The peace and calm I felt staring out the window at the Athens Airport watching an El Al flight pushback and taxi the other day – feeling Ziv and I had both made our flights and were squared away turned out to be based on false hopes.
For me, all went fine. But poor Ziv experienced a ferry delay – when with combined with a flight delay looked as though the problem had cancelled itself out. But no. By the time Ziv got to the Kos Airport and made his way to the gate, it was 20 minutes before flight time. They knew he checked in. But they closed the gate and didn't allow him to board. His was the ONLY flight from Kos to Tel Aviv that day. So, poor Ziv ended up flying to Athens and catching a red-eye home, arriving at his door at 4:30 am. Not the way you want to end your Patmos getaway.
He sent me this which I feel obliged to annotate to the blog: "I think it's an important 'Things I've learned'. Leave a fair amount of time between flights and ferries and don't count on either being on time."
Wise advice from a man who instead spent his day working from airports.
My return to Los Angeles was only minor drama – mainly around the tight connection in Chicago which worked largely because I have Global Entry and Clear. Had I not had that combination, I can't say whether I too would be spending my time at the airport trying to make the best of my snafu. I have never entered the country via Chicago before and I now know it kinda' sucks. The saddest part is the flight landed early – which should have given me breathing room, but they didn't have a gate available and we waited 15 minutes for a gate, killing off the advantage.
In better news, I have two excited kids who are ready for Patmos. Emily handed them off at 1:30 pm and they quickly got to packing for the trip. They are very good at it now.
The one hitch – both got colds at camp and Sennen in particular is still very stuffy and constantly blowing his nose. I've kept him on Sudafed PE and am bringing masks in case he's no better by tomorrow – or almost later today. We leave the house at 3:15 am to make our 6:20 flight to Chicago where we then connect to our Athens-bound flight – and then the ferry.
The tightest part of the journey is going from our scheduled 10:30 am landing in Athens to the ferry which departs at 1pm. It SHOULD be do-able, but a significant flight delay could wreak havoc on us. In fact, our big threat is possible thunderstorms this afternoon. The weather report is showing thunderstorms to arrive an hour or two after our departure – but you never know. We just need to get off the ground on time.
Let's hope Ziv's lesson doesn't become ours….
To my amazement, even through we got up at 2:45am, the kids jumped to it. They were showered, dressed, packed and ready in minutes. We left at 3:15 am without issue – and thanks to Alex, our former au pair and good friend who took us to the airport.
Sennen and Ailyn have been pleasant, happy and upbeat from early hours in the car, through LAX, throughout the four hour flight turned three thanks to tailwinds and here in Chicago at the United Club lounge. They really have become masterful travelers. It may help that Patmos is at the end of the line and they have their eyes on the prize.
Sennen and I managed to nap some on the flight – but everyone needs sleep on this next leg to Athens. With a three-hour layover turned four because of our early arrival, the lounge access has been a godsend – good food, nice seating, good restrooms, free WiFi which all contribute to happy kids.
There have been discussions about who sits where on which flights, what they want to do their first day on Patmos, why having toiletries and other things waiting in Patmos really helped their packing, who's going to put the flea collars we're bringing on the cats and other such Patmos life topics. It's a happy crew.
Hopefully, an on-time departure and an easy connection to the ferry lie ahead and we keep our pleasant momentum.
