Georgia on My Mind

If you will recall, I always have an adventurous time when I fly (If you missed these tales, just peruse the posts labeled "Flying").  Last month I had a meeting in Grand Rapids, & this trip was no exception...

I have a friend, Beth, who lives near Chicago who also would be attending the meeting, so I decided to fly to Chicago, stay with her for a day, then we'd drive down together for the meeting.  Another member of our meeting squad, Alicia, recently moved to BC, & we encouraged her to join us for our mini road trip, but she couldn't make it work.

I flew out to Chicago  Monday afternoon.  A straight shot, one flight, no problem.  We spent the next morning thrift shopping, & enjoying some delicious donuts.  My friend Allison used to live in PEI & now lives within a few miles of Beth, so Beth & I decided to go visit her for coffee that afternoon.  While we were there Beth keep getting texts from a number she didn't recognize.  After we left Allison's, she checked the messages, & they were from Alicia.  Her flight was delayed, then cancelled, & the airline wanted to fly her through Chicago, have her stay in a hotel overnight, then fly down to Grand Rapids.  The three of us decided a better, & more fun course of action would be for us to pick her up in Chicago, & she could drive down with us the next day.  Sometimes flight problems end up better than planned!

After our meetings, it was time to head home.  My flight plan was Grand Rapids-Atlanta-Calgary-Vancouver. I decided since I was travelling alone that I'd offer to be bumped.  I figured with 3 flights my chances were pretty good.

The first bump in the day was the security line.  I have NEXUS, so I can go through the Trusted Traveller line in the airport, but I have had it twice now in Grand Rapids that they do not view NEXUS as the same as TSA Pre-check, so I had to go through the regular line.  (I have since discovered when you're checking in online you have to enter your NEXUS number as the "Known Flyer Number", then I can use the quick line.  It's like they try to make it difficult!)  Now, whenever I go to the States, I usually stock up on some of the candies & foods that I can't get in Canada.  I had to take all the food out of my bags.  Apparently I forgot to remove the box of Suzy-Qs from my suitcase, so they had to open the suitcase, open the box & check them.  Then I had the joy of repacking them all.

When I got to Atlanta I went to the counter for my flight to Calgary which was scheduled for 5pm. They were over booked but didn't seem all that concerned about it.  There were several people in line trying to get seats on the flight.  There was a couple that the man had a seat, but the woman didn't, there was a lady trying to get tot Calgary for a transplant, & a few others. So when I got to the ticket agent I said, "I'd be willing to give up my seat."

The agent said, "You're volunteering?"

Me: "Sure, I'm not in a rush."

Agent: "Would you need a hotel?"

Me: "I don't think so."  I figured I'd maybe get a morning flight, but it's a lot of hassle to leave the airport & try to get a morning shuttle back in time for the flight.  I could handle a night in the airport.

The boarded all the other passengers & the ticket agent said, "Ok, see you tomorrow!"

Me: "What is my new flight info?"

Agent: "Same time, same place."

Me: "Oh... could I get some food vouchers?"

Agent: "I should be able to get you some.  Hang on."

He got on the phone to whoever deems people worthy of food vouchers, & he keep saying, "She volunteered."  Apparently, since I had not used the word "Bumped", & the airline had not asked for people to be "Bumped" I was just a kind soul who bequeathed her seat to a lady so she could fly with her husband...  The airline deemed me unworthy of food for my troubles.

The agent took pity on me & said, "Come with me."

So, I followed him a short way down the hall, to an ATM, where he took $20 out of his own account & gave it to me.

So, I had 24 hours to wait in the airport, & $20 American dollars!

I wandered around a bit, decided to have dinner at TGI Fridays (why NOT have a long leisurely supper, it's not like I was rushed for time!), then found a Delta customer service desk & attempted to become their new best friend.  Since it was still more than 12 hours before my flight, I had not been given a boarding pass, & no one could print me one since there was not a WetJet desk inside the terminal.  If I wanted to talk to WestJet personnel, I could leave the security area & go to the main area of the terminal, but I didn't want to get stuck outside of the area where the amenities were, & have to deal with re-entry, especially since I had no boarding pass.  It looked like I'd have to take some lessons from Tom Hanks in the movie "The Terminal".

