North Carolina Travel and Return
Posted in Air Travel, Travel | By Shelley Gillespie | Tags: Alexander and the Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day, Barbecue, Judith Viorst, North Carolina, Thai restaurant, US Airways
As promised, I’m filling in the return trip for my recent visit to North Carolina. The four days we spent in North Carolina were rainy, gloomy, chilly and drizzly.
It reminded me of the Judith Viorst book, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (great book, not just for children). Only the day was a long weekend.
However, some bright spots – Bar-be-cue was good at Smithfield’s (which has numerous locations). We stopped at the one in Warsaw, North Carolina. Service was helpful – “This is what people usually get.”
Quantities were copious. I couldn’t finish everything. Tender barbecued chicken, pulled pork. I’m drooling thinking about it.
We visited with our family, ate at some chain restaurants and one excellent Thai restaurant, The Old Siam, in Jacksonvillle, NC. The Old Siam had great atmosphere, flavorful meals (they were very accommodating about adjusting the spiciness) and a solicitous wait staff. My granddaughter – like the old cereal commercial – liked everything, including the lemon grass soup.
Trip Home
Everything went smoothly. We passed through security with time to spare. My boarding pass got torn as I juggled it with my things at security and a very friendly TSA lady taped it together for me. When I reached the gate, I asked some of the airline staff if I needed a new one since it was torn. They smiled and said not to worry.
Then, when our boarding number was called, as I reached the gate where the airline personnel were collecting boarding passes – one of them said –
“Oh, no, your pass is torn! You need a new one!” and grinned at me broadly. She winked and onto the ramp I went.
The plane was about two-thirds full. Since the flight began after 9:00 AM, we were offered lunch-type choices. The salad meal was smallish, but decent with fairly fresh ingredients. A Reuben was also available. There were no headphones, films or Muzak offered.
Ahead is behind
Surprisingly, our US Airways flight landed about ½ hour early. That’s where you get penalized for arriving before they’re ready for you. We had to park on the tarmac for a while until our gate was ready to accommodate us. We sat there for nearly the full 30 minutes before we finally could pull up to a gate.
Since we had brought our luggage onboard as carry-ons, we were on our way quickly. Outside, our “Gecko” bus brought us to our parking lot and we reached our car quickly.
Can this be the new air travel? Less people, faster connections. People even able to show kindness and a sense of humor!
Wow!
Tags: Alexander and the Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day, Barbecue, Judith Viorst, North Carolina, Thai restaurant, US Airways