk 8 blocks in downtown Queens at 2AM for some contact solution, toothpaste, etc. I told him not to go. I was actually afraid for his life. But they wanted and "authentic" New York experience. Shantell and I stayed together in the same room till they returned, noting the time they left, and the time we would notify the police if they had not yet come back. They came back and had actually run into some people from Pocatello! Crazy small world sometimes. So we sleep for our allotted two hours. Shower and head out on the more affordable $6 a person real shuttle (last night's rip off ride had just been the back of the dude's minivan). We get there, give her our ticket info, and she can't find anything in her computer. It takes so long we miss our flight and our booked on the 10:35AM flight to Philly. Goody. More time in an airport. 9 hours at Cincinnati, and now 5 hours in La Guardia. So we go through security and he confiscated my mini snow globe I bought in the last airport. No reason why, just takes it. Even though you can walk 10 feet and buy another snow globe and take it on the plane with you! So ridiculous. Our expensive urine stenched rooms did not come with anything to eat, so we had to buy some more airport food for breakfast. Take about 5 bites and I discover a plethora of mold underneath. YUM. Maybe the penicillin will protect me from whatever disease I picked up the night before. We watch and wait as hoards of people come and go for the several flights ahead of us. And we freeze. The ac is on like full blast! People around us are pulling their arms inside there shirts and what not, and they only have to stay about 1/2 hour. So Justin buys me a blanket and hot chocolate in late June. Shantell wraps up in the New York shirts she bought. Did I mention it's been a life long dream of mine to go to NY? And that even though I was there I saw nothing? Last night it was foggy, not that I dared to look around anyway, and then I saw only underpasses on the way to the airport, then when we finally got on the plane, NY was on the other side. Well, Ryan and Shantell got to see it at least. I'll live vicariously through them. But I bought a shirt at the airport nonetheless, to prove I'd been there. Ryan and Shantell got sick of being indoors and went outside for a bit. Then they had trouble getting back through security because her license was expired. But eventually they made it through, and then discover while searching through her bag that she had a scalpel in there!!! She works at the hospital and had forgotten about it. Mind you she's been through airport security 5 times with this scalpel in her purse. I get frisked, my snow globe confiscated,and she breezes through with that thing. Death by snow globe on board - not gonna happen. You are safe from that fiendish death, but a tool actually used to cut open flesh gets through. Feel safe flying now?

We were worried about the La Guardia flight and ourselves being a part of it, because every half hour they'd make announcements about being over the weight limit and asking 3 passengers to change flights. We just knew this would happen to us, but it did not. We boarded on time on a tiny, dirty plane with a 45 minute flight. Very rough landing too, but WE ARE HERE! In Philly! More than 48 hours after our original time slot, and so sleep deprived we're barely recognizable, but we made it!
Their baggage comes, but I want to call the hotel before we leave. Justin won't even give me his phone. "They promised it will be there!" He claims. "I'm not leaving this airport till I know where my luggage is" I reply. Shantell lets me use her phone. Big surprise. It's not there. They know nothing about it. Baggage claim couldn't find it for about half hour, but it's finally located. Only there's no shuttle that goes there and it's a one mile walk. So we walk. Shantell and Ryan meet us at the rental car place. We get the car with no problems (later to discover that they left their camera there) and drive to the hotel. Thank heavens for GPS or we'd have never made it there. Even with it, we still ended up driving through the terminal again, almost resolute to the fact that we'd probably spend the rest of our lives in an airport like some Stephen King movie. But we do get out, and we do get to the hotel just about 2 miles away. Now we had called last
night to say what happened and that we would not be there until the next day. They told us that was fine because we had pre-paid for all 3 nights. But we get there and she can't find us. When she does, she just stared at the screen for like 20 minutes not knowing what to do. We've somehow been checked out she says but she can't figure out why. Who cared why???? Just fix it! We're thinking. Finally the manager comes over. We've been checked out because when you book through expedia or travelocity you have to be there to sign the card (even though we called saying we were re-routed to NY). So they checked us out for all 3 days and charged us anyway. After some trial and error in human communication he booked us in some other rooms there. Why this couldn't have been done in the first place is beyond me. So we get our keys and head to the rooms. We put the key in the first room but stop before opening the door because we hear music. I'm thinking the maids are still cleaning. We knock. two girls in pajamas open the door. "This is our room" Ryan says. "No, this is our room" they reply. Oh my word. Can we really be having this many problems on one trip? Back to the lobby. New room. Nice, clean room thank heaven's. Though it's a suite so there's no cleaning, no shampoo etc, and no breakfast. Not the kind of room I usually book, but it's urine free so we stay for a minute. It's way past lunch time so we head to Wendy's, the nearest food joint. Then to Kmart. I can't remember what we needed to buy there, but I do remember that it was the first time in my life where I was the minority. The 4 of us were the only Caucasian people in all of Kmart. There is definitely a much broader culture range there than here. Then we finally head to Trent and Heather's to see the new baby. It's an hour drive from the hotel. Shantell and I are desperate to finally see Philly, but are unable to remain conscious. But we get there. He's beautiful! We spend a couple hours there and then it's dinner time. We tour Trent's school Arcadia University. This huge gorgious castle! Check out some pics below.