I spoke with a few Delta agents, & they told me that since the ticket was WestJet, they couldn't rebook me on any other flights, only a WestJet person could.  Since I have a Canadian cell phone, they let me use one of their phones & call the WestJet helpline.  I spoke with a very pleasant man who tried in vain to help me, but since my flight was booked through a travel agent, even WestJet couldn't release my ticket to another airline.  He could rebook me on other flights, but the only way from Atlanta to Vancouver involved more stops than the one I had in Calgary, therefore it would cost the airline more to transfer me, so he was powerless.

He asked me, "How did you get yourself into this position?"

I said, "Apparently I 'volunteered' to give up my seat instead of being asked to be 'bumped'."

Agent: "Oh I'm sorry to hear that.  You sound like a very nice person though!"

Me: "Thanks!  Would you like to reward my kindness bu getting me out of here sooner than tomorrow at 5pm?"

Agent: "I would like to, but there's unfortunately nothing I can do."

So I went back to talk to the Delta ladies& they kindly gave me a blanket, a travel kit with toiletries, & told me where the area with the comfortable chairs was.  I headed that direction, since it was now 10pm, & I wanted to get a good spot.  The area I'd been told about had big wide cushioned seats that were moveable & didn't have armrests.  I maneuvered 2 chairs so I had comfy couch I could stretch out on.  I had my laptop with me, so I found a movie to watch & settled in for the night.  I managed to sleep quite well, despite the location of my accomodations.  About halfway through the night another traveller left their little couch/bed, & left behind a blanket & a pillow.  I snuck over & claimed them.  When I awoke in the morning I was very confused trying to figure out what had happened to the extra blanket & the pillow... Turns out, that was just a dream, there was no extra blanket or pillow, but perhaps I slept better since I believed I was warm & comfortable!

In the morning I made my way to McDonalds for a delicious Egg McMuffin, the breakfast of champions!  I still had 7 hours until my flight, so I decided to look for souvenirs & see if anything really got my attention...

Did you know there's a train in the Atlanta airport?

Did you know there's a moving walkway in the basement of the Atlanta airport?

Did you know one section of the basement is made to look and SOUND like a jungle in the Atlanta airport?

Did you know there are 7 concourses in the Atlanta airport?

Do you know the Concourses are labeled T, A, B, C, D, E, F?

I made it to every concourse except T.  I decided to leave something for next time.

I rode the train from one end to the other, around the end of the line (where you are supposed to get off, but I didn't feel like it).

I walked over 12 km (7miles) in the 24 hours I was in the Atlanta airport.

I ate at PF Chang's for the first time in my life while I was in the Atlanta airport.

I was given a free glass of champagne at PF Chang's while I was in the Atlanta airport!

I discovered I don't like champagne when I was at PF Chang's while I was in the Atlanta airport!

I discovered champagne is not improved by having Dr Pepper added to it when I was at PF Chang's while I was in the Atlanta airport!

I visited several souvenir shops, & found many different shirts...

Should I get a "Georgia" shirt?  No, I can't really say that I have seen much of Georgia.

Should I get an "Atlanta" shirt?  No, I haven't seen much of Atlanta either.

Then I found the souvenir I needed...

A hoodie, with the Atlanta airport code!

As I wandered around the airport I realized I had been in the airport too long.  I was beginning to get amused by the strangest things...

"No, YOU thart!"

Why did they choose to do the lettering colouring that way?  It made no sense to me...

It was getting closer to my departure time, so I headed off to my gate.  It was the same group of agents as the day before.  The $20 man said, "Are you finally going home?"

Me: "I'm going to try!"

Agent:" Well, the flight's pretty full, who knows, you could get another day here!"

Me: "Only if it's worth my while!"

Agent: "You should have waited about 10 minutes yesterday.  We would have asked people to be bumped & you could have been compensated."

Me: "NOW you tell me!"

Agent: "Yeah, when you volunteer you get nothing.  You got to be BUMPED!"

