I leave for Alaska on Friday. This will be my third year as an instructor at the Cordova 4-H Music Camp (see my previous Cordova blogging) and, as always, I’m super-excited about my trip…and really unsure about when to get to the airport. Take this scene, which I wrote about last year:
“It is too late to check in for this flight,†said the automated check-in terminal. “Please talk to an Alaska Airlines representative.â€Â
My heart sank. Last year I arrived at SJC around 4:30AM and had to wait an hour before I could board my 6:00AM flight. This year Mama and I decided to leave half an hour later, only to arrive with just minutes to spare.
Rushing off to check in (I'm the one with the banjo)
We got separated as I rushed to find where to check in, which took me over five minutes. By that time, it was too late. The security line snaked its way around the baggage claim area, and I hadn’t even checked my bags in.
Luckily, this really nice representative put me on a 6:30AM flight which actually ended up getting me into Anchorage earlier. There I met up with some other camp musicians, where we waited for our flight to Cordovaâ€â€which got delayed by four hours! Luckily, we all had our instruments with us.
This year I’m on the 6:30AM flight, so I think I want to arrive at SJC by 4:30. Which means leaving here one hour earlier. 3:30am, or something like that. It’s early, but I don’t care; I don’t have a 6:30AM flight to fall back on!
