Saturday, February 28, 2009

And you call this vacation?

I suffer from a disease that is best named the Ignore It and Maybe It Will Go Away Syndrome. This syndrome does not require a lot of additional clarification. I like to avoid even being exposed to things that I don’t like, or avoid taking care of things that are just a quintessential pain in the ass. It is similar to denial, but in denial, you have to at least make yourself aware of the issue in order to appropriately deny it, correct? I much prefer my approach, which sometimes means I don’t have to think about it from the start. There is some psychologist reading this blog who is pinning me as the next poster child for some trendy new diagnosis, I can feel it now.

For example, let’s take winter weather. I hate snow. I hate the arctic cold. I hate driving on bad roads. Instead of constantly obsessing over it and inflicting more emotional distress than necessary, I abstain from even listening to the weather. So, when people say, “Did you hear about the snow storm coming in tonight? We are supposed to get hammered!” I stare at them with a blank look. I much prefer the vision in my head, the optimistic side of me that instead secretly hoped to wake up rejoycing that we miraculously found a 70-degree February day. While this is good for my psyche, it isn’t necessarily helpful when I wake up to freezing rain, absolutely unprepared for the additional drive time my morning commute will require.

I’ve taken this same approach to buying our airline tickets for a trip we are taking NEXT WEEK. While I’ve been diligently researching flights for two months, our options have been fairly repulsive. In other words, paying $1600 to fly three people to Florida, with two connections each way and arrival times around the midnight hour, is not my idea of a vacation. I am not mentally prepared for Kate’s first flight, not to mention navigating multiple connections and subjecting myself to the absolute meltdown that will certainly take place between the hours of 9pm and midnight. And seriously people, if I am spending $1600 on airfare, that plane better be landing somewhere better than Ft. Myers.

So, I ignored it. I continued to think that maybe if I just waited, a much better scenario would come along.

It didn’t.

Then, Craig started to consider driving. The only thing worse than the travel arrangement described above would be the three of us in the car for 24-hours. I am developing a facial twitch just thinking about it. If I were a betting person, I’d put five-grand on Kate’s vocabulary expanding to include much more colorful language at the end of that car ride. I thought Craig was joking about this suggestion, but he wasn’t. Even more frightening, I caught myself in a moment of ENTERTAINING.THE.NOTION.

I feverishly got back online, trying to secure some flight arrangements that would put an end to this madness. On Airtran’s site (which we have to fly for a reason too exhausting to explain), I realized they sold tickets each-way, versus roundtrip only. I found an excellent price on RETURN trip tickets, so I booked three. I was apprehensive that if we waited for the THERE ticket prices to come down, we’d miss out on the great non-stop return flight.

We don’t have flights there, because at $950, I am still choosing to ignore that conundrum, hoping a solution will spontaneously appear. However, I’ve sufficiently obstructed any plans involving DRIVING to Florida by booking the return flight. I’m such a pain in the ass.

13 comments:

Unknown said...

I suffer from the same syndrome. It didn't work with our new president though.. lol

I hope you will have a great time here in Florida. Where are you going, if it is close to here, I might be able to offer some help.

Good Luck :)

Ann Imig said...

Good luck. Seriously. I'm taking the kids to Florida week after next. Wish we could get together...

Everyday Goddess said...

Sending best wishes! The traveling is the worst part. Hope your trip is sunshine filled with balmy breezes!

C. Beth said...

I've found in general traveling with kids is not as stressful as I expect it to be--hoping the same for you.

I even flew with both kids, without The Engineer, recently! Our flights have all been shorter or at better hours, though.

Yeah, come to think of it, we'd probably have a meltdown between 9-12 (or earlier...) too....

Jenners said...

It might go better than you think ... my son was a much better traveler than I anticipated ... but we take caution to try and get direct flights that are no more than 2 hours because I don't want to push it. Good luck ... I hope the airline fairies come through for you!

Can I ask where you are going? If you flying to Ft. Myers, any chance you are going to Captiva/Sanibel? We love it there!

Call Me Cate said...

I'm the problem child when we travel. And the only way that works is if Joe knocks me out somehow. Car, plane, doesn't matter. But 24 hrs with a 3 yr old? Maybe neither solution is pain-free but one does have a shorter duration. Good luck on those flights!

The Rambler said...

Girl...pull up a chair and lets have some anxiety denial ignore it coffee! Seriously! You and me are the same.

I've taken a plane with my precious cargo twice. The first time, my husband said he will never take another vacation. The second time (sans husband but add mother and sister) tasted the relationship that is family :) (Hawaii to Pennsylvania)

We are taking our 3rd trip to San Fran in May. I'm totally doing the ignore it option at this point. Until my husband looks at me 1 hour into our flight. :)

(Eh, maybe the 24 hour drive isn't that bad a suggestion...cause we would have if we could drive across the Pacific. At least you can stop, get out, scream, and get back in. :) Kidding.)

You'll do fine!

~Kaydee~ said...

My husband and I used to pay outrageously for airfare... then my Mom introduced us to Southwest. I now fly fairly regularly round trip between Florida and California for about $250. So long as I book the ticket 7-10 days in advance I get a fantastic rate. No gimmicks, no coupons, or hoops to jump through. Downside? No assigned seating, but since you have a little one you'll board early. Even better seating if you check-in online 24 hours before your flight, print your boarding passes at home, and check your bags out front with the skycap. Flying with Southwest is a breeze. Gosh, I sound like I should be a spokesperson for them! lol

Kara said...

I've flown a number of times with Abby, and she is not an easy-going kid. BUT, she has always traveled better than I expected. My tips?

1. Bring a DVD player
2. Use your normal car seat in the airplane seat. Abby is used to sitting (and falling asleep) in her car seat, so that helps - and when she throws a major tantrum, she's strapped in tight and can't unbuckle herself :-) (unlike those too-easy airplane seat buckles!)

We have a trip coming up where we will be flying past bedtime, too. It stinks, but we had little choice. Ugh.

Crazy Mo said...

Good luck with that, Lyndsay. Our youngest was 7 when we flew, so it wasn't so bad. I do the same with the news. It's always bad, every newscast is fear mongering and you never hear the real story. So I just tune out.

Claire said...

Portable DVD player. It solves everything. I have flown with Laura from NC to CA (sans hubby) about 4 or 5 times over the course of her life, and that always saved us (not when she was 6 weeks old though, but that was actually the easiest flight of them all). I have also driven from NC to Pittsburgh several times and have had the same luck with the DVD player.

Good luck!

Anonymous said...

Oh what a pain in the butt! Did you know Allegant flies out of GRA to Florida now at very reasonable rates? Not sure if they fly where you want to go and on the dates you would need but that's all I got for ya! Brian is psycho and will book things months in advance because he is afraid the price will always go up. And good luck traveling with Kate:) I'm sure she will do fine:) Steph

Jeanne Estridge said...

You could rent a car and drive down there and abandon it. Although that would probably cost more than $950....