My travel routine starts weeks prior to departure with commencing packing, as I have to be very strategic with typically only wanting to lug around two carryons. Add in a polar region, and trimming the packing list is exponentially harder with numerous layers necessary. I accomplish my mission with my signature vacuum bags and even pack my car early to have one less stressor on “travel day”.
And this one to the elusive Antarctica was a long standing bucket list trip, with numerous variables to navigate.
First off, I planned to work all day and inevitably it is organized chaos trying to close out all projects successfully. I also had to squeeze in a workout to release all those jitters, shower and get to a friend’s house to drop my car prior to hitching a ride to the airport. But, for the first time ever, I wasn’t flying but testing out the new Brightline train that now connects Orlando with Miami.
Blow up Plan A!
I had a client lunch meeting and left my keys in his car. By the time I realized my misfortune, he had already driven 2 hrs to Sarasota and panic sinks in. He was ready to turn around when I remembered that my best friend had a spare and was actually my ride to the airport. So she Ubered to the stadium, I was able to grab my travel clothes to change and we took off with only an hour until my train departed (and the last of the evening).
In the meantime, my international flight also gets delayed the next morning by 3 hours. This is a major dilemma because the only reason I was making the 3 hr trek to Miami now was due to the fact that the first train of the am arrived 30 mins too late. Do I still go as planned or change tickets to depart the next am?
Reason being, there are surprisingly no sleeping pods in the major hub of Miami so I was willing to suck up semi-sleeping on the cold, hard airport floor for 4 hrs but not 7 hrs. Plus all the close by hotels were ridiculously overpriced and would end up costing me a fortune. But the other factor was waking up my friend to try drop off again at an ungodly 3:30am the next day, and I opted to plow forward and figure out my next plan of attack while on the train.
She assists in finding a reasonable La Quinta within 2 miles of the airport, which also ensured I would start with a complimentary big breakfast. Score!
The next challenge is that I didn’t realize the final station didn’t terminate at the actual airport, but down near the shores of South Beach. Rookie mistake…. but an easy Uber ride on the fly had me pulling up to the hotel at 12:50am to crash.
Ooh but the saga continues…..
I try my door electronic key twice to no success, so have to return to the lobby multiple times to finally close my eyes.
Then I have to set multiple alarms and debate which hotel shuttle to board, as they only run on the hour. Of course, I settle on the tight connection and drift off to sleep.
With a semi-restful few hours, I’m showered, fed and checked my flight times one last time. And what do you know, another hour delay was tacked on and I’m overwhelmingly thankful for all the decisions thus far. And now my extra long 8 hour layover in the always brutally warm Buenos Aires international airport was cut to a reasonable amount to grab a good Outback dinner and transfer to the domestic wing.
Now the real adventure to the end of the world in Ushuaia, Argentina really begins!
FearlessAdventures 