The Backstory
We are a family of eight people. Any amount of anything we do is multiplied by eight. Everything adds up fast! So we are always looking for the most economical way to do things. This is why, six months ago, we bought the flights that had a little Low Price tag on them. And for us, this meant catching not one, but two red-eye flights on our way to the first leg of our adventure. That leg ended on Christmas Day in Lisbon, Portugal.
But first, we had to make it to New York. Now, we’ve developed some brand loyalty towards Delta. Not just because they seem to be reasonably priced, but they are also pretty reliable, and I have had to get a hold of customer service MULTIPLE times. And have always been happy about it. Until this week.
Our first flight was scheduled to leave at 11:50pm on December 23rd–it didn’t end up leaving until 12:13am or something–but not bad. And we were supposed to fly into New York JFK International Airport around 6:30am.
We got a seat for the baby (2 yo) because we knew we would need a carseat anyway, and he sleeps in his carseat. Which is more than I could say for myself. I notoriously can’t sleep on an airplane. But I digress.
For this flight, we upgraded from our usual “cheapest you can get and still function” default setting to “we need a checked bag as well as assigned seating so mom doesn’t lose her head worrying about the actions of her sleep-deprived and hyped-up children and how they might affect other passengers” mode, which ended up being the right choice.
Another aspect of this flight was that-as part of the lowest price option- we had a fourteen-hour layover in New York City. This is a bittersweet situation, it turns out, because we are arriving with no sleep, but we LOVE New York. (My kids went on a choir tour with MCO a few years back that took us to Boston, and we took the opportunity to swing over to New York, and we’re all hooked)-another digression.
So, part of the appeal to this craziness was, in fact, the chance we might have to see even one thing in one of our favorite cities. We know we’ll be insanely tired, and that we have to somehow get the strength to hop on yet another red-eye flight to Lisbon. So, after weighing options, we decide to pay for the cheapest hotel with a free shuttle to and from the airport so we can have a nap. We aren’t sure how long it will take for us to get to the hotel from the airport, but we are starting to think that we can get there, have up to a four-hour nap and still get an undetermined adventure in New York.
Another piece to this situation that I feel like you should know–the part about things multiplying–is that luggage also multiplies. Now, each child has a backpack stuffed full of things they need and want. The only limit is how much they are willing to carry on their backs and/or how much will fit under the airplane seat in front of them. They also each have a carry-on. This is a piece of luggage that can comfortably fit clothes for two or three days. (Unless you vacuum pack them, which is a handy trick we used to make it so these now fit about a week’s worth of clothing.)
How it happened.
As a family, we figured out that we could take up to five checked bags and still be able to transport them via car from Dublin to Carndonagh (leg three of our adventure). So, imagine a family of eight, with a stroller, a carseat draped over the top of the stroller, a diaper bag hanging off the handle of the stroller, seven other backpacks, eight carry-ons, and five large suitcases all barreling through Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport. (Sounds like the twelve days of Christmas gone wrong.) That’s thirteen pieces of luggage, not including backpacks and baby paraphernalia. Thirteen pieces of luggage that I have to account for in all planning.
But it’ll be alright because we can check 8 of the pieces of luggage and then the airlines will take them to Lisbon for us after that, right?
No. NO! It is not right. Because somewhere in the hidden policies of Delta, which I still can’t find on any ticket or any document we were given– there is a clause that states that if we have a layover for longer than 6 hours, we have to pick up our luggage at baggage claim and recheck it. We learned this from a Delta employee at the gate.
Cut to: the Burgoyne Bunch, weary and bleary-eyed, stumbling out of the airplane, eager to get to our hotel, only to learn that we can’t go to the hotel. We have to go across the terminal to baggage claim. Get our TONS of luggage, cram them into elevators, get up to the check-in gate for Delta, wait in line, get checked in, only to learn that we CAN’T CHECK OUR BAGS UNTIL 8 HOURS LATER. Because there is another hidden policy (that even four Delta employees didn’t know) that states that you can’t check your luggage in until 5 HOURS before your flight.
After a dozen meltdowns shared by many of the family, it was mom’s turn to melt down. I just started crying. My plans hinged on Delta taking the most unbearable parts of our luggage and us finding a place in the airport to store our carry-ons so we could go into the city without too much worry or care. This plan had been meticulously put together. I had called the hotel about the rooms, shuttle, and distance to Manhattan. I even had a stinkin’ carry-on packed with Lunchables and granola bars so we wouldn’t have to pay for airplane food. Everything was planned-and then Delta had to come in and ruin my day. (To be fair, they usually save the day, but this day, even Delta let me down.)
