An Anti-Horror Story

Thanks for reminding us that things sometimes (perhaps even often) do go according to plan. It’s the memories of times when things go wrong that stick with us.

Great gratitude post. The ability to appreciate the little things is part of the joy of life and travel. Thanks for the reminder.

Thanks for posting!

Thanks for this reminder, carolnowretired, that most often, things do go smoothly, and we do need to stop and be grateful for that !

Have a great rest of your time in London.

Thanks, Carol. I've had many trips like that, though maybe not as lucky as you with all the short wait tmes. I check bags regularly and haven't had a loss or delay since 1968 (which was theft). Icelandair does a good job between here and Europe. I hope the rest of your visit goes as well. Please report back on your homeward flights -- maybe you can beat your own record for short lines and on-times!

Carol, I love this! Maybe we should post the positive travel experiences more often. Glad your trip started off so well!

Good to hear things went so well.

If it were me, I would be living in sheer terror of what was going to go wrong to 'even things out'.

While you are on a hot streak, buy a lottery ticket. :-)

Carol now retired,

Thanks for such an uplifting tale. I leave for Switzerland next week, my first trip since 2019. I feel my travel skills are rusty which at times has me feeling a bit anxious. Your post really helped me remember all the times everything just flowed and went well. When I feel anxious I'm going to redirect my mind to focus on the times all went well and this trip likely will too. And if it doesn't I have the skills to effectively cope.

Have a wonderful trip! May the rest go as smoothly as the start.

Traveler Girl

I leave for London next weekend. Hope my journey goes as smoothly as yours did!

Have a wonderful trip!

I started out walking across the street from my house and catching a bus. Another bus and a light rail ride and I was at the airport.

How long did this take?

Joe32F- I do the same thing from my house just north of Mill Creek (bus 109 to Ashway park and ride, then 2nd bus to Northgate where we catch the light rail to the airport). I allow 2 hours to get to check in. We have done it multiple times, and it works great. My husband and I are both over 65, so we qualify for the Senior card. It costs us a dollar to go all the way. (which is how I know we make it within the 2 hours. )

@Joe. Just under 2 hours. It isn’t an issue for me for a late afternoon flight. As mentioned above it only costs $1 and saves me from fighting traffic woes or paying hundreds of dollars in parking fees.

Carol—isn’t it nice when things go smoothly? I am at SEA now sitting in the lounge just waiting. I use a private driver, but it’s not fancy. Just a few guys that do this for a living but in their regular vehicles. We are smack east of Mill Creek and it costs either $50 or $60 depending on which man we use. So half the cost of Uber and 1/3 times f what a typical private driver is.

Thank you for this great post.

Unfortunately it's no secret that we talk about negative experiences more often than about positive ones. All you have to do is read the news... :-(

Stoked for you it went smoothly Carol! The Seattle light rail is pretty great for airport trips. I wish they would have built the full system early on in the development of the city. I look at the dates when it's supposed to be completed and it feels weird that by then I might be expired :).

Have a great trip.

Mikliz:

"We are smack east of Mill Creek and it costs either $50 or $60 depending on which man we use. So half the cost of Uber and 1/3 times f what a typical private driver is. "

I flew back to SEA on the 15th and looked at Uber prices: $110 from SEA to Queen Anne. I took a taxi and it cost just shy of half that, including tip.

Moral: take the taxi!

-- Mike Beebe

On my recent to Portugal, our return flight was delayed by over an hour. We were certainly going to miss our connecting flight. When we landed, we got a notice that our next flight was delayed by an hour. Sometimes a delayed flight is a good thing. We made it home!

I flew back to SEA on the 15th and looked at Uber prices: $110 from
SEA to Queen Anne. I took a taxi and it cost just shy of half that,
including tip.

Moral: take the taxi!

For the Mexico trip we are on now, looked at Uber the day before and it varied throughout the day from $60 to $140. Decided that for a 5am trip Uber was too variable to rely on, so drove and parked.

Outside of surges like NYE, I feel like Uber pricing used to be more consistent five years ago? Not sure ...

Hank— I too do not trust Uber for my very early morning flights. I use my guys, or when flying back from the Bay Area I’ll use a private driver since I don’t have a network there.

Carol, thanks for this positive post. It was a pleasure to read! I am learning to stop expecting things to go wrong and most of the time I can roll with it if they don’t. After a lot of hand ringing, that is!

Nothing to complain about? Sounds horrifying.

I am glad to hear it was a smooth journey! Since there are many Puget Sound area people on this thread--I am looking forward to having the light rail expand further north. It's really coming along!

Carol now retired

My last trip was 18 Feb to 25 March. I wasn't wise and I purchased my flight 60 days in advance, but still somehow got the same price as I had seen 120 days in advance (wasn't sure about the dates so had to wait). Then to make matters worse, 2 weeks prior I had to change the dates. Naturally I had to pay the difference in cost; which was zero. To compound the outrage, KLM sent me a $15 refund for some strange reason.

