Travel to Toronto

I travelled to Toronto for a Pastor’s Wives’ retreat last week, & without fail, when I travel, something goes wrong.  Well, this trip was no exception to the rule…

 

The day started with an early flight & lots of rain.  At the Charlottetown airport, when you board your flight, you are outside at the mercy of the elements.  As I was going to the plane, I decided to run, since it was raining so hard, I just wanted to get inside the plane quickly, & I was very glad I did!  Just after I got on, the next few passengers decided to take their time putting their things away, & several people had to wait outside in the downpour.  Once they finally got onto the plane, their jeans were soaked, & their bags were dripping wet.  Of course since it was so humid with all those bodies on the airplane, the air conditioning had to be on pretty high, & it was a cold flight!  I was glad I wasn’t extra wet!

 

Once I got to Montreal, it didn’t take me long to find the gate for my flight to Toronto, & I heard them announce, “The plane we were supposed to take had mechanical failure, & the only other plane available has 40 less seats.  If you checked in last night, or early this morning, you probably don’t have a seat.”

 

So I went up to the desk to see if I had a seat.  The airline employee took my boarding card, crossed off my seat number & said, “No, you don’t have a seat.  Next!” and started helping the next customer in line.  The next customer asked when the next flight was & was told it would be a 3 hour wait.  I heard the other employee ask a man if he wanted to go to the Downtown airport, Toronto City.  I quickly googled it & found it was only a 15 minute cab ride to my hotel.  I then placed myself in front of the ticket agent & told her I wanted to go to the Toronto City airport.  She gave me a dirty look, & booked me on the flight, which was leaving in 1/2 an hour.  I went to my new gate, which was conveniently across from a Starbucks, & called my friend who was supposed to pick me up in Toronto.  She instructed me to get a cab from the airport since there was a lot of construction in the area & she still had to wait for another person at the Toronto airport.

 

I arrived at the City airport, & just missed the ferry to the mainland…

I could see it docked on the other side.  Thankfully it would be a short wait!

 

I found the line for the cabs, & wondered how much it was going to cost to get to the hotel.  I wasn’t super worried because I knew it wasn’t far, but I had never taken a cab, & didn’t have a very good idea of prices.  So, I got in, & figured I could watch the meter, but it didn’t really matter because I had to get to the hotel either way.

 

Once we arrived, the cabbie turned to me & said, “I forgot to turn the meter on, so I can’t charge you anything.”

 

“So I owe you nothing?” I asked incredulously.

 

“I can’t charge you anything,” he emphasized.

 

And since I didn’t have a ballpark idea of cab prices, & I had a $5 in my pocket, I was the recipient of a $5 cab ride!