Friday, April 4, 2014

Hola, from San Juan, Puerto Rico

Did you miss me yesterday?  I had a long day, getting up early to catch a bus, which took me to the airport to catch a plane.

So here was the view out my window yesterday morning.  I was flying, on a WING
and a PRAYER.
When I fly, my St. Joseph's prayer card, with the Unfailing Petition to St. Joseph on the back of it, is my constant companion.  I pray that prayer often when I'm up there in the clouds, trusting in the comforting promises it gives to those who say it--or even carry it on their persons.  And the card makes an excellent bookmark, too.  Which is handy because besides St. Jospeh, I need a good book to take my mind off things when I fly.  And a cup of excellent airline coffee, of course.

So I got to Atlanta in the afternoon with no problems, and I met up with the handsomest airline captain you've ever seen.  (You'll have to trust me on this one, in the absence of a photo of my man in uniform.)  There were supposed to be lots of empty seats on the flight (which is the only reason we thought this might be a good tag-along trip for me), but when we went to check on my status, it didn't look like there was any way I was going to get on.  I was #3 on the stand-by list, and it was showing zero seats available.  Those odds aren't very good, obviously, so it looked like I was going to have to say good-bye to my hubby and head back to Boston, alone and probably feeling just a tad sorry for myself.  (Flying has never been my favorite activity; but when there's something good waiting at the end of it--my sons, or my grandchildren, or a romantic getaway with my husband--I can bear it.)

Proving that you just never know what's going to happen when you're flying stand-by, by some miracle, seats opened up and I got on.  The day went from bad to good in a heartbeat.  And then it went all the way to GREAT, when I got a seat up in First Class.  (Which is how I like to roll when it comes to flying, I have to admit.  If I never had to fly at all, I'd be happiest; but barring that, if I never had to fly coach, I'd be pretty ding dang happy.)

So, this is the guy who took me (and about 160 other souls) to San Juan.  Although I never totally trust those giant metal birds that have no business doing what they do, I always have faith in this pilot.

And now, this is the view looking out my window on the 17th floor of the Caribe Hilton.  Not too shabby!
I must admit, when you've had (and are still having!) the winter we've had up in NH, this little respite is very welcome.

 Gracias a Dios.  Life is good.

8 comments:

  1. I am so happy you went ... and sooo jealous!!! Have a good time!

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  2. Soooooo beautiful! Hope you are having a blast!

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  3. How stunning! Have a WONDERFUL time!!

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  4. Replies
    1. We leave here in the a.m. tomorrow, so we'll be home Saturday night.

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  5. Totally fantastic! Also, I got a splendid package in the mail, and am excited to start reading today!!

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  6. Oh, what beautiful pictures! I only got to fly first class one time in my life. And I've been on numerous flights both within the US and abroad as my dad was in the Air Force and I've been flying since I was a baby. Also, my family is currently scattered in several states. The only time up front was years ago when my daughter was a child, the plane wasn't full and the flight attendant invited us to sit in first class. I loved it!

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