The Final Shebang

Posted in | at 6:40 PM

**Sorry for the lateness of this post! But this will be the last one, so enjoy! After a few days or so I’m going to flip the blog back to chronological order.**

**Oh yeah, and I uploaded pictures to the previous post, so feel free to check it out :)**

Thursday, July 1^st

Today is the last day here in Cozumel, as we set off back to the good ole US of A. Since coming on this trip was a rather last minute decision of mine, I had a different return flight home than the rest of the fam, and thus had to be at the airport early in the morning.

Packing was…interesting. I can’t decide whetherI am either an expert packer or an absolutely horrible packer. I always bring more clothes than I will ever need (15 outfits for a 10 day trip that mostly involves walking around in your swimsuit?). However, I managed to pack everything, toiletries included, PLUS a hammock PLUS a Mayan mask in a small carry-on. It is two days later and I’m still patting myself on the back for my packing brilliance. Always one to find ways to congratulate myself whenever I can, I am.

Mexican Airport

Family goodbyes at the airport were short and sweet, basically resulting in a “just wait until my plane crashes and I die in a flaming wreck”. Nevertheless, I was successfully seen off and left to wait in a mile long line at the Continental ticket counter.

The only thing I wish to report from this airport, besides the fact that I watched a video on how to tie a scarf (on repeat)…for an hour and a half, is that sometimes one person just being nice just for the sake of being nice can really make one’s day. Here is the story of the ticket lady:

1. Said ticket lady noticed I was travelling alone. So she moved me from the back of the plane to a window seat in the front.

2. She came and found me in the terminal to give me my second boarding pass that she had forgotten to give me earlier…and recognized me by sight. (Bear in mind that this plane seats about 220 people, give or take)

3. When tearing my boarding pass later, she was like “Have a nice flight, Ms. Porter!” She didn’t say that to anyone else. I checked.

So yes, not that super exciting of a story, but it totally made my day. Just a little ebit of effort from someone else, and I have a touched smile on my face for the duration of the flight. Thanks cool ticket lady!

The flight itself was uneventful. The plane was delayed in taking off. The food sucked. The lady sitting next to me gave me judgmental stares when I stuck my feet down the pocket in front of me. But other than that, a great nap opportunity.

Houston Airport

I just want to let everyone know that Houston airport (so far) has been my favorite airport entering the US that I have yet experienced. Normally, I want to hang myself in sympathy for the poor international visitors whose first impressions of this country are JFK, Dulles, or (heaven forbid) Boston airport. I can totally see how anti-Americans can come here and hate everything we stand for, after being subjected to numerous searches, confusing customs, horrible bureaucracy, poor aesthetics, and bad or mislabeled navigational signs.

But Houston was surprisingly awesome! Though some (okay, all) of it had to do with the fact that I had no checked luggage. Here are the benefits that I reaped:

1. Special customs lane – similar to the fast pass lane at Disneyworld. I got to march right up to the front to a special customs agent, thumbing my nose at the poor unfortunate souls stuck in the long customs line.

2. A secret passageway: I got to walk through this small special hallway with windows, through which I could see everyone else waiting for baggage and being randomly selected for searching. It gave me a more direct route too.

3. Bypassing security check points. By the point, however, I was so far ahead of the rest of my plane-mates, that there was no one left for me to thumb my nose at.

Once I re-entered the airport, however, the benefits ceased. Alas. But I got to my gate first! Just in time to wait an hour and a half until my next flight took off.

So remember how I mentioned the attachment issues of a certain Hurricane Alex? It looks like they haven’t faded with time and counseling. Because we got to Texas and lookee here! Gigantic rain storm is delaying all flights! Luckily, I got out of there only an hour late. My family? Not so lucky. They missed their connecting flight and were grounded for the night. But more on that later.

Houston to Raleigh

For a flight that was twice as far as the one from Cozumel to Houston, it was kinda funny that we were on a plane half the size. At first I was thrilled to be put on the left row because it meant I got both an aisle seat AND a window seat. Score.

However, the victory was short lived when the stewardess came to the back, pulled out a magical seat and placed it in the aisle next to me. My first thought? I hope everyone used the bathroom before they left, because they are either going to have to hold it or pee in a water bottle for the duration of the flight. Oh wait. We can’t have water bottles on flights anymore. Sorry, kids. Guess you’re stuck wetting your pants.

The seat was occupied by a pilot who was transferring cities, and luckily upon take off, he moved to the front, thus freeing up el baño. Which was a good thing because there was pretty much a nonstop stream of potty users the entire 2.5 hour flight.

I dozed for the majority of the flight, and awoke bitter and angry when I discovered that no one had waken me up when the beverage/snack cart came by. Really guys? I know you might not be super familiar with my sleeping habits, but even the Spanish woke me up on their flights and they love the siesta.

Home

I arrived safely and soundly back at RDU, successfully found the parked car with the handy dandy map my mother drew, and returned to a dark and empty home, after a few pit stops. Unfortunately, the family is still trapped in Houston, since Hurricane Alex was a little more fond of them than me. They regrettably were not able to get back until 1 am the following day. Alas.

But all in all, a relatively successful end to the trip. (Minus the apparent food poisoning that my mom, brothers and I got…). Cozumel was a beautiful place and I loved getting to go there and spend 10 days relaxing, scuba diving, and seeing World Wonders. Thanks Mom and Dad for getting me certified as well as providing all these other opportunities!

Thus ends this blog. I hope you guys all enjoyed it! I thank all those who took time out of their day to read the ramblings of a nineteen year old.

If you haven’t seen the trips pictures, check them out at: http://picasaweb.google.com/115787829715255758995/CozumelSummer2010#

Over and out!