Amazingly they did not have more guests than seats, so I managed to make my way onto the flight.  I even got a window seat!

In Calgary we had to go through customs, & after that you exit into the main area of the terminal, & you have to go back through security to get your next flight.  I was in the "Trusted Travelers" line (I had read through all the rules during my stay in Atlanta, so I knew where to put int information in when I checked in).  I was waiting behind a mom with a crying toddler who was having some trouble getting all their stuff put on the table because of all the tears & sadness the child was bringing on her journey.  A man lined up behind me, & then a security agent came up with a woman in a wheelchair beside me, & the wheelchair lady's entourage.  The man behind me decided he had waited long enough, said, "excuse me," & pushed past until he was behind the crying toddler.

Now, remember, I had been in airports for about 30 hours at this point, so I may have been a little snippier than usual. I said, "We're all in line here."

Man: "Well, I was ahead of you."

Me: "No, you weren't, but by all means, go right ahead."

Man: "You came with the wheelchair."

Me: "No, I was here before them, waiting, but I'll go after you."

Man: "Oh, I thought you were with them."

Me: "I'm not."

Man: "Well, you can go ahead of me."

Me: "Thank you!"

After that I got through security, made it to my gate & on my flight without incident.  The only other issue with the flight was that apparently, everyone likes to take a carry-on suitcase now, since checked luggage costs money to take along.  However, there is not enough room for everyone's carry-ons, so they offer to check your luggage to your final destination at the gate, but it ends up on the carousel & you can't pick it up at the gate at the other end of your flight anymore.  I was very thankful to have not checked my luggage though while I was in Atlanta, since I could then change into clean clothes (I could have put my PJs on for the night, but I figured that was a step too far).  But in Calgary not enough people wanted their luggage gate checked, so the last 6 people's luggage didn't fit, & they had to take their suitcases all the way back to the agent for a tag to get checked, so our flight was about 20 minutes late.  The pilot even offered to give them "employee" tags so they could be picked up at the gate, & we could leave on time, but the agent wouldn't allow it.

So, I made it home, one day later than planned, but with lots of stories!  I still can't figure out why Chad is so averse to flying with me. It's always so exciting!

Homeward Bound

We arrived tired & hungry in Toronto around midnight. Wandered around & found Subway & had a snack. We had been told to go to a special area to sleep, & after going there we discovered there was a TV show filming there, so the area was closed, & the extra seating was also full. Eventually found a quiet spot with some heat vents to sleep on, & had a nap.

At 5 o'clock we parted ways with Luke & Tara so we could get through security & go to our gate for our 7 am departure. Boarded on time, & slept as best I could for most of the flight. Retrieved our luggage, & caught the shuttle to get our car.

Went home, dozed on the couch, got the lowdown from Mom & Dad about the week with the kids, made an easy supper, put the kids to bed, had a bath & early bedtime for us since we had essentially been up for 40 hours.

Overall it was a great trip, the people we met in Cuba were all wonderful. They were super friendly & the staff at the resort bent over backwards to help with whatever crazy request we had. It was great to spend time with Luke & Tara again, & for me to have a partner in crime as we went on our crazy adventures. I definitely want to go back to Cuba again at some point & experience more of the Cuban culture!

The Longest Day

Woke up & started packing things up. Met Luke & Tara on their way back from breakfast, they were going to pack, & we were going to eat! After breakfast we decided to check out of our rooms so we could get a jump on the rest of the crowd. Dropped off our bags by the front desk, & waited for Pablo the bellhop to put them in the locked room. Then Tara & I went to talk to Jorge at the towel stand to see if he had been able to find some Peso coins for me. In Cuba there are 2 currencies, the Tourist Pesos, & the Cuban Pesos. I had some of the Tourist Pesos, but I was trying to acquire a few of the Cuban Peso coins.

Jorge let me down! He totally forgot to look. Oh well, we stood & chatted to him for quite a while, & he managed to find a 1 Peso coin for me. He also showed us a ₱100 bill, & told us a lot of the history of Cuba revolutions, & who was pictured on the bills. He went to ask some other employees if they had any coins. Jorge gave me a ₱5 & ₱1 bill he had managed to find, & told me maybe I could get someone to trade with me.

