> I said No, because I cannot possibly do the flying alone, I have no experience in flying, have never even been in an airport, and wouldn't know what the hell I'm doing. I'm so stupid I would probably board the wrong plane, then get in the wrong seat! And no one in an airport is going to help me find my way. I know because no one ever helps me with anything like that.

It sounds like you wish you could have taken her offer, despite the pressuring way it was presented. (I wouldn't like that either!)

Can I reassure you a bit about airports? They are mostly, in the western world, quite well organized. I find that many people are helpful if you ask questions in them. Really, just head off to your local airport on the bus and try it if you want. Also, maps of airports are on the net, and you can preplan your route to your "gate" or print out an airport map for yourself. It sounds like the trip is within the States, so you don't even need to function in a foreign language to take such a trip. I think if you spent some time learning a bit more about airports and people's experiences in them, you could learn to cope with it.

I've only had a couple of bad airport experienced, and those where in a foreign language and where the airport was huge with recent construction. And I still made the flight somehow. Sure, some airline staff will make mistakes and tell you the wrong thing, but if you ask more than one person, you can correct for that.

Anyway, I bet you can succeed in your basic plans.

It sounds very exhausting to have to deal with your sister's approach to this trip, even if it was fundamentally kind of her. The controlling part of it could be off-putting, and it sounds like for you it was.