As we head into my favorite holiday week, the weather is starting out on a less than friendly basis. So, please take extra care to travel safely and reach your family destinations. I can assure you the interstates and airports will be crowded and at a standstill at times. If you look in the dictionary I-95 is code for stationary and an airport is a gathering place.
So, to manage expectations consider the following. First for flyers:
– you will wait in airports and have a hard time finding a parking space,
– your plane will be delayed and may be canceled, and
– your plane will be crowded.
How you let this affect you is your ball to play. You can let it bother the heck out of you or you can take it in stride. As I waited for my checked bags once, a woman commented on how calm and relaxed I was. I was sitting with a book and was waiting for the bags to come in. My standing up at the carrousel was not going to make them come faster.
Now for the drivers:
– you will be accompanied by many drivers on the road,
– you will come to a halt due to accidents and rubberneckers, and
– you will get irritated on occasion with fellow passengers.
How you let this affect you is your ball to play. Following distance is our friend. Rest areas break the monotony. Listen to your kids play lists – I had a ball with my kids doing this as they take pride in sharing. Find those side roads to avoid only interstate driving.
Please travel safely (and sanely). Giver everyone a hug for me when you get there. Happy Thanksgiving.
musingsofanoldfart 
Hello Keith. I find one of the problems with drivers on holidays is they are trying to do too much in too short of time. That may not be their fault. They may only get a short time off work to rush to family and in-laws, to spread their social time around before rushing back to work. I have known people who have made entire long distant trips of 18 , 24 , or longer hours with out stopping for sleep because they were under such time constants. They are a danger to themselves and all other travelers. On the reverse side I knew a young solider who waited too late on leave to return to base. Trying to make up time he drove way over the speed limits and ended up rolling his car. He did not make it to base on time. He got charged with AWOL. He also ended up in the hospital and totaled his car. If he had simply planned better he would have been fine and not a danger to other drivers. Hugs
Scottie, you raise excellent points. Thr soldier story is a sad one. I hope he recovered. To your point, I have a friend who traveled with his wife and young kids overnight as they were sleeping. He nodded off and hit a guard rail flipping his van end over end landing on its wheels in a grassy area. They luckily all survived.
We think we are invincible. Keith
Hello Keith. Yes he did. He got an article 15, lost rank and pay and his car was totaled all due to not thinking / planning ahead. Hugs
Scottie, planning even just a little, helps avoid unneeded travails. Best wishes, Keith
My wife and I will stay at home and have a quiet Thanksgiving. And we most assuredly skip Black Friday!!
Hugh, we will also pass on Black Friday. We will be hosting a smaller contingent than usual. Enjoy your Thanksgiving. Keith
Great tips for travelers. Yes, a book can do wonders to assuage the pain of waiting!
Linda, so true. You travel much further than I do, so you would know. Thanks, Keith
I adore my phone for such escapades. It is small enough to hold in one hand while minding my luggage or other essentials and I always have access to a book or something to read when it is with me. Yeah, it’s a lot of scrolling, but scrolling while waiting is no hardship. 😉
Well done. Is the book out yet?
Wise words Keith and a wise strategy for the holiday.
(British retail is trying to find a way to import this one)
Thanks. Any excuse to sell. Technically, the Thanksgiving settlers were British…
True, somehow I can’t see a ‘Let’s celebrate they stayed there’ theme really working all that well, it’s mean-spirited.
That’s true. I read that Transylvania did not celebrare the vampire history until they saw how they could merchandise from the crazed Americans.
I believe up until then they simply revered Vlad (The Impaler) III as a national hero of resistance….still a nation has to make a $ or two somehow.
Roger, speaking of travel, we have towns that highlight an artifact or site to draw tourists. Along Route 66, there are countless places like this. Keith