Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

Since I missed Movie Monday, I thought I'd pay homage to one of the funniest movies of all time, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles starring John Candy and Steve Martin.  In the early, dark days of my illness, I popped this tape in whenever I needed some good belly laughs!  The scene in the burned-out car, when the police officer stops him for speeding, is priceless!

Alas, those kinds of travel troubles are much funnier on the screen than they are in real life.  In fact, it's not at all funny in real life.  But I think I need to rename our adventures of the last few days "Planes, Planes, Planes, and Planes."

Ken and Jamie got off OK Friday morning.  They left our house at 4 am and arrived in Oklahoma City just an hour late in the afternoon (there are no direct flights from Philly or Baltimore to OKC).  They had just enough time to rent a car, grab lunch, change clothes, and get to the funeral home in time for the visiting hours.

Back in Delaware, Craig won almost every contest in his class' Greek-style Olympics, then wowed the audience with his performance (with a friend) of a Justin Bieber song in the 6th grade talent show.  As soon as he came off stage, Craig and I ran out the door, and a friend drove us to the airport.  Everything seemed to be going smoothly...until we boarded the plane.  We waited on board - at the gate - for four hours - while they tried to fix a mechanical problem.  We could have left, but they kept saying we'd be on our way "in 15 minutes."  Four hours later, they canceled the flight.  By then, it was too late to get another one.  They put Craig and I up overnight in a nearby hotel, then we got up at 4 am the next morning to catch the first flight out.

Despite all our efforts, we missed the funeral.  We arrived in time for the church lunch afterward.  At least we got to see our Texas relatives before they headed back home.  And all four of us stayed with my father-in-law for several days and spent time with our nephew and his family.

More travel problems on the way home.  We finally got in at 2:30 am today.  After sleeping late and lots of naps today, we're all doing OK, but now we have just a few days to get ready to leave on vacation!!  No idea how we'll manage that feat.

So, it was an exhausting week - emotionally and physically.  I was pretty wiped out for a day or so in Oklahoma, but we had a few quiet days.  Despite the quick turn-around, we're glad we're heading back to Oklahoma next week.  My father-in-law is pretty lost and will certainly be lonely now that everyone has left.  So, things will be pretty crazy here this week - I probably won't have much blogging time until after we get back from vacation.  Thank goodness we're driving and not flying!!