Missing Connections, but making it work: a story.

For the vast majority of flights, we choose to fly nonstop and direct.  The stress of making connections and risk of losing luggage are not the most joyful aspects of traveling so avoiding them is worth it, even if it requires a slightly more expensive ticket.  If we have to connect, we pick a city with lots of options or for instance if  I'm flying to Europe, I prefer to connect in Europe (at least you've made it across the pond) then getting stuck in Atlanta or New York, for instance.

But sometimes connections are inevitable.  We had a wedding in Austin and made the decision to fly out  of DCA rather  than taking a nonstop, direct flight from BWI or IAD.  This ended up being a mistake, but we made a bad situation better with some quick thinking, here's the story:

A pleasant surprise duirng our
ORD lay-over: Rick Bayless grub!

We arrived at DCA only to learn the flight to DFW was delayed by TWO HOURS because...a pilot called in sick! A long line snaked from the counter as the airline officials started calling out connections that were going to be missed because of the late arrival in Dallas.  I heard Austin being announced and my heart sank.  We joined the long line and on impulse, I made the decision to call American Airlines while waiting to speak to the person at the desk.  The call was patched through immediately and she informed me if we took the next Dallas flight we could get to Austin by 7:30 p.m., meaning a major lay-over in Dallas (it was only about 8:30 eastern time at this point).  I asked her to see if there other ways of reaching Austin and suggested Chicago perhaps knowing flights to ORD happened quite often, in fact one was boarding as I was talking to her.  She confirmed that if we made the ORD flight that was boarding right then, we could make a 12:30 flight from ORD and get to Austin by mid afternoon.  The problem was the flight closes 15 minutes before it departs so she couldn't access the flight to add us, but she confirmed there was room.  I asked her to stay on the line and charged towards the ORD flight.  They were in the final boarding call and although one official basically told us "screw you," but another official calmly added us and apologized that we wouldn't sit together on this leg.  I was so grateful for the American Airlines official on the phone as well as at the desk for making it all work for us.

We did face about a 3-hour lay-over in Chicago, but it was better than the multiple hours we would have been sitting in DCA and then DFW.  Life got a lot better when we discovered a newly opened Rick Bayless tacqueria at ORD.  We wandered around the airport and discovered a very pleasant indoor garden space.  We also ended up getting seats next to each other on the leg from Chicago to Austin and we arrived by 3, allowing us to go for a walk, take a shower and grab a beer!

The lesson to this story: use every available option.  I ended up having amazing luck calling the American Airlines reservations department.  I also knew the other major hubs for American so I could help guide our choices.  I also had to be a bit pushy.  Maybe some would have heard the final boarding call and said, oh well.  I, on the other hand, thought: we can still make this happen!

The du Pont gardens: Winterthur and Longwood

Although just in our 30s, Kevin and I are avid fans of gardens as well as gardening (although we lack any serious space).  Friends raved about their recent visit to Winterthur and several travel articles made me curious to see Longwood Gardens so I plotted a May visit to these two gardens. 

The Quarry Garden at Winterthur.

About 2.5 hours from our home, we drove up on a Saturday morning with plans to visit Winterthur in the later morning and early afternoon and then head to the hotel and see Longwood Gardens on Sunday. 

Although in the 60s, the skies were a gloomy gray, but luckily, we didn't encounter any rain.  Winterthur allows picnics so we packed our lunch and ended up having a lovely meal among the blooming azaleas.  They offer a garden tour tram, which is operated by a friendly and informative driver.  It's good to take because it allows you get oriented with the 1,000 acre garden and the different sections of it.  The general admission price gives you a chance to tour the building, which from the outside is not really impressive.  Henry Francis du Pont, who really made Winterthur what it is today, was interested in gardening, breeding cattle, and collecting early American furniture.  He actually purchased entire rooms of homes that were being torn down and installed them in his spaces at Winterthur.  I have to say, I'm not a big antique furniture person so I didn't find the house tour that interesting and the gardens were good, but not amazing.  Still, it's worth a visit.

We headed to our hotel, the Inn at Montchanin Village to relax and allow me to get a massage at the hotel's spa facility. This hotel used to be housing for families who were employed at the Gunpowder Company.  The housing has been carefully restored and converted into a series of hotel rooms.  Besides taking advantage of the spa, we made dinner easy and walked to the hotel's restaurant Krazy Kat.  The food and service were excellent.  I had squash blossoms, which you rarely see on menus.

The next morning, we enjoyed a great diner-style breakfast at Lucky's Coffee Shop and took a small walk on a river trail in Brandywine Creek State Park.  We then headed over to Longwood Gardens just 10 minutes away in Kenwood, Pennsylvania for a 10:30 timed entry. 

The amazing and expansive conservatory at Longwood.

If you like gardens, you'll love Longwood.  Unlike Winterthur, the gardens are the focus and they are impressive.  Pierce du Pont, like Henry Frances du Pont, had a clear vision of his gardens becoming public space for all to enjoy. The glass conversatory is one of the largest I think I've ever visited and filled with rooms that delight and surprise.  The Italian Water garden is lovely and I was quite fond of all the formal, flower garden walk. 

Despite the cloudy conditions (which you really can't plan for), the weekend was really lovely and relaxing.