We chatted a bit more & told him of my mistake telling Rollie about our candle, which Jorge thought was quite funny. I gave him a pack of Skittles for his troubles, & went in search of more cappuccinos.

At one point Ivan ran up to me with 2 more Peso coins for me, & a hug. I thanked him for finding them for me. We all 4 rotated between reading in the lobby, & wandering around the resort. The weather wasn't great again, so at least we weren't missing out on a good beach day, but it was not the most exciting day we have had here.

Tara & I asked at the front desk about some of the seeds we had founds on the trees.  She had found an odd shaped green seed & had even bit into it a bit, but we couldn't figure out what it was.  We were told it was an almond that wasn't ripe yet.  So I asked about the red seeds on the palm trees if they were the kind of seeds that were fed to pigs.  Immediately the desk clerk told us, "Don't eat them!"  I assured him, "I didn't eat them.  I only  tasted one a little bit, but it didn't taste very good, & I don't recommend it.".  He said, "Either you are ok, or you are a zombie!"

I ran into Pablo at one point & asked him about Peso coins, but all he had was a ₱20 bill. I offered to trade him for the ₱5 bill I had since I had 2, & he said that wasn't really a fair trade. He let me keep the ₱20 & the ₱5, & I gave him 2 decks of playing cards. He was pretty happy about that.

As it got later in the day closer to our departure time I decided it was time to get changed, so I asked Pablo if I could get my bag from the locked room. He let me in & I asked him about the 'hospitality room' to get changed in. He said, "Ask at the front desk... wait, do you need a shower, or just to change?" I said I was just going to change, so he offered to leave me locked in the room while he went to check on another room. So I quickly changed, & waited in the locked room. Chad thought that was a little strange, but it sure was convenient!

I had one last drink from my favourite bartender, & tipped him the few coins I had left telling him, "Lo siento, no tengo mas." He started singing, "No Tengo mas, no tengo mas!"

We got on the bus around 4:30, rode the hour to the airport, & waited to check in. At security I put my bag & phone onto the tray, & the man told me to take my watch off, so I did, then he said, "Look at me." I looked, & he said, "You have beautiful eyes!" I think that was a misuse of his authority, but I appreciated it!

We sat for 2 hours at the airport, but we did finally manage to find some nice shirts for the kids! Talked to a few of the vendor ladies, & traded the ₱5 bill for a ₱3 peso coin, two ₱1 coins, & a 20 cent. Another lady gave me a 20 cent, & a 5 cent. In the end I had ₱45.45 in Cuban Peso (which is only worth about $2US)!

We decided that on the plane the girls would sit together & the boys could sit together. I went to my seat to discover it was wet, so the stewardess told us to shift into the 2 seats next to us, since the flight wasn't full. Two older couples came to sit, & apparently we were in one of their seats, so we explained that the seat was wet & we had been told to move over. "That's not our problem!" one of them declared. We replied that we were happy to go wherever the stewardess wanted us.

One of the couples decided to move into the exit row, but the stewardess told them they had to sit in their assigned seats, & gave the exit row to Tara & I instead! The 2 of us chatted for awhile, then Tara went off to another row to sleep. The boys each had a whole row to themselves as well so we had lots of room to relax on the flight.

We're Going to Cuba!

Ever since Chad & I got married, we have talked about going to Cuba. Cuba has been calling to me ever since I married a Canadian, knowing that as soon as I got my Canadian passport I'd be able to go. The timing never really worked out until this year. We decided it was a good way to celebrate my 40th Birthday, & our 20th Anniversary, what better way to celebrate than to go with friends we had not seen since moving from PEI 3 years ago!

Chad & I got up at 330am to get to airport for 645 flight. Waking up early is never difficult when I'm heading to the airport for a fun trip! We flew to Toronto to meet up with our friends from PEI, & after wandering around the airport for a bit we found them, & had lunch together. As usual when I fly, we had a flight delay, but we were quite happy with that as it gave us more time for a leisurely lunch.

