Honeymoon in Southern Thailand

Flight Cancellation

Overnight in Atlanta

It really started when we made our 1st stop (of 3) in Atlanta. The pattern was: Boston to Atlanta, Atlanta to Seoul, Seoul to Phuket, Thailand. It was our honeymoon - one year after having our viking/medieval themed back yard shindig (yes, guests were required to dress in period attire). The flight was delayed and then ultimately cancelled, causing the mass flurry at the airport, thankfully we shuffled through patiently and mostly silently suffering and under the breath murmuring while we waited and received our hotel and meal vouchers - and free bottled water with a snack.

We shuttled over to the hotel, checked-in and immediately decided to take a walk - Travis was now cigarette free but was desperate for a “vape” — so we went on a walking tour to the nearest convenience store...somewhere near the Atlanta airport. The first convenience store didn’t have what Travis was looking for, but we were told there was another store about a half mile or more down the road. So off we went - walking in the afternoon heat, alongside a major roadway with multiple lanes of traffic, stomping on thick and overgrown grass, and remarking on all the trash. We walked next to the guardrail and hoped to not get hit by traffic - thankfully, eventually approaching another gas station.

We are kind of out in the middle of nowhere - and this gas station is small and reeks like marijuana - which peaks my interest immediately. I’m also hankering for a vice. Travis nods to the 2 young black guys behind the counter and I go right up to strike a deal, I can smell the reefer and I’ll just need a little bit for the evening with a few rolling papers and a lighter. See we’re on our way to Thailand and we’re stuck in Atlanta for the night — they listen curiously as I ramble on asking for some of their goods. One guy casually dips his hand into his breast shit pocket - the kind that has his name embroidered on it with the name of the convenience store - and pulls out a couple of green nuggets. He wraps them up and I give him a quick $20. I purchase the papers and a lighter and Travis has also found a vape — we are both on our way to happiness after our harrowing day with the airline.

As we are finishing paying, a large, older, white man with a stubbly beard, boots, jeans, button up shirt, and cowboy hat comes in, eagerly smiling and overly talkative, immediately striking up a conversation, while I also notice he’s open carrying. Travis makes a direct comment about his gun and the guy goes on to loudly describe while still smiling that we were in a shitty part of town and don’t want to mess with any cats around here — and as we get talking with this guy, he offers us a ride back to the hotel! And we take it. Travis sat in the front seat, and I hopped in the back of his oversized pickup truck — he had once been to Maine and that was all he know of the “Northeast” — he talked the whole way to the hotel about his life, kids, marriage, and career. Travis and I were happy to arrive back at the hotel, sit at the bar - for which the meal vouchers did not cover, with our separate vices, laughing at this quirky side venture, night 1 of our honeymoon. He snored in bed and I drafted the complaint letter to Delta.

15 Hour Flight

Khao Lak

Phuket

James Bond Island

Maya Bay