My big trip to Eastern Europe, including a cruise on the Danube River, starts today! I was awake at 0500 and got ready. I met Monte at 0545 and he drove me to the Lebanon Dartmouth Coach Station. My bus to New York City left at 0615 and we drove to Hanover to pick up more passengers. The bus was soon completely full and we departed for NYC by 0630. The driver used I-91 for several hours - it was quite rainy. I passed the time reading and doing Duolingo exercises. We encountered traffic at Hartford and the driver (for some strange reason) got on I-84 (towards the west). We then got in a big traffic jam (major accident) near Waterbury, CT. We later switched to I-684 and headed south again. With all the delays, I got pretty far into some of my audiobooks... Before long, we were on the Hutchinson River Parkway. We used Mamaronek Avenue to reach I-95 (VERY bumpy road) before New Rochelle. Despite all of this creative maneuvering by the bus driver, we still hot lots more traffic as we approached the Bronx. We took I-278 towards Manhattan (more traffic due to construction), got on Randalls Island and then crossed over to Queens on the RFK Bridge. From my perspective, there was no effort to avoid traffic and we got stuck for a while before we reached I-495. Finally, we crossed at the Queens-Midtown Tunnel but it took us almost 30 minutes after that to actually reach the bus stop (1215). Relieved to be off of the bus, I walked a short distance to Grand Central Station and made my way down (three) levels to the LIRR terminal. For the first time, I tried out a self service ticket kiosk (1230) - made a mistake (thinking Peak fares) and paid too much (oh well, live and learn). At 1236, my Huntington bound train left the station. I got off at Jamaica (1300) and quickly walked to the MTA self service kiosk - I managed to replace my old card (it expired in March) but then “overcharged it” (the fare had gone down since my last visit). I felt better about this mistake, though, because I wouldn’t have to recharge for future visits or use of the subway. Also, my haste paid off because I was on the Airtrain less than five minutes later (1310). I made my way to JFK Terminal 4 and thought I was home free. When I arrived, however, I found absolute chaos at the self serve kiosks. I’d already checked in online but still had to navigate a series of difficult challenges before I was able to drop off my checked bag at the counter (1335). All things considered, though, it didn’t take as long as it felt to get through. After that, I tried to use the TSA Pre-Check line but found that my boarding pass didn’t have the correct information. Fortunately, I found a helpful gate agent in a quiet place near the back of the check in area and she fixed everything for me. In the meantime, the TSA line had gotten much longer. I patiently waited for my turn and, once I reached the baggage scan, things sped up tremendously. After getting through security (1420), I went in search of food. Remembering that there was a Buffalo Wild Wings in the terminal, I found a seat at the bar there and ordered some Buffalo chicken tater tots (1440). I was done eating at 1520 and spent the next hour walking around the gate area (end to end). When I approached the gate for my KLM flight, everything seemed to be in order. After the boarding time came and went, it started to become clear that something was wrong. The gate agents didn’t say anything, though. I noticed that there was no plane parked at the jetway and later saw a KLM Boeing 787 parking (hours later, I learned that an earlier flight with a medical emergency had taken over our gate). Only then did the gate agents say “it might be 45 more minutes” (and they didn’t give any specifics). I thought about sitting down but there weren’t any seats available. Instead, I stood near the Zone 4 boarding sign for the next 75 minutes. During this time, I heard stories from other passengers about how they’d been delayed 24 hours from the same flight on the previous day - guess I was lucky to be departing today... Finally, the gate agents announced priority boarding was beginning. I hadn’t expected to be able to go through at that time but they suddenly mentioned retired military as one of the categories so I headed on through with the wheelchairs and strollers. Despite this early walk through, we then got held at the entrance to the jetway. Soon after that (1805), though, I got to my seat (window, in front of bulkhead and next to lavatories). Ultimately, the boarding process took almost 45 minutes. Much later than planned, we taxied to the runway and finally took off at 1910. About 30 minutes into our flight we got bottled water and a towel and, 30 more minutes later, we got a full fledged dinner (tortellini, corn salad, Gouda cheese, roll, dessert) and a mini bottle of wine. To pass the time (and try to get sleepy), I watched movies and texted with Brenna, Monte and Sharon S (free WiFi for messaging). The crew didn’t turn the lights down until another drink service (at about 2145). After that, I tried to sleep but it was tough with a restless neighbor. Meanwhile, the time zones clicked by (still flying at midnight)...
