Robert Begins the Adventure

BLOG POST – Sunday, July 18th , 7:00 a.m.
I just noticed as I was writing this that the local time at home is just after 2:00 a.m.! I am currently in the Frankfurt Airport in Germany with a 5 hour layover. One would think that there are flights to anywhere more often than every 5 hours! It just goes to show you how secluded that little slice of the world – Scotland – really is.
THE BAG
The flight to Frankfurt from Dulles was uneventful, though cramped. It was the day leading up to departure time that was the real adventure. I had ordered a special golf bag for the occasion, a logoed bag with the name of my company (MidAtlantic Capital Management) on one side, and Hourigan Construction on the other. Mark Hourigan, as you may know either from this blog or personally, is a great friend whom, without his “persuasion” and constant encouragement I may not have even been taking this trip. I wanted to provide him with a sense of “ownership” in the trip by including the logo of his construction firm, Hourigan Construction, on the bag as well.
Anyway, the bag was supposed to arrive by Thursday (about 2 weeks after it was originally promised!). As I reviewed the FedEx tracking number, I saw that it was being shipped ground – from California – and due to arrive Friday! Obviously, all sorts of thoughts ran through my mind regarding potential pitfalls in the bag’s journey. I had no real option for a backup bag. The only bags I carry around these days are “Sunday bags”, the small, lightweight carry bags. Those will definitely be a challenge for The Senior Open. With potential for all kinds of weather during a round of golf in Scotland, you have to have room in a bag to stow all kinds of clothing options.
I waited at my office on Friday night until 8:30, as FedEx indicated that FedEx ground can deliver up until 8:00 – NO BAG! Great. I need to leave for the airport the next day no later than 12:30 to make my flight. I call FedEx that night and they say they will pull the bag from the truck sometime that night and I can pick it up from the station in Ashland the next morning. But when I pulled up the tracking of the package the next morning at 6:20 a.m., I saw that the bag had been delivered and signed for the previous night at 8:41!!! I immediately called FedEx and told them no one was at my office at that time and who signed for it? They said that I would have to call the station manager when they opened at 8:00…
I called back promptly at 8:00 and after explaining the situation to the manager, she discovered that the box was, indeed, still on the truck (good news! – but it does make you wonder about the old tag line for FedEx – “when it absolutely, positively, must be there overnight”) and that she would have the driver call me when she arrived and was ready to make deliveries. 9:00 – no call. 10:00 – no call. I called back to the station manager and, fortunately, a golfer picked up the phone, knew who I was (must be a fan of ancient sports history!) and gave me the driver’s cell number. After several attempts to reach her, Geisha (not kidding! – and she had very colorful nails about 3 inches long each, fake eyelashes to match, and she was driving this truck…) was incredibly nice and very helpful. I arranged to meet her at a Sheetz station off of Midlothian turnpike (20 minutes from home) to pick up the bag. When I met her she said she wished someone had told her to call me and she could have dropped it off at my house earlier that morning (!). Aside from the fact that the Hourigan Construction logo ended up silver instead of green, the bag turned out great – but by the time I got home it was 11:45…
THE TRIP TO DULLES
Of course, Murphy (of the renowned “Murphy’s Law”), being the astute philosopher that he is (and I say is because Murphy is alive and well!), knew I would have an eventful trip. This particular Saturday seemed to be a donut convention along I-95, because every state trooper in Virginia seemed to be out striving for their quotas. Once north of Fredericksburg, traffic had slowed to 20 mph, and I knew I was up against the clock as my turnoff for Dulles was still 15 miles ahead. I opted (I am sure, by the guiding hand of Murphy) to take a back road south of Quantico and then back up through Manassas. I figured it may take 10 more minutes of driving time, all other things being equal. What I did not count on was a bike tour of some 500 bikes being on this back road, slowing traffic to the current interstate rates. I also did not count on a road closure and the ensuing detour – or the food festival in Manassas that slowed traffic to a standstill. Ya gotta hand it to Murphy – he knows how to pull out all the stops!
Once I got to Dulles (now about 3:35 for a 5:05 international flight), I parked in the long-term lot (area 6-C of the Green Lot – this note is just so I remember where it is 2 weeks from now!). Of course, Murphy must have been driving that first bus that I saw as I was unloading my car, because the next one did not appear for another 15 minutes. Once we had made all the obligatory stops on our way out of the lot, we finally made it to the terminal at about 4:00. I rush into the terminal, check my bags after a minimal wait (though it seemed to take forever), and ran to security. The line looked like Disney World – I knew it would take at least another 20-25 minutes to get through and I would likely miss the flight because I still had to take the train and run to the gate.
I asked a security girl if there was a better way and explained my plight to her. At this point, Murphy must have been looking the other way. She told me (in broken English) it would be much faster to go up the elevator to “G”, take a left and go down past the baggage claim to the German Check In. I had never heard of something like this - should I chance this and get out of the line and risk not finding it or that she did not understand what I was saying? If I can’t find it or it does not exist, I am screwed. I decided to go ahead and chance it, because I had little chance of making it in the line I was in. Once on the “G” floor, I made my way down past baggage claim and asked another security girl, and she had no clue what I was talking about. Then I saw a check in point that seemed that it was for flight attendants and pilots, so I went over to ask – but the TSA waved me through! Shortest line in the history of airports!
Glad I have been working out – it was a full-out sprint to the gate after that. I made it with a good 10 minutes to spare! I hate wasting time in airports - nothing like strategic planning… Had I stayed in that security line I was originally in, there is no way I would have made the flight. I am hopeful that Saturday was all of my stress for the trip rolled into 1 day, though I know that is wishful thinking. Traveling (especially international traveling) is, by definition, a test of problem solving. Let’s see what the rest of the day will bring…