Planes (NoTrains) and Automobiles

It was an early start this morning. Brent picked us up and we were headed to the airport by 5:30 am. Yes that is right 5:30 a.m. We are so appreciative of Brent getting up so early for us. The trip to Phoenix was uneventful. In Phoenix we loaded the plane at 9:00 a.m . The pilot informed us maintenance was changing one of the tires so we would be delayed a few minutes. It really didn’t take long and we were in the air. After about 15 minutes in the air, it was obvious there was something wrong. The pilot then informed us that the landing gear was stuck and they were trying to fix it but if not, we would have to return to Phoenix for a repair. After another ten minutes were we told we would have to go back to Phoenix. The pilot dumped a bunch of fuel and I was concerned it might be a rough landing but really it was a very smooth landing. In fact, one of the better ones I have experienced. I knew Art was concerned as well because as when we came down for landing, we were holding hands and although he didn’t say a word, his grip on my hand got tighter and tighter. We were then delayed for 2 1/2 hours. When they changed the tire, they left a pin in and that is why it wouldn’t retract. For those wondering….yes we sat on the plane that whole time. Let me divert here for just a minute to express the irony of this. We are headed to Florida to settle the estate of Art’s Uncle Red. Uncle Red’s profession was airline mechanic. Here we were sitting on the plane waiting for a mechanic so we could fly to Florida to settle the estate of an airline mechanic. Ok maybe it is just me but I thought it was ironic. Now back to the day……… Our seat mate and the lady sitting across from us expressed concern over being delayed as Tampa was expected to have severe thunderstorms and now with the delays we would be arriving the same time they were expecting the storms. The pilot told us after our second take off that we would be taking a different route as the scheduled route was experiencing severe thunderstorms. My first thoughts were great this is going to be a rough flight but it wasn’t. The flight was good and when we landed in Tampa the weather was clear and nice.
We got our rental car and I was a little concerned. Yes I am a worry wart. The rental place was not at the airport and was…well…. a dive place. The car we got was a Nissan Altima. They are nice cars but this one to put it bluntly is beat to crap. Needless to say Art was not impressed. It made a funny sound. I thought it was the muffler but Art said he thought it was a tire. Art wins. Tonight the tire warning light came on. We will have to take care of it tomorrow. We got to Crystal River about 9:30 pm. We went to Uncle Red’s and checked things out then to the grocery store for a few items. Now we are tucked in our hotel room and ready for a fun filled week.
I must say even with the delay, I had a great day with Art.