Every now and then John has what’s called a long overnight. He’ll fly the last flight to some city, spend the entire next day there, and then fly out again super early the next morning. I try to go with him when I can— it’s an airline employee perk that I love because these trips feel like little weekend getaways we probably wouldn’t otherwise schedule, to places we might not otherwise plan to visit. 2021 brought us to Hartford (three times!), Jacksonville, Savannah, Greenville South Carolina, and Panama City.
Greenville, South Carolina
I love that we have favorite restaurants in cities that aren’t home. The biggest slice of cake you could imagine at the Boll Weevil in Augusta. Oooo the spaghetti carbonara at Bruno’s in Little Rock!— and zabagliones made and hand-delivered by Bruno himself when we told him John tries to get Little Rock flights just so we can go to his restaurant. Last year we discovered Sorella in Hartford, Connecticut, where I had what I think might be my favorite chocolate dessert ever: their semi-freddo. I haven’t had one anywhere else that’s as good!
Hiking at the UNF nature trails, Jacksonville
The day of a trip, I fill up cat food bowls, sequester the bird, pack light, and head to the airport where I’ll catch up with John in Atlanta. People ask me how I get a seat and if I get to reserve one. The answer is no. You’re flying standby, so you only get a seat if there any empty ones, and these are assigned in order of company seniority, so employees who’ve been with Delta the longest get first dibs. There’s a back-end system to see how many seats are available on a flight and how many folks are waiting for them; this way you can decide which flight you have the best chance on, but there’s always the possibility you could wind up in a pickle.
Connecticut river path in December, Hartford
I’ve been pretty fortunate. Sometimes I’ve made it onto a flight only because a paid passenger didn’t show up; one time I got the very last seat but then was asked to give it up for a passenger who was running down the hallway; and there’s only been one time that I was actually stranded. John was piloting a 5:30 am flight and I didn’t get a seat. I stood at the plate glass window, waving at John as the Tug pushed his plane back from the gate, then spent ALL DAY trying to get any combination of flights back home with no luck whatsoever. At 10pm I finally treated myself to a nice hotel and a good dinner and made it home the next morning.
Panama City Beach, Florida
New places are always fun to explore, and places we’ve already been feel like coming “home” but still give us new things to do. John goes for a run, we find a spot for breakfast, pack a knapsack, and walk and walk and walk. At some point we figure out where we want to go for dinner. And although getting up insanely early the next morning is no fun, it is so worth it for all these little adventures we have.
Hugging a mushroom, Panama City.