All They Had to Do Was Catch a Train

  This morning Jordan and Hunter both had flights to Denver from Newark Airport. Jordan's flight was at 6:30 a.m. and Hunter's was at 7:15 a.m.  During 2011 Jordan traveled by herself to Japan to study at Temple University Tokyo and Hunter spent seven months traveling through Europe working on organic farms. So the idea of sending them to Penn Station to catch the New Jersey Transit to Newark Airport by themselves is not beyond the scope of reason.  Oh, and did I mention that they are 22 and 20 years of age?

  Jordan was out with friends until 2:00 a.m. gallivanting around Greenwich Village and blew in the door saying that she could easily pack and be ready to catch the 3:52 a.m. #1 Train to Penn Station without a problem.  Hunter was much more organized - he was packed and he had the instructions for the New Jersey Transit that Jeff had printed on top of his suitcase.

  At 3:45 a.m. they headed out the door.  They would have 35 minutes the buy tickets and get on the train for Newark Airport.  Catching that #1 train was the key. 

  Ah, if only...

  Jordan said the trouble began when they got to 34th Street/Penn Station.  She told Hunter that they needed to get off of the subway.  He said,   "That subway sign says 'Pennsylvania'  we want Penn Station!"  She tried to argue that Penn and Pennsylvania were one and the same, but the doors had already closed and they were whisked away on the express train to 14th Street where he finally agreed that she had been correct and they had to wait for the uptown train to get them back to 34th Street.

  Jordan called from Penn Station to say that they had arrived but that Hunter had taken off like a bat out of hell as soon as they arrived and said that he would meet her in a few minutes in front of Nathan's Hotdogs once he figured out where to buy the tickets.  Jordan tired of waiting, walked over to the ticket booth and bought two tickets to Jamaica, Queens for the connection to JFK Airport, which would have been great except that she was going to Newark, "New Jersey".   Needless to say I asked her what she could have been thinking and she said that she remembered the Long Island Railroad ticket booths from buying summer tickets to the beach and when the ticket agent asked her if she wanted a ticket to LaGuardia or JFK she could only remember that she was not going to LaGuardia. 

  Hunter ended up rejoining Jordan in front of the Nathan's Hotdog stand with the two tickets that he had purchased.  He purchased tickets on Amtrak.  I haven't even asked him what destination his tickets were for.  Amtrak is a passenger train for long distance travel.  What was he thinking?  I'm dumbfounded. 

  Now it is 5:20 a.m.  They have been at Penn Station for over an hour.  They have missed the 4:30 a.m. and the 4:51 a.m. trains that would have gotten them to the airport in time for Jordan to catch her flight.   They are calling us every 20 to 45 minutes to get further instructions (although, they have obviously not heard anything we have said) and to find out where the other is.  Why are they not calling each other?
   
  Mysteriously and miraculously the next time they call they are actually waiting aboard the  5:41 a.m. train bound for Newark Airport.  Of course, I am now on the phone to United Airlines to see what Jordan can do since she will obviously not make her 6:30 a.m. flight. 
   
  During the chaos of the ticket buying Jeff keeps saying "You all need to find the ticket counter for the New Jersey Transit".  Hunter swears that those are words that he has never hear before.   In Jeff's defense, once the light of day flooded the apartment (well, daylight has never flooded this apartment, but I'm taking poetic license) we find the schedule that Jeff had printed out for Hunter left behind on the dining room table.  I remember at one point during the evening Jeff was trying to give him instructions on getting to the airport while Hunter was playing video games (never a good time to talk to Hunter).  After Jeff completed his detailed description he asked him if he had any questions.  Hunter very flippantly asked, "Do they speak English at the train station? If so, then I will be fine."  Famous last words. 

  So now they are at the airport.  Hunter calls to find out what airline he is on.  At 6:00 a.m. I climb out of the loft to retrieve his itinerary from the refrigerator door where it was taped.  He calls back once he is at the correct airline kiosk.  He wants the confirmation number.  This is madness!  How did this child make it across Europe without my help? 

  Jordan calls from the United Airlines line and said that she wants to know what her alternative is if she misses her flight in 20 minutes.  IF she misses her flight? Again, how did she navigate Tokyo without me? 

  Hunter made his flight by the skin of his teeth.  Jordan missed her flight, but she was able to catch a commuter flight to Boston at 8:30 a.m. and then catch a direct flight to Denver at 2:35 p.m. arriving in Denver at 5:20 p.m..  Her trip was almost 15 hours door to door.  I think her flight to Tokyo was 13 hours.

  This evening once the kids were both save and sound back in Denver Jeff and I were able to look at each other and laugh.