A change of plans

I have been low-key planning a trip to Florida for the week after my birthday (Dec 1^st). Unfortunately, I forgot to buy the airplane tickets/hotel on Black Friday, and now the forecast calls for rain the entire time. Yes, it’s Florida, so it’s to be expected… but it’s still disappointing.

The PRIMARY goal of the trip would be to see Christmas Town™ at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, but I’d like to see the Museum of Science and Industry and maybe a quick tour of Sparkman Wharf. This highlights the biggest problem to this plan – that while BGTB is nowhere near either TPA or downtown (in fact, I’d have to pass through downtown to get to it) hotels there are half as much per night as they are in downtown/Channelside. The theme park is outdoors, but the city’s downtown museums (most of which I’ve already been to) are indoors.

But, after spending seven years living in Orlando, I already know about theme parks and rain. So, there MUST be something else to this. Surely, I can just reschedule this trip. I can…  except that the whole point was a week in Tampa has me flying through TPA.

TPA has something BWI doesn’t – direct service to Allentown (ABE) via Allegiant… which flies out of St Pete/Clearwater (PIE) on Mon/THURS. Well crap. My estranged brother’s holiday party in Bethlehem (the “B” in their airport code) is on FRIDAY.

Argh! This trip just keeps getting harder and harder to justify – and I haven’t even gotten to the indignities of trying to get my shoes back on after the TSA checkpoint or getting stuck in the tiny airline seats. I swear they keep getting smaller (to cram more people in).

I’d love to take Amtrak there from [Baltimore’s] Penn Station… if they went to Allentown. My oldest brother said he “might” pick me up at ABE, “but it’s probably easier just to use Uber.” Thankfully, getting TO the party in my initial plan wasn’t my primary obstacle. It’s getting from Bethlehem to Baltimore afterwards that’s the problem.

Yes, I’ve asked other family members if they could drive me to Philadelphia so I can take a train back. Surprisingly enough they passed, which is just as well since I didn’t want to go anyway…