This week, many Alaskans are returning from visiting family Outside. It’s part of the seasonal migration to gather with loved ones around the holidays.
When the kids were little, our holiday adventures consisted of long-haul trips back to small-town Mississippi. That’s where my in-laws lived and, by golly, they were anxious to see the grandkids. We, too, were looking forward to some warmer weather.
Greenville, Mississippi, is right on the river, 146 miles south of Memphis, smack in the middle of the Mississippi Delta.
Usually there were three plane rides involved. Sometimes four. You had to be committed to make the journey, and we were nothing if not committed travelers.
This particular trip was a accomplished visit.Christmas stockings were stuffed – and so were we.When it was time to go, we took two cars out to the tiny Greenville, Mississippi, airport. First, there was a short hop from Greenville to Memphis, then on to Minneapolis, the big hub for Northwest Airlines (purchased by Delta in 2009). From there, our schedule was to fly to Seattle and finally home to Anchorage. A long day’s journey into night, for sure.
To add some grist to the mill, there was a big snowstorm headed for the Twin Cities. That’s not unusual, but weather delays turn into missed connections, which always are a stressor for families. It means long waits, missed meals and bags that must be collected (unless they made their connecting flight and are headed home before you).
When we got to Memphis, I asked the nice lady at the counter if we could switch to the Memphis-Seattle nonstop and avoid the weather mess in MSP.
“Oh, it won’t be a problem,” she prophesied.
I really admired her confidence, but she wasn’t the one flying with two little kids.
Somewhat reluctantly, we got on the plane and headed to Minneapolis.
We arrived in a snowstorm, but again, this was not unusual for Minneapolis.
Soon, though, flights started showing “DELAYED” or “CANCELED” up on the big board.
Our flight to Seattle was delayed, but we did our best to keep it together. It became apparent we would miss our onward connection to Anchorage. I arranged for an overnight stay at the Best Western Executel near Sea-Tac, as I knew there was a pool for the kids.
We hunted around in the airport for the “InMotion” rentable DVD players – which was the high-tech inflight entertainment pre-iPad, notably for kids. It came with a movie (or two), a nice-sized screen and headphones. A godsend.
Eventually we boarded our MSP-SEA flight on one of Northwest’s DC-10s. The crew backed away from the gate, parked to be smothered at the de-icing station, affectionately known as the “car wash.”
As we were taxiing for takeoff, “BAM” went the port engine. The first officer came back to see what he could see out the