We had been looking forward to our vacation in the Netherlands and Belgium for weeks. Probably more like months, but our wedding reception planning limited our ability to actually research the trip for some time. We couldn’t wait to get to Europe, experience the cities, soak up the history and soul of the towns and the neighborhoods, and try all the different foods.
We were scheduled to leave on a Friday night. Things didn’t quite go how we expected.
First, we stressed over Hurricane Earl and whether or not he would cancel or delay our flight. The storm was scheduled to be right by us right around the time we were leaving. Excellent. We followed the weather forecasts ever since Earl started heading up toward the East Coast and fretted over its impact. Luckily at the last minute, things took a turn and he ended up further offshore than we expected. Potential crisis averted.
Second, things were crazy busy at work for M the few weeks leading up to the trip. She didn’t sleep much the week before the trip (and the night before, that “sleep” was a nap at 8 am, figuring this could be like a Spanish siesta and help get adjusted to the time difference). It was so busy that she didn’t start packing until an hour before we were scheduled to leave for the airport. Not the best planning there.
Third, the MTA almost made us miss our flight. It was a frustrating, miserable few hours. It only takes an hour to get from our apartment to JFK. You hop on the E, take it to Jamaica, hop on the Air Train and you’re done. You don’t hit traffic, the train whizzes along and you’re at the airport an hour later. Sometimes there are delays and it takes a little longer. Sometimes there are diversions and you end up traveling locally in Queens instead of express (which the E usually is) but those are usually planned in advance and you can adjust accordingly.
So we were late and frustrated, and then we ended up waiting in the station for an E train for almost half an hour. Unbelievable! We were well within the rush hour peak traveling period and there were no trains. At least 2 A trains and 2 C trains passed through and then finally the E came chugging in. We were relieved but hadn’t been extremely upset because, although late, we would still make it in time for our flight even if it took an hour.
An hour later and we were in Queens near the border between Woodside and Jackson Heights.
WHAT THE HELL MTA?!
We had been moving really slowly. It was the slowest moving E train we had ever been on. We could walk faster than the train. We were doing great in Manhattan. The lag time started picking up when we hit Queens. We dragged along like we were meandering on the subway tracks. We stopped. Every time we’d get a “thank you for your patience” or “there is a train directly ahead of us” or some other increasingly annoying message. After some time, how much can you believe? How can there be a train in front of us if we’re stopping all the darn time for long stretches? Something wasn’t adding up.
With only 5 stops remaining before we were free the conductor announced that because of an incident we were going on the local tracks. Not only did we go on the local tracks but we then proceeded to spend about 5 minutes stopped in each station, more time stopped between them... It was incredibly frustrating and we were sure we would miss our flight, increasingly so with every stop.
We finally pulled into the 65th Street station. Another train, I think an F, whizzed by. (Confused ... weren’t they supposed to be local and we the express?) Then we stopped. For a while. The conductor got on the intercom (and we could actually understand what he was saying) and said that there was a sick passenger on the train in front of us and we were going to be at this station until the situation was resolved.
You. Must. Be. Kidding.
It started to get a little frantic on the train. It was crowded. Lots of people were standing and packed into the subway cars. Plenty of people with luggage on the way to their airport griping about missed flights. M wondered, as she fought her within-crowds claustrophobia, if the MTA could write an excuse letter to get us onto the flight since we were delayed for their problem, since they write those letters if people are late for work. Doubtful. We felt bad for the sick passenger but we were completely stuck with no options and that sucked!
What were we going to do? We were already cutting it close because we left so much later than planned, the train had gone ten times slower than usual and now we were stuck for an indefinite amount of time in a part of Queens that really isn’t known for having cab traffic.
We got off the train. It was better than sitting through it and not knowing whether or not our waiting and not seeking another option was costing us the seats on our flight. It was like an episode of Amazing Race: stay with option 1 and hope it works out because you’ve already invested so much time or cut your losses, try option 2 and hope it comes through.
First thought was maybe we try the LIRR if we can’t get a cab. After a panicked call to M’s parents, they suggested one of the car service places that advertises all over TV and that you usually have to call in advance. We tried but they weren’t coming up with anyone in the area. It was looking more and more likely than we would miss the flight.
Then a little white taxi came up to the corner. We must have looked like panicked wrecks on the corner with luggage. He offered his services. We took him up on it. The nice man in the little white car quickly got onto the highway and got us to the airport. We checked in our bag. We watched it go through security. We even had enough time to eat a heated BBQ chicken baguette sandwich before getting on the flight (which had been moved up 15 minutes without any notice). I think we got to the airport before we would have if we had stayed on the train and it had left right after we got off (which it didn’t). We are so thankful to the nice man in the white car. I don't remember his name and doubt he is reading this, but THANK YOU. He saved our trip. We gave him a good tip. He deserved it.
So after a shaky start where the trip looked in doubt… we made it. Next time: the awesomeness of KLM.
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