The flights left on time, my carry-on wasn't checked, the food stank which at least was one thing I got that I was counting one. I had an aisle seat in the center section, no one took the middle seat so I had more room than I was prepared for. The transfer in AMS took under 30 minutes gate to gate. But of course I had booked a 3.5 hour lay over so I wasn't a happy camper.

The taxi in Budapest didn't over charge or take me on a joy ride. The flat that I was staying in was ready and clean and everything I had expected it to be. One let down after another.

I did get ripped off to a disgusting degree on the month long transportation pass. I bought it in February so it was only good for 28 days, had I waited a week I could have gotten it for 31 days for the same price.

I took a side trip to Bucharest for 5 days and hired a cheap, cheap, cheap guide. We had prearranged all the costs, but you know they always find a way to stick it to you once they get you. Well, she pulled a fast once and only charged what we had agreed to, then proceeded t provide one of the better tour experiences in the last few years. Here I had been ready to let loose on her and had to find something else to do with it. Then she had the nerve to invite me on a trip to Malta in June and offered to pay half the cost. Even Tarom Air to Budapest and back let me down by being as efficient and near perfect as once can expect.

The flight home in March was equally as screwed up. The taxi came 3 hours prior to flight time. Unfortunately he set a new record for getting to the airport and I was 2.5 hours early. But the line at the ticket counter was pure chaos. Easily an hour I thought; then I realized all i had was carry-on and I had my boarding pass so I walked past the line, breezed through security (because I know where the secret security line is located). I ended up in the gate area in under 15 minutes. But of course they dont post gates till 45 prior to the flight so I was stuck drinking coffee for an hour. A $5 coffee at that! So angry. I could have slept more!

Once again AMS a breeze and a totally wasted long lay over and had to endure on-time flights and empty middle seats.

The uncertainty of travel is becoming a real headache. The last half dozen trips have been the same. Something has to change or I am going to have to rethink travel.

Carol now retired (and Mister E.), it's not just you. For years, I have wondered how I have managed to take trip after trip where I seemed to dodge all the frustrations voiced by other travelers. I have looked over my shoulder many a time, expecting to see some dark form of doom descending upon me that will ruin everything. Then, it occurred to me: This is (mostly) the product of being an anal-retentive planner. Of course, one cannot know that the world is on the brink of a pandemic with all the ensuing chaos, so sometimes luck (good or bad) just happens. I have, however, come to realize that having plans A, B, C, etc. can go a long way toward a successful and zen-like outcome.

My family recently returned from a trip to Barcelona (second time there). We had been hearing about horrible airline delays and cancellations. We were warned about all the crime in Barcelona. In the end, absolutely nothing went wrong, we returned safely with all our belongings after riding the metro with locals for a week, the flights were uneventful, weather was beautiful, hotel and flights paid for well in advance when the dollar was stronger, and all our planned events well-pinned on one of my favorite travel apps, Wanderlog (I don't know how people manage to travel without a good map).

To all who need a little courage, take heart. It can and does go well more times than you would think.

Serenity Now...

paulatimmons, you may be anal-retentive or not; dont know you. Also a chance that you dont fret the small stuff and your attitude carries you forward.......... or its the anal-retentive thing.

I use general caution and common sense and then forget about it. I am not covered with straps and cables and my money isnt shoved into a skivvy pouch .... okay once, and I was made to produce it in the security line at LHR. One of the more embarrassing moments of my life (Cartoon underwear ... Scooby Doo if I remember correctly; ask anyone on the same flight, they will remember).

I've had a few late flights and had to walk fast a few times to the next gate, but for me those are memories I share and joke about. Lost luggage once in about 150 flight legs. Sat in an outdoor cafe in Vienna when I saw a my dragging my luggage toward the hotel. Not lost luggage, found story to tell. It always works out ................. till it doesn't.

I guess I had one really bad experience. After 17 hours of travel I reach the Kadarka wine bar to find out that they had sold the last bottle of properly chilled BODRI QV 2007 an amazing Kadarka grape vintage. People could hear me for miles; sorry, Europe; kilometers. Everyone has a limit.

OH!!! and another disaster came to mind. Are you sitting down? I packed a little too light on the last trip so I had to go to the mall and buy a pair of jeans. I've worn Levi 501 jeans since I was 5 and lo and behold there was a Levi store and they had them .... for about 50% more than in the US and in US sizes, but this was an emergency so I bought a pair. I should have looked more closely. I got them to the room pulled them out of the bag and something didn't feel right. The dang things were not 100% cotton!!! They had 6% polyester and some other thing I cant pronounce. What the h-e-double-you know what! Sure they fit better and feel better than what i have worn for 60 years, but it just ain't the same!! Ruined the trip.

As my husband says, a good story lasts longer than a good time...