On the flight to Cuba I sat next to a lady who had been to Cuba 20 times, so I chatted with her a little bit about what to expect. We boarded a bus at the airport headed to several resorts. They were selling beer for the bus ride, but we were seated in the back of the bus, & didn't get offered before we left, which was good since it was dark, & the road was very bumpy.

We arrived at the Iberostar Daiquiri resort around 1030pm. Everyone was hungry, so we set out to find food. We went to "Mexican" restaurant at it was the only one open at that time. By the time we got there it was 11 o'clock. The waiter introduced himself as "Rollie", he was playing some music, & asked what our favorite band was. He mentioned he liked Guns n' Roses, so I said I liked the song "Sweet Child o' Mine". He went into the back & returned with his cell phone, then had his friend behind the bar call it. The ringtone was "Sweet Child o' Mine", & I had a new best friend! Next he brought his speaker to our table playing "November Rain" very loudly & asked me to dance. I had nothing better to do at the moment, so I did. Chad had been out getting his sweater since the restaurant was chilly, so when he came back to the restaurant, he was a bit confused as to what was happening!

After all the excitement we asked for some menus, & we were told the chef wasn't there yet. So we had to keep waiting for food. Once again Rollie came back, this time with the speaker playing "Sweet Child o' Mine", but I didn't want to dance, so I sang along instead, which delighted him to no end. Chad said he wasn't sure which was worse, that I knew all the words, or that I knew all the key changes as well! At the end of the song I moved the speaker to another table, & some guests came in & started singing along to it, & Rollie turned the speaker off & said it wasn't for them!
Then, after waiting about 40 minutes, we were served the only option of food... Ham & cheese buns, & fries.

According to Chad, it was the weirdest start to holidays ever!

Surprise, Dad!

Last weekend, my brothers & I flew to Seattle to surprise our Dad for his birthday.  The way our flights were scheduled, I was supposed to fly to Vancouver, then wait 4 hours before flying to Seattle.  My brothers were not excited about this, as it meant they would have to wait 2 hours for me to arrive before the 2 hour drive to my parents’ house.  In the weeks before the trip they kept telling me I should try to find an earlier flight, but the only one I could find would only allow for a 20 minute layover, which would not be enough time since I would have to go through a security check & customs in between flights.

 

My first flight was scheduled to leave Charlottetown at 6am, so I set my alarm for 4:45.  We live about 5 minutes from the airport, & I had checked in online, so I figured that would be enough time.  Inexplicably my alarm went off at 5:20 instead!  I quickly changed & woke PChad up, & he drove me to the airport.  The desk agent was not pleased to see me arrive so late, but I explained that I had already checked in, & just needed my boarding passes printed.  She printed them off, but told me I was too late to check my luggage.  That was fine since I had only a carry-on!

 

My next hurdle was security.  There were 4 security people, & I was the only person going through.  However, I was randomly selected for a second check, but it was simply for a hand swab, & it came back clear.  I made it on to the plane without incident & looked at my watch.  It was 5:35.  Incredible, but I don’t think I will press my luck like that in the future!  There was another passenger who came on the flight after I did, so at least they weren’t all waiting for me!

 

I flew through Toronto to Vancouver, & we had a good tail-wind & arrived 10 minutes early.  It was 10:50am.  I thought I’d try to make the 11:20 flight so I wouldn’t have to sit around for 4 hours, but I had to walk through a construction zone, security & customs yet.

 

Once I had made it to customs, I was surprised to find there was no line up of people waiting to speak to a border officer.  I quickly filled out my form & immediatly was called forward.  He asked where I was going, & where I had come from.  When I said, “PEI” his response was, “What’s that?”  So I explained that it was “Prince Edward Island”, & he told me to have a nice day!  I felt like running!  I’d never made it through customs so quickly & easily before!  Then I remember I DID need to run!

