The Story of Connie, Sharon, and Reggie, and How They Helped Two Weary Travelers Who'd Lost Their Way

No stitchy pics this week, but a short tale of how, once again, our bacon was saved by the kindness of strangers.

My parents live in eastern Kentucky, and DH and I usually fly into Charleston, WV, when we go to visit them.  From there it’s about an hour’s drive.  It’s drivable from our house, but for short visits it’s much easier to fly.

DH works for the airlines and we fly on his pass.  It’s a great perk, but the caveat is that we fly stand-by – no seat, no go – so we try to plan our travel carefully.  We were planning on the first flight from Dulles to Charleston this past Saturday, but when I checked the bookings before we left the house, I discovered that the flight had gone from having available seats to being overbooked by 5.  Not a good thing, but our motto is “We’ve gotta try it.”  So off we headed to the airport.

When we got to the airport, things didn’t look good for getting on the flight (believe it or not, I’ve gotten on overbooked flights in the past – it’s all about the no-shows).  While we were waiting, we heard an announcement for a flight to Beckley, WV – about an hour south of Charleston.  Moments later, our gate agent made an announcement that our flight had a weight restriction and that they were looking for 6 people to give up their seats.  Well, when they make an announcement like that, there’s no chance for stand-by.  So we looked at each other and just said, “Beckley.”

No problem getting on the Beckley flight but we soon discovered that getting a rental car in Beckley isn’t quite as easy as getting one in Charleston.  I was on the phone with Avis and quickly learned that a) they had no cars in Beckley that we could return to Charleston, and b) their office in Beckley didn’t open until 1pm.  Since we were arriving at 10am, this was a problem.

While I had been on hold with Avis, the lady sitting across the aisle and one row up had turned around and said, “If you’re going to Charleston, you could probably ride with us.  My sister is picking me up and that’s where we’re going.”  After I learned that about all Avis could do for me was move our car pick-up time from 10am to 11am, I tapped her on the shoulder and said, “I think we’ll take you up on your offer.”  When we landed in Beckley, she called her sister and cleared it with her, and told me that we’d be welcome to ride along as long as we didn’t mind a dirty car and a big dog.  My reply was that we love dogs (we do) and that her sister’s car couldn’t be much dirtier than mine (it wasn’t). 

That’s how we found ourselves tootling along the West Virginia Turnpike on Saturday morning with Connie and Sharon and Reggie, a largish white poodle-looking poochie who was happy to share the back seat with Connie and me.  He was a little unsure of me at first, preferring to huddle close to Connie, but as we got closer to Charleston he moved a little closer and eventually laid his head on my knee, then sat up and leaned against my shoulder.  DH and I chatted amiable with the two sisters and Sharon very kindly took us to Charleston airport so we could pick up the rental car, only an hour later than originally planned.

Blessings, serendipity, angels – whatever you want to call it, we were so grateful that these two ladies crossed our path on Saturday morning.  Our impulsive choice to fly to Beckley turned into the right move, thanks to their kindness and generosity.  We were able to get to my parents’ home just a little late without having to pay a fortune to a taxi or a car rental company.  My list of pay-it-forwards just got a little longer.