Mini flies out this weekend to visit friends at the Jersey Shore. Almost half of her group of friends are from New Jersey, New York, and the surrounding area. I wanted to go. I'm not even joking - I had a vision of us taking a family trip and incorporating time to hang out with Mini's friends' families. Mini was like WAIT. YOU THINK YOU'RE COMING? Yeah, so it was a brief hallucination. One that didn't even require me to smoke anything or ingest an illegal substance. It was a good, albeit brief trip. I'm just a creative type. I guess.
The other day I asked whose house she is staying at and she rattled off all.the.houses. and all.the.parents who we've met and really enjoy. One family is hosting a party for all the local parents and are you surprised that I woke up and thought MAYBE I'LL JUST BUY A FLIGHT FOR MYSELF AND GO FOR LIKE ONE NIGHT?
FOMO much?
Flights for her were pricey - and no, I haven't bought myself a flight and I probably won't I think I'll be in Indianapolis that weekend with Curly for basketball. Sounds just as fun, right? I used that flight search engine where a bunch of suggestions pop up. Priceline maybe? The cheapest one was on something called Foggyfly.com. Is there a worse name for a travel ticket place, ever?
I was like YEAH, WELL IT'S HERE ON PRICELINE. MUST BE FINE. We booked it.
A few days later, Mini was freaking out because she hadn't gotten an email confirmation. She'd taken a photo of the screen, so we called and gave her confirmation number.
Turns out they'd been trying to call her. The flight included NO carry on or personal item or anything, so if she wanted to bring ANYTHING with her, she'd have to pay extra. There were some thick accents involved and I was using Bluetooth to make the call while Mini and I were both in the car. I was squinting, because even when you aren't reading squinting makes things so much clearer.
Mini: OH, I DON'T KNOW HOW TO LISTEN TO MY VOICEMAIL ON MY PHONE, SO I DIDN'T GET ANY MESSAGES.
Me: YEAH, WE WILL JUST CANCEL. NOT PAYING TO BRING ON A PERSONAL ITEM.
After we bought the flight, we'd read some reviews and no one in the world had a positive thing to say about this group. Oops.
Foggy peeps tried to tell me that we could no longer cancel because it had been more than 24 hours and they'd tried to reach my 'how-does-voicemail-work?' daughter. I told them I'd just tell my credit card company that I don't authorize the charge since they weren't upfront with us when we bought the ticket. I'd read the small print. There was NOTHING about not being able to walk on the flight with not so much as a small wallet or phone case. Not happening.
I alerted my credit card company and I've checked and as of now foggy has not charged anything to my credit card.
While Mini was in Ireland all of her college crew went to Florida for spring break. Two girls booked on Kiwi airlines or something, paying next to nothing. I guess after they bought the tix they read reviews and these two were so worried they were never gonna get to Florida. They made it, but it was kind of a running joke.
Enter Mini and I and the Foggy ordeal. Her friend group chat (no, I'm not ON the group text, but if I can find a way to be added - I will def be joining. Open to tips) exploded with HAVE WE LEARNED NOTHING YET? And other little jabs at how stupid we'd been.
Then the girls were all like - yeah -but Mrs. Shenanigan isn't gonna take that sitting down, etc. Mini shared this with me and I was like, HUH?
She reminded me that when her friends stayed here at Easter and admired the new kitchen, I'd shared the tales of how we were ripped off by our contractor and how I went to his office and raised enough hell that the police were called.
I apparently also told them the story of me vs the junior high principal who stuck Tank in a lunch with no peers because "WELL, HE'S NOT WORKING AT GRADE LEVEL FOR MATH" (in order to make his special ed math class work in his schedule) as if he's not deserving of time with his peers. I told that God-awful principal: MARK MY WORDS, TANK'LL BE THE MOST SUCCESSFUL STUDENT YOUR SCHOOL EVER PRODUCES . . . among other, possibly less polite, things.
Of course those girls witnessed my dad's blatant 'MY SMARTEST GRANDCHILD . . . DIDN'T GET INTO ND BECAUSE HER PARENTS MAKE TOO MUCH MONEY' crap and I had some.things.to.say about that.
Apparently I'm now known to her friends as a hell-raising, vigilante and I think that means that her friends really want me to find a way to get out to the Jersey Shore to hang with all of them next week. Right?
22 comments:
Hahahaha, oh, Ernie, you definitely have FOMO! But honestly, I have never heard of an airline that didn't allow any items to be carried onto the plane, that sounds sketchy. Is it even an airplane? Who would know!