Then we go to the Hibachi Grill! That was a blast. They cook the food on your table. And it was so delicious too! Then we drop them off and head the hour drive back to the hotel. Late at night. And half way through the drive is the ghetto. Bars and metal grates over all the windows and graffiti everywhere. Saturday we woke up early, drove the hour to Trent's, just barely had time to catch the train to Market East. We managed to get tickets for Independence Hall and while we waited we went and saw the Liberty Bell. That was really neat.
Then we took the tour of Independence Hall.

I stood in the very same room that the Founding Fathers did and signed the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution. Incredible. They even had the original chair that George Washington sat in to sign it.

We saw City Hall and Love Park and the Rocky steps.

Of course all the other "vacation" days the skies were clear. But the one and only full day we had there to walk around and see everything it rained ALL DAY non stop. But even in the rain it was warmer than here! We also stood in line for the famous Jim's Steaks Philly Cheese Steak! Good stuff!

Then we went back to Trent's and had a baby shower for Heather and ordered pizza.

We also got water ice's from Rita's while we were out. They are like frozen custard with slushies. Pretty darn good! Drove and hour back, through the ghetto to the hotel. Woke up early. Went back to Trent's. Picked everyone up and drove the the Pennsylvania State Penitentiary. It's the world's first Penitentiary.
It's really old and cool and I do recommend you go and see it, if ever in Philly. Al Capone was there. It ran till 1971! One guy actually managed to dig his way out (and the walls ran 10 feet under ground)It took him one year and he was caught within 3 hours. He only had 6 months left, but the automatic sentence for escape is ten more years. They ended up giving him only 3 since he was such a nice guy and he only had 6 months left! We only got to stay about 1 1/2 and we only saw about half of what was there. It was fun learning the history of it over the centuries. Off to the airport again. They did stop my bag and wouldn't tell my why. They made Justin completey empty his (too many electronics). We almost couldn't get most of our tickets, but eventually we made it on board for the nicest flight yet! Nice big plane. Screens behind every seat with numerous free TV channels to watch or you could purchase a movie for $6. Non-stop flight to SLC. Landed on time. Slept the whole way home without stirring once. Seemed like 5 minutes! That was cool. Usually you wake up a couple time only to be disappointed that there is still a couple hours left to drive. Not this time. Got home at 1:30AM to an empty house. Really missed the kids. My sister brought them home at 8AM and it was quickly back to the grind with an 8:30 t-ball game and work and all. So was it worth it? Yes. It was fun to see Trent and Heather after more than a year, and their new baby. And seeing Philly for a day and a morning was pretty cool too, though we spent more time than that in airports. Will I travel again? Not any time soon........
But when we do go, we plan on actually seeing NYC this time!



The ballroom in Arcadia. I felt like I was Cinderella when I was here.


The Hibachi Grill



More of Arcadia






I always wanted to be a Gargoyle

We got to the baby at last!

5 cold hours in La Guardia airport

We were in NYC! (briefly and saw nothing)

9 hours in Cincinnati airport

SLC airport (notice at the beginning of our trip our smiles were sincere)

Philly is so lush and green!

The side of Arcadia University

Saying goodbye

Constitution and Declaration signed in this room! Very same chair!

View from top of Rocky Steps!

Waiting for the big city train! (Our first time on a train)

Liberty Bell with Independance Hall in background

Love Park

no explanation required here

Authentic Philly Cheesesteaks first bite!

Rita's Water Ice

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I have just shy of a bazillion more photos to share, but this is a handful of the best I thought. Thanks for reading!