|
Introduction. We had finally signed up for Grand Circle Travel's "All Inclusive Costa del Sol" trip after having watched it for years. We had been waiting to do it with my siblings, but we were never able to get them all on board. So finally we went ahead and booked it on our own. Then Jane's brother, Tom, and his wife, Kyoko, unexpectedly asked to join us, their first venture to Europe. The trip seemed to be a great bargain, offering two weeks in a first class hotel with all meals and beverages included, and even an open bar every evening. The price was almost unbelievably low. Wednesday, 8 November. Jane and I drove to Culpeper and picked up our daughter-in-law, Julia. She rode with us to Dulles Airport and then drove our car back to their house. We got to the airport about 1:30 p.m. Our flight to New York on United Express was scheduled to depart at 3:23. During the wait we met five other travelers who were going on the same flight to New York and then the same 7:30 p.m. charter flight to Malaga as we were. They were a congenial bunch, all on Grand Circle Travel tours to Torremolinos, but only one couple was in our particular tour group. As it turned out, we were very happy to have their company. The United flight was delayed over two hours, and we missed our connection in New York. We had to wait for the next evening's flight to Torremolinos on Air Plus Comet (a Spanish charter). The seven of us stayed at a Ramada Hotel near JFK. We had dinner together that night and had a great time. Thursday, 9 November. We had breakfast at the hotel with the others, then we all went back to the airport and wandered around. After lunch in the terminal, we checked in for our flight. This one left at 6:30 p.m., and it was less than a third full. We were able to take three seats each and get a little rest on the seven hour flight. |