I also have a dream of going to the Jersey Shore, let's just rent a house together :) And you have awesome street cred with Mini's friends, you should be proud.
LOL, my kids know I will raise hell when I feel as though I've been cheated or wronged by a business, but I don't think any of their friends know! Too funny! But man, those sound like some shady airline websites. My husband refuses to even fly Spirit or Frontier.
Of course Mini's friends think you are a badass! Because you ARE a badass! I definitely wouldn't want to mess with you! I hope you find a way to get to the Jersey Shore!
I've never been to the Jersey Shore, but I hope it's all that and bag of chips. No carry-on anything? Not even a backpack? Or a bag of chips? That sounds sketchy to me.
Froggy sounds like a website designed by a group of tech-savvy high school students in their basement. I hate making travel plans, which is why we never go anywhere. 🤣
I flew cross country on Frontier airlines. NEVER AGAIN. It might be ok for short trips, but it was like sitting on a lawn chair for five hours. And, we had a brand new plane, so it was "the best" of their fleet. I don't care that it was 50% cheaper than all other options.
Nicole- Mini already texted to say she LOVES the jersey shore. I think the plane part was legit- it was United but this 3rd party vendor, is that what this is? They offered the flight cheap so they could jack the price up later. Oops- $50 for a personal item. Silliness.
Colleen- Lets make that happen. Next summer? If we start planning now it might happen. You can get some scoop subs. ;)
I am dang proud that her girls think I am one to be reckoned with.
Bijoux- I have a few customer service issues that I need to blog about. They are from awhile ago but people can be so difficult. I did not call either of the places out . . . basically just rude people.
I will not fly frontier. Good to have standards.
You have quite the reputation- and they are right! No one messes with our Ernie. These cheapie flights get you on every little thing. We used to get $99 or less flights from Niagara Falls to Florida (when we had a house there) but could at least carry a small backpack. Charging for a personal item is ridiculous.
Beth- You are cracking me up with your badass accolades. Mini is at the Shore without me . . . but things are looking up because I'm pretty sure Colleen and I are gonna rent a place next year. Maybe we could make it a blog weekend meet up.
Ally- Mini is already raving about it. No- not even a bag of chips. ;) Where would I put my folded up, frozen pizza? Pure trickery.
Kari- I totally agree. The name of that site had to be created by some teens who know a thing or two about a thing or two.
I always make Coach review my flight purchases before I buy . . . well, now that i think of it- I did not do that with the Foggy one. BUT I read all the small print. They were yanking my chain.
Kara- I once flew Frontier (a sentence I think many people can relate to)- once is enough. Yes- the lawn chair feeling. Not a fan. Spirit, same boat. Or same plane, in this case.
Pat- Aw. You flatter me. I think I want that on a t-shirt. Since most of my in person friends don't know me as Ernie, they'd be confused.
I remember when flights were so pricey we could never fly ANYWHERE. The cheap was flights are not to be trusted.
When I picture Mini and You, I do not see you fitting in at the Jersey Shore. Nope! Did you even watch Jersey Shore? 😳😜 The accents, The over-Tanned bodies, The Makeup!
I think Kiwi Airlines is in New Zealand. No? Maybe it was Alligent?
One time about a million years ago I booked a hotel through one of those third-party deals, and it was a nightmare. I will only book directly with The Hotel or The Airline...I'm not playing that game ever again.
Let us know if you make it to The Shore!!🤓
Ha! I love her friends' view of you. Sounds about right! Don't mess with Ernie! And you know who they'll be calling if they need help, which is a good position to be in!
Suz - I did NOT make it to the Shore and each photo she sent cut me like a knife. I kid. But the one with the other moms, the moms that I wish I was hanging out with and who I wish lived closer, those stung a tad. It looks like she is having a blast - which is awesome.
I am taking it as a compliment that you don't think Mini and I would fit in well at the Jersey Shore. I do remember seeing a few episodes of the Jersey Shore and what on earth was all that?
For sure Kiwi is out of New Zealand, but I feel like that was the airline. I'll have to confirm with Mini. See - one more reason I should be on their group chat, so I can talk to 'my girls' whenever. wink, wink.
Second parties are no party, no fun. Ever.
Suzanne - I admit that I also love her friends' view of me. It took me years to become a badass (quoting Beth here), but I think I was pushed around enough as a middle child that I figured out ENOUGH ALREADY.
I never thought of that - they might call me when they get into trouble. I hope I don't disappoint. A reputation such as this is hard to live up to.
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