And By Stop I Mean Pass Up
I’m sitting at the Pittsburgh Airport right now, blogging on the laptop. Getting to my gate was super smooth, and the staff opened up extra lanes, so I spent maybe 5 minutes waiting in line. I tried out checking in online before getting to the airport, and that saved a lot of time as well. Connecting to the wireless here was seamless. The trouble today lay in getting to the airport.
Since I had to catch the bus for the first leg of my journey at 5:00 AM, I just pulled an all-nighter. I like to travel sleep-deprived, because it makes the trip go by really quickly. It was nice out, and I chuckled as I saw a woman make a left turn into a U-turn, so she could get out of her car (while it was still running and sitting at the light) and buy a newspaper. I had made the decision to catch the earlier bus, and it turned out to be a sage move. By the time I got to the Bigelow Blvd. stop (the fourth major stop on the bus route to the airport), there were already about 30 people waiting there.
Wouldn’t you know it, but none of us actually got picked up. The bus was packed by the time it got to us, and so it didn’t even both stopping. Taxi drivers were circling like vultures, picking off students who were desperate to make their flight. I knew where the third stop was, but not the first two, so I started walking in the general direction. Unfortunately, I never did find the first stop, but I was lucky enough to see one girl standing at the second stop. By the time the bus got to us, all the seats were full, and half of the standing area was full. A few people got on at the third stop, and once again the bus passed the Bigelow Blvd. stop again without actually stopping. I’m still kinda in shock about the whole thing, especially since the Airport Flyer only comes every half hour.
The bus ride up was crowded and uncomfortable as well. My arms and back are kinda sore; it’s partially since I’m tired, and partially since I was standing and squished for about an hour. There were three passengers who weren’t travelers (they take the bus to the nearby shopping center), and they were fat, rude women. They were yelling at people to get out of their way so they could get off, even though it was clear that there was not a lot of room to move around.
I’m not sure how I feel about early flights now. The airport portion was really nice, and at last check the plane was not filled. However, the bus part of the trip was a nightmare. At least I know better now for Christmas, though it is not usually a problem at any other time.
By teahouseblossom, 11/24/2007 @ 6:10 pm
Hey, I hope you made it to your destination ok!! I hate to fly. And I can never sleep while traveling anyway, so I try to get as much sleep as possible before going to the airport…