Today it was my pleasure to pick up a friend from DIA to hang out until it was time for said friend's bus to leave. A fellow mother it was nice to talk to someone face to face without having to worry about sounding like I was whining or being a pain in the rear when I asked her to hold my son so I could use the restroom.
However...
Said friend is what I call a Free Bird Traveler.
Upon picking her up from DIA and driving her to the Greyhound station I find out... she never bought a ticket for the next leg of her journey! Me, this would never happen. I would have all of my tickets in hand and be half packed with a typed up and printed out list of what I needed to take and how much money I would need and the whole ten yards a week in advance. But not my friend.
The ticket master then informed her that she could get tickets cheaper over the phone. So we called. Then the lady on the phone told her that tickets were even CHEAPER online. GREAT! Being on a very tight budget my friend decides that we should trek to the nearest Starbucks and get her tickets.
Problem...
You have to print them and they have yet to install printers onto laptops.
So we call again. This time we get a surly woman who even I can't understand (and I can fluently speak and understand Deep South - and if you don't know what that is... its relative to what the guy in overalls speaks in Water Boy). Come to find out in order to get tickets over the phone you must purchase them at least 3 hours in advance and besides what the ticket master told us... the specific terminal we were using... does NOT allow over the phone or Internet purchases. At this point my frustration at being talked to like I was an idiot by some woman who couldn't enunciate if a hot poker was jabbed into her behind, was immense.
I finally get out of the woman that we have to purchase the tickets from the ticket master and that we must do it one hour prior to departure. Her bus leaves at 1:40 and it is already 12:50 CRAP!
My friend sprints from the cafe we are sitting at and goes to buy her tickets. Now someone is lying because the ticket master gave her the tickets without a problem at 1:00pm.
None the less and no worse for the wear but out of breath from all the arguing and running and hooha my son and I (Ive been packing him on my hip throughout this ordeal mind you... he even yelled at the lady on the phone for me - too cute) get her on the bus and safely on her way.
Now...
My question is how can people travel this way?! How can you leave home with $100 in your wallet and just go without knowing how you are going to pay for things, where you are going to stay, or even how you are going to get where you are going!!!
I have several friends that are this way. One of whom hitched his way clear to where I was going to college just to hang out for the weekend and accompany me to the bar. Although for him he has always wanted to hitch at least once in his life so he got to have an adventure and make a check on his bucket list all at the same time.
I admire these whirlwind fly by the seat of your pants travelers because they are so entirely sure of themselves. They know they will make it.
Maybe we should all take a hint from them and have a little bit more faith that we are all going to make it. Not out on the open road but in life in general. If you know you are going to make it. You will.
Here are two websites that I think are very insightful on travelling with children:
From TSA
http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/children/index.shtm
in general
http://www.travelsense.org/tips/children.cfm
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