 

I made it to the gate for the 11:20 flight at 11:15.  I begged to be allowed on the flight, & the gate agent told me they they had not done a head count yet, so if I didn’t have any checked luggage, I could be put on the flight!  Wow, I’m not used to my flights working out so well!  I arrived in Seattle 2 hours before my brothers did, so they didn’t have to wait for me at all, which they were very happy about.

When we used to go to the airport with my parents, we always drove right past a Taco Bell, well I should say, we always STOPPED at the Taco Bell, because we rarely drove past it!  Since it had been airport tradition, we had all thought about delicious Taco Bell tacos, & we were all craving them at this point.  But, since we had rented a car, we left the airport a different way, so there was no Taco Bell in sight.  About 1/2 way home we remembered there was a Taco Bell off the freeway, so we stopped for a late afternoon snack.

When we pulled up the house, Dad had been mowing the lawn.  He had stopped for his every-afternoon-at-3-o’clock Mello Yello, so he & Mom happened to be in the garage.  Dad asked, “Who just pulled up in a red car?”  Mom knew that we were coming, but she didn’t know what time, so she said, “Maybe it’s Nick & Candy, they have a red car.”

Then, between the vehicles, Dad saw Brian come out of the car, then me, then Kurt.  At that point Dad was thinking, “That’s not Nick!”  He was shocked to see us.  Despite almost spilling the secret a few times, we all managed to surprise him!

 

We had a nice dinner of salmon & asparagus, then we walked to the beach.  One of the things we always do at the beach is flip over rocks to look for crabs, so since we aren’t about to buck tradition, we flipped rocks for crabs!

 

Then we went back home for angel food cake to celebrate the birthday boy!

Happy Birthday, Dad!

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!

Travel Trials

I took a quick trip to Michigan last week for a planning meeting.  When I travel to the States, bad things usually happen with my flights (like this, & that, & don’t forget this!) & this trip was not exempt.

I had heard that the US had eased their regulations on flying with small pocket knives, so I opted to bring my ever present  small Swiss Army Knife.  In Charlottetown, I put the knife in the x-ray bucket & it was returned to me, no problem.

I had a nice itinerary, a 6 am start, followed by a 9:30 flight landing at 11.  My meeting started at 5, so that gave me plenty of time to do a little Stateside shopping first.  When I was given my boarding passes, I noticed that my second flight was a 17:55 departure.  I brought it to the gate agent’s attention, she said the 9:30 flight had been taken off the schedule & that was the only one from Toronto to Grand Rapids.  I’d have to check in Toronto for an earlier flight through another hub.

Toronto’s security took my knife away.  I asked about the new regulations, but they said that only applied to flights within the US, not international flights.  When I told them that it hadn’t been a problem in Charlottetown, they couldn’t verify other airports’ policies, but for Toronto, knives are not ok…  Good to know.

In Toronto I was given a flight to Chicago, & was told there were 2 flights to Grand Rapids.  One at 11:30, & one at 14:00.  The 11:30 flight was full, but they told me to try for standby.  I would land around 10:45, so it would be cutting it close.  We started the flight by sitting on the runway for 30 minutes for our turn to take-off.

During this flight I was told that since I was flying so many miles in one day I qualified for a free snack item!  I had never had that before, so I was quite pleased to get my free bag of trail mix.  I ended up not eating it since I was full, but PChad & the kids seem to really enjoy it!

Of course when I landed in Chicago, it was in a different terminal & I had to wait for a shuttle to take me b/w terminals.  Once I arrived in the right terminal, & found the gate for the 11:30 flight, the plane was just backing away from the gate.  I just missed it by minutes!

I walked around choosing the best lunch option…  An Auntie Anne’s pretzel & Dr Pepper.  It helped soothe my wounded spirit.

I arrived in Grand Rapids around 5 & met another member of the team at the airport who had been on the same flight.  At least I wasn’t the only one arriving late!  We made it to the hotel only about 25 minutes late, & it wasn’t a problem, but I sure missed all the shopping time I had planned on!  After the meeting wrapped up that night I did have a chance to nip out to the grocery store next door & grab a few essentials like Pay Days & Milky Way Midnights!


