Cars, Planes, Taxis, Luggage Trolleys, and tired bodies

And so, in the eleventh hour last night (LOL actually the 24th hour!), after consulting Jet Blue's website, the weather predictions, and anxiety levels, we decided to get a refund on our flight from Boston to JFK and drive to Randi and Steve's in Brooklyn.  Multiple flights from Boston to JFK were being canceled or delayed, and although ours stated it was going to run on time, if it had been canceled at the last minute it would be too late for us to drive to JFK without missing our flight.  Sigh.  The precarious nature of flying today was potentially disastrous for making our JFK to BA to Ushuaia connections.  Upsides and downsides to both ends of this deal.  Upside: we are in control, no baggage fees to JFK, no taxi fees to Boston, and we definitely make our flight from JFK to Argentina.  Cons:  4  hours of driving on slushy, unpredictable roads in an SUV loaded down like CRAZY and a 4 hour return car trip after a long journey.

Rachel just fit "snug as a bug in a rug" or rather, "snug as a sardine in a tin can" amongst the plethora of bags.  She still managed to take a nap on the ride, so don't feel to bad for her!

We made good time on the journey, and Michael dropped Rachel and me off at JFK with all the bags while he drove the 10 minutes to Randi's house to drop off the car and travel with them in the hired van back to the airport.  All's well that end well.

After we all checked in and cleared security, we went and exchanged money and then had a celebration meal and drinks. Everyone met Dude, the cheeky monkey Rachel brought along on the trip for a friend (Dude travels EVERYWHERE!).  Pretty sure Dude is going to have a blast with this crowd!

Our flight to Buenos Aires boarded and landed on time and we had a rather uneventful 13+ hour journey though I was unable to get any substantial sleep.  We arrived in B.A. at 4:30 am local time.  The next amusing task was to gather our luggage, clear customs, and traverse terminals from International to Domestic and recheck our bags. Of course, bleary-eyed and sleep deprived it took us a considerable amount of time to figure this out.   Sounds easy except it was a good 1/4 mile walk through a deserted terminal and we had to travel outside to get to the next terminal. No easy access! 

 

We successfully rechecked our bags after a few, ahem, conversations with the airline representative about our Blueheat batteries ( the battery pack used for our heated diving undergarment!).  The rest of the gang sailed through check in, but for the travel karma duo, it wasn't quite so simple.  The rest of the gang was beginning to worry, but at last we arrived at the gate with our carryon baggage!  It all worked and we had about 5 total hours in the airport prior to our flight to Ushuaia, fin del mundo. 

 

Arrived in Ushuaia around 12:30 pm local time. Phew.  Glad we are here safe and sound WITH all of our luggage. Even with the cloudy / rainy kind of day, it is easy to see Ushuaia is quite lovely nestled on the coast amongst the mountains.  Now to find transport to the hotel in these TINY taxis!