Planes, Trains and Automobiles

No need to run out and rent this classic Steve Martin flick kiddos...I've got a better story for you right here. Last year, my parents transferred up to the Philadelphia area, beautiful and rural Bucks county exactly (for a mental picture, think Mel Gibson's movie Signs). Needless to say, this now necessitates travel plans more extensive than driving up I-575 before Atlanta traffic sets in.

First the air portion: flying from Atlanta to Newark, NJ because the ticket was far less than flying straight to Philadelphia. As I'm settling into my cozy little window seat, it becomes apparent that my seat neighbor will be a young man with his 3-month old baby boy. Most travelers ultimate nightmare. Truly not that bad, except that the exhausted new father falls asleep soon into the flight, leans into me, dislodging the little guy's passy. Fearing ear-splitting screams to ensue, I surreptitiously pluck the pacifier out of its hiding place and work it into the whimpering baby's month. Crisis averted. Until the well-fed little bugger wets his diaper. And is not changed for the duration of the flight.

Next leg of the trip: catching a packed train from Newark to south Jersey. Catching it by mere seconds. Dragging my two suitcases across the platform, I'm lucky to hop on the train. But, I quickly realize, I'm not going anywhere. There are no seats to be had, there is actually no aisle space either. I join the other 7 people squeezed into the pass through between two railcars and brace myself as I watch the tracks pass through the cracks in the floor. After a stop where the train emptied most of its passengers, I move to grab a seat inside, but not before two men shove their way in front of me. Apparently not in the chilvarous south anymore!

Finally, I reach my stop, step off into the driving rain and jump into my father's waiting car where I have a seat all to myself! I walk through the door to a waiting dinner of spaghetti casserole and extended family. Let the holiday begin!

All is good until I start to make my way to bed. I am then waylaid by a nefarious case of food poisoning. I am left laying on the bathroom floor, grateful for the cool of the tile. Later, I narrowly maintain consciousness as I accidentally slam my forehead against something hard and unforgiving. It is not a shining moment in my life to say the least. I am left weak and gasping for gatorade. In fact, that was my Thanksgiving dinner, Gatorade in a very tastey fruit punch flavor. The biggest meal of the year, and I sipped my way through it.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!