Jiggedy-jig... Back Again

I made it back from the bonfire in one piece, nothing singed, and nothing frozen. For those who haven't attended a bonfire on a near freezing night, it is a constant war between being too close to the fire and feeling like you're cooking, and being too far and be freezing. The difference can even be as little as a foot or two, since while sitting in a lawn chair, my shins were definitely toasting, while my body was comfortable.

Although, apparently I wasn't nearly entertaining enough this year. So my sister had to bring out all the stories of my escapades from previous years, much to the delight of the fellow revelers. I did take the opportunity to set the record straight about the time I stepped over the log that contained the fire. I didn't almost fall into the fire, I did in fact step into the fire and then back out, without any harm done.

My flight back was a bit entertaining. Since there are no direct flights from Knoxville to Boston, I had to switch planes in DC. Originally I was scheduled for the 9:30PM flight which would have meant a three and a half hour layover. I asked for an earlier connection, since I knew that there was an hourly shuttle between DC and Boston. I did have to pay $25 bucks, but at the time I thought it was worth it. So, according to the new itinerary, I had about 5 minutes between when my first plane landed and boarding for the second plane began.

Landing 15 minutes early, I thought I would have plenty of time, enough to even stretch my legs. But then we were delayed 20 minutes while we waited for the bus to take us to the terminal. Apparently they don't plan on planes being early and can't arrange transportation for such contingencies. Anyway, since boarding is a 30 minutes process, I knew I would still be fine.

I get to the terminal and found one of the handy screens to tell me what gate my flight was leaving from. For a second I couldn't find it, until I realized I was looking at predicted departure times and not scheduled. My flight was delayed an hour an a half. So, in fact, the 7:30 plane was now estimated to leave before my new 6:30 flight. I thought about asking to change to the earlier flight, but when I saw the length of the line, and contemplated whether the frustration was worth 30 minutes, I decided I would wait for my flight.

Luckily, they moved the estimated time forward again, and it ended up leaving only about 10 minutes after the 7:30 flight. The really enjoyable part for me, was that so many people had switched to the "earlier" flight that my flight ended up being nearly empty. In fact, I had half the emergency exit row to myself. So I availed myself of the window seat which allowed my to fully extend my legs, while still maintaining the convenience of not having anyone sitting between me and the aisle, so I could make good my escape from the plane, and ease of trips to the restroom should they be required.

Anyway, it's past my bedtime.