my new least favorite word: LIQUID

I flew back from Cabo San Lucas, Mexico yesterday - ah, yes, the day they banned liquids from airlines. A few of my readers know what it's like being in Mexico, so you'll understand when I say that I'd really rather not be in Mexico when a major alert like this comes out. You just never really trust they're gonna get it right.

Manda and I arrive at the airport around 6:15am and they hadnt even opened yet. I got my boarding pass and had my roller bag as a carry-on. Then, all of the attendants behind the counter went missing...we now know they were being briefed on the security updates. I just thought "this is Mexico" and they just decide to take siestas when they feel like it. They returned and now there were no liquids on flights. As in true Mexican style, they won't tell us why. They won't say this announcement just came out, they won't say it's a security alert, they just say no liquids. Just as this is happening, I get a call from BobbyG (some of you know of him;) , and since he's a TV news guy, I got the real scoop on the alert.

We got to the gate, got on the plane and had a nice flight to Dallas. There were about 30 ppl on the plane...not that bad! Wish the rest of my day was that easy.

We did the whole customs thing - nice new terminal at DFW! And then had to go through screening again after dropping our bags off at re-check. Again, no liquids. The poor people coming from other countries didnt understand the added security - I felt bad for them when no one spoke their language to explain.

Manda got on an earlier flight to Austin and I stayed on my original flight because I had a feeling my bags wouldnt make it. I drank as much as I could before the flight as to quench my potential thirst. But alas, my hands were dry and my lips were chapped - sorry, no liquids to help out with that. Ok, it wasnt that bad, but it sucked anyway.

Got on the 2:47pm flight bound for NYC. We got to the NY area 3 hrs later and then began to circle. My next favorite phrase of the week: holding pattern. We circled for over an hour and then the pilot came on saying we were running out of fuel (love hearing that one!) and that we would have to divert to Baltimore. Stinkin' Baltimore! Oh, and did I mention I'm thirsty...they had given us water during the flight, but I drank it so fast I needed about 4 more cups.

We landed in Baltimore and sat in the unairconditioned plane while they refueled...they wouldnt let us get off. But one guy did - not sure how he did that. The flight crew was about to expire (they can only be on duty for a certain amount of hours for safety reasons - I think it's to keep them from getting overtime) and if we didnt have "wheels-up" by 9:15pm, we'd have to get another crew.

So we've been on this plane for 5 hours now, and we're not home yet. We took off before 9pm so save the crew for expiration and were told it would take 30 minutes. But alas, we began to circle over south jersey. I counted 5 large circles. It appears there were thunderstorms and a lot of air traffic - I've never seen so many planes in the sky! One passed so close underneath I could almost see the pilot waving.

We finally landed 9:45ish. Of course, I had to wait for baggage claim to get my damn suitcase full of liquids. That took forever. Then I waited for the bus to Grand Central because I am cheap afterall. I got home at midnight! And soooooo damn thirsty and hungry...hadnt eaten since 1pm.

And now I'm back at work. Oh, Cabo was awesome...I highly recommend it :)