So, we had to pivot a little bit. We went up and down those elevators three times before making our final decision. If we wanted to store the luggage at the airport, it would cost $35/piece of luggage, no matter how big. And they didn’t give discounts for bundles of bags. (We asked.) We’d also need to leave the carseat because we didn’t want to carry that around New York City on the buses and subways. Anyway, $35 x 14 comes out to a number much more expensive than just extending our stay by a day at the hotel and storing our luggage there.
So, that’s what we did. We had gotten two rooms in the hotel for the night of the 23rd, extended one of the rooms to a late checkout so we could all sleep for a couple of hours, and we added a day to the other room. Our nap-inspired hotel stay came out to a few hundred dollars. Which was the most expensive nap I have ever had.
And, I have to say, it was worth it. Storing our luggage at the airport was more expensive than the two rooms and extensions at the hotel combined. Now, was our hotel in a luxurious neighborhood? No. But did it have spacious rooms? Also no. But the beds were extremely comfortable. I’m not exaggerating. Imagine sleeping on a little piece of heavenly mattress. Something firmer than a cloud, and less bouncy than Jello–I don’t know– we all slipped into sleep very quickly.
The Best Part of the Adventure
We weren’t alone in getting our luggage onto the initial flight. My angel brother-in-law, Peter, met us at the airport with the sole purpose of getting us to the flight seamlessly. He dragged luggage, herded children, and was overall a calming and stable influence-something everyone needs at midnight before they board a red-eye flight with a little army.
As a family, we’ve been to New York City before, and the vibe is this energetic pull that reached every member of the Burgoyne Bunch. So when the opportunity presented itself to be able to see something in New York, we jumped on it! And, as I said before, we didn’t get to do much in New York, but we DID get to see the Rockefeller tree, eat some good old-fashioned New York-style pizza, and grab a churro! All while being enchanted by lights and blaring Christmas music.
One kind man passed my girls and handed them roses, wishing them Merry Christmas. That act of kindness really touched me, and also left my girls feeling a sprinkle of extra magic. Thank you, wonderful person, who passed us in a moment and will be a permanent memory in our family lore!
We were also able to meet up with one of Eric’s wonderful students! He was spending time with his dad in New York and took a slight detour to see us for a few minutes. Of course, we took pictures! Of course, I don’t feel comfortable posting someone else’s kid on the internet, but we were SO happy to see him!
Have you heard that New Yorkers are onry or cranky or unfriendly? That has been the opposite of our experience. Maybe we have a natural charm that emanates from us as a family, or maybe we all run around like gigantic bundles of hot messes, and people take pity on us–more likely–but we were met with kindness at every turn.
The hotel receptionist and I developed a funny friendship during the multiple times I called her to ask about the hotel shuttle. Sure, she hung up a couple times without saying goodbye, but after four or five different times calling her, I learned it wasn’t personal. She just didn’t want to waste time. Ha ha.
The shuttle driver was remarkably serviceable. He even made sure that our luggage was brought to the right room. And he wouldn’t take the extra tip I wanted to give him.
Wonderful readers, the bus drivers had so much pity on us. If you’ve never been to New York City, getting anywhere requires the ability to find joy in the journey because most of the time is taken up in transportation. Whether we were walking, using the metro, or using the bus, we spent the vast majority of our time getting ourselves places. Specifically to Rockerfeller Center. We didn’t pay to have a premium tree view–just to be clear–the tree was awe-inspiring even at the no-pay distance.
When it was time for us to go back, we tried to retrace our steps and use Google Maps. At one point, we weren’t sure how to get back to the right bus stop that we knew would take us to our hotel. True to our nature, we were in a rush. At the end of the day, we realized we didn’t actually need to be so hurried, but in the moment, we were sprinting from one place to another. In any case, we stopped one bus to ask the driver how to get to the line we wanted, and he began telling us where, but then he invited us to just hop on the bus (for free, he wouldn’t let us tap our cards or anything), and he drove us a couple stops. Then, as if it were a group-bus effort, wonderful New Yorkers began telling us- all at the same time- how to get to the bus we were looking for.
And I don’t think we ever paid full-fare for a bus. I would hop on with my phone ready to tap and pay as my kids systematically stepped on, and after the first two or three, the bus driver would usually say “No, it’s okay, it’s okay.” Indicating that I didn’t need to finish paying for us. They would say “kids are free,” but really, they were being nice. Because YOUNG kids are technically free. Not my teens. Ha ha. Whether the notorious New Yorker impatience was coming into play and the driver didn’t want to wait for my numerous hosts of kids to be paid for, or whether the New York bus drivers all had a conference and decided to be extra nice to semi-chaotic families resembling the Von Traps, I’ll never know. I just know I’m grateful.
So, goodbye New York! Thank you for a wonderful Christmas Eve adventure, and we’ll blow kisses to you as we head off to our next stop!
The Burgoyne Bunch 