Nola/Mexico Cruise Adventure Part 1
NOLA & Mexico Cruise Adventure
Saturday 1/27/18 7am
The Local, Albany Airport, Albany, New York
I tried to go to sleep at 7:30pm last night, because I needed to get up at 4am for an 8:20am flight out of Albany. I did not fall asleep until close to 9pm and I woke up at midnight completely unable to get back to sleep no matter what I tried. At 1am, I picked up my phone and entertained myself with an endless queue of Fail Army videos until 2am, at which point I stopped fighting the inevitable and got up.
I am now sitting at The Local at the Albany Airport eating eggs, tater tots, and sausage for breakfast. I wanted to get a pina colada (because I am on my way south for vacation and nothing says vacation to me more than a pina colada), but the restaurant doesn’t serve alcohol until 8am. My friends and I had joked about drinking tropical drinks in Albany in the middle of winter prior to our flight. It was a great photo op that was missed due to the 8am alcohol thing.
My friends, Kylie and McKenzie, got breakfast at the airport McDonalds. I do not like McDonalds and there was a line, so I came here and took the opportunity to write.
My friends arrived at my place around 5:45am (15 minutes late, mind you) and we quickly put our suitcases in my car and burned rubber (my friends thought I was trying to fly us south in my car) to the Albany Park, Ride, and Fly where we took a shuttle to the Albany airport.
We are on our way to New Orleans (AKA: NOLA). This is not our first trip together. The three of us became friends while working at the same office and often went out to lunch together often. Lunches escalated to afternoons off drinking in the pub, adventures to the casino, and two road trips to Virginia Beach. We didn’t kill each other the first time, which is why we decided to do it a second time. We all transitioned from our county jobs to the state over a period of a few years and once we all got into the routine at the new job, we started planning this trip.
The trip came about when McKenzie, whose desk was right next to mine at the time, said that we should plan an adventure because it had been so long. She suggested a cruise and mentioned New Orleans as a place she really wanted to visit. I looked up cruises out of NOLA and found a five day Carnival Cruise of the Western Caribbean. The price was really good, so we looked at flights and those prices were really good, too. And, so, the planning began. We just had to convince Kylie. So, we did with a video slideshow of our previous shenanigans.
The sun is slowly emerging and painting the sky a pinkish magenta sort of color. The airport is busy. The bartender has a Brooklyn accent. The tots are under cooked (which means they are perfect) and the eggs are salty.
Here is the aforementioned video (we call each other "punkins"): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLx3z6CZfEM&t=1s
*The title: "Big Greatest Adventure" came from a coworker who stated a few weeks prior to our trip, "how is the planning for your big greatest adventure going?" And the title stuck.
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Saturday 1/27/18 8:40am
Plane Albany to Baltimore
Kylie and McKenzie joined me at The Local as I wrote and finished my breakfast, which was actually my second breakfast now that I think about it as I had eaten a bowl of oatmeal long ago at home. It was getting close to boarding time, so we left The Local and sat near our gate. It was very crowded. My friends had an earlier boarding position than me so they saved me a seat. I have the window seat and the sun is hot on my face when the plane angles just right (or just wrong depending on how you look at it). There is going to be a short stop in Baltimore, Maryland. We get to stay on the plane. And then we will fly to Nashville, Tennessee where we will have to switch planes. It’s a lot of traveling, but this was the best flight option for us. While it seems like a pain, it feels adventurous!
Yesterday, I had spent a couple hours and a couple dozen dollars on a plethora of 80s hits for my trip playlist. “Danger Zone” was appropriate for take off. My friends laughed at me.
So far, McKenzie thought she lost her phone twice. The first time occurred on the shuttle bus from the Park, Ride, and Fly. The second time occurred after we checked out bags.
My friends are laying back with their eyes closed. I am awake. I don’t know how I am awake on, essentially, three hours of sleep. I actually feel peppy – likely from the excitement of traveling. I just smiled involuntarily – I love smiling involuntarily! (Note: my friends are going to kill me for posting this picture!)
I don’t drink coffee ever, really, and I was awake early enough this morning that I was able to get a full workout in. I had received eye rolls from my friends when I told them that. At some point, I may crash. I’m hoping it happens when I’m on one of these planes. I’d like to be well rested for our first night in NOLA.
McKenzie had set up our hotel: Wydham, French Quarter (one block over from Bourbon Street). I took care of all the cruise stuff. Kylie researched restaurants. We make a good vacation planning team.
Tonight, we are planning on getting dinner and catching a Mardi Gras parade. Although, the forecast calls for rain all day and evening.
We are making our decent to Baltimore already. I hope we are not here long because I am excited to get out of the cramped quarters of these airplane seats.