I scurry over to hand off my baggage only to find that, as always, I have managed to overpack, and my bags weigh more than the allotted fifty pounds. Instead of just handing over my credit card as I usually do, I decide that maybe I can catch a break.
Telling the agent that I am a frequent flier with an Advantage Card, I do my best to finagle the sourpuss woman standing before me. Flashing a winning smile never works, but I try it anyway and politely ask if the fee can be waived, being as we are only talking a few pounds over regulation here. She relaxes her prim posture and concedes with her own smile, saying it would not be problem. (I know; I can’t believe it either).
I board, and it appears that I am the only individual on the flight (and the one that will connect from San Juan to St. Kitts’ Robert L. Bradshaw airport) who even glanced at the aforementioned computerized seating chart. I have an entire row, four pillows, headsets, and blankets to myself. No children, no bladders, my curse has been lifted.
Four days of delicious cuisine, yummy cocktails, sightseeing, and tanning (more like sunburn-ing) in St. Kitts later, I find myself back at the airport wondering if my new luck, my new good luck, was too good to be true.
I visually scan the check-in area for another one of my impersonal, magic check-in machines and do not see one. I guess that being an island airport they don’t get the same traffic as JFK. I am freaking out and reluctantly approach the line. Once I reach the front, I put my aforementioned smile on my face and walk up to the clerk (who, mind you, has just been yelled at by another rather dissatisfied traveler). Just as she is about to print out my boarding pass, I ask her if there are any free seats available and if she can put me next to one. Yes, no problem.
Now after another comfortable flight with a whole extra seat for me to prop my legs on as I examine the sparkling crystal clear waters of the Caribbean while reading my Cosmo, I arrive in San Juan. After grabbing some Pizza Hut and perusing seatguru.com to see where I can best place myself on this last flight in order to maximize comfort, I board the plane.