Day 2 was full meeting day…  and I got the stomach flu.  It was joyous.  One of the perks of the trip was a Chinese meal at one of the best restaurants in Grand Rapids, but instead of going, I went to bed as soon as the meeting was over & slept 14 hours straight.  I awoke in the morning feeling a bit better & wondering what my travelling day home would end up entailing.

In Grand Rapids I was treated to a full body scan & they found the penny I had neglected to remove from my pocket.  The flight was on time with no problems to Cleveland.

I got a message from PChad’s cousin, who was also at the meeting, that her flight from Grand Rapids had been cancelled & she had 3 hours to kill.  I guess I must have passed on my bad luck to her!

Cleveland to Montreal, no problems!  But surely I’d be held up in the long lines at customs & miss my next flight…  Boy, was I surprised to find that our flight was the only flight in customs, & my little detour to the washroom meant that everyone ahead of me had already cleared out & I had a choice of which lane I could go through!

The Montreal to Charlottetown flight was super exciting, as we got to fly on a propeller plane, which is something I do not enjoy in the least.  It’s bumpy & noisy, but it was on time.  I also sat next to a fairly famous DJ, & despite having a conversation with her, in which she told me her name was DJ Kiss, & that she was coming to Charlottetown to spin at one of our top clubs, I had no idea just how famous she was until I saw in the newspaper that she’s quite the celebrity!  Well, I hope she enjoyed the anonymity I afforded her as I treated her as just another gal!

Travel Weary?

We were driving back from bringing Asher to school this morning, when Chancery informed me…

 

Chancery: “We flied in an airplane once.”

 

Me: “Where did we go?”

 

Chancery: “To Grandma Toots’ house…  No!  To Grandma V’s house!”

 

Me: “Yes, we flew to Grandma V’s house, then she drove us to Grandma Toots’ house, then we flew back home from there.”

 

Chancery: “Yes, & I watched TV on the airplane to refresh myself, because it was such a long ride on the airplane.  And I really like to watch TV!”

 

Me: “What did we do when we were at Grandma’s house?”

 

Chancery: “We had a bath, and I liked it!  And we ate there… and that’s so funny that I can’t even laugh!”

Trip Recap

I feel like it’s been forever since I blogged, but it has been a crazy week.  I got the call from my Mom last Monday that my Grandpa had died at the age of 96.  He had a good long life, & my Grandma dies 3 years ago, so he was ready to re-join her.

 

I flew out to Montana for the funeral & to see all the family gathered there.  PChad & the kids stayed behind, as the price of airline tickets was astronomical.  I managed to save a bit of money by taking the most indirect route on the planet, by driving to Halifax, then flying to NY, Salt Lake, & then Montana.  The trip out there took 20 hours.  It was long, but pretty uneventful.  I had ample time to finish the book I had brought along.

 

My brothers

 

For me, there wasn’t much to be sad about at the funeral.  My Grandpa was a Christian, & he’d lived 96 years.  His last few months had been hard & he’d suffered some illnesses.  He was ready to go on to glory.  I had a GREAT time with my cousins, & Aunts & Uncles.  My Uncle & his family live on a ranch in the hills, so we had a chance to go quading as a group one day & we also tagged some new calves.  It was nice to do some ‘country’ things again.

 

And, of course we ate some awesome food.  We ate at Famous Dave’s, & IHOP, & we also had many, many ham buns!

 

One of my Mom’s cousins had us all over for pizza one evening, & it was a fun night with lots of laughter.  We always have a great time when we all get together, but unfortunately it happens far too infrequently.

I really do love my extended family, & I’m glad I had this opportunity to spend a long weekend with them.  As we have married, & had kids, we seem to have all spread out across the country, so we don’t get to see each other near often enough.

 

After all that fun, it was time to head back home.  I find that flying out on a trip is always a bit of fun (think of the tales I’ve had to tell!), but flying home just doesn’t have the same excitement to it.  Perhaps that’s just because my flights home were routed even worse than my flights to Montana.

 

I started out at 4:30 for my 6am flight to Minneapolis.  That wasn’t so bad, early morning flights are never pleasant, but it was uneventful.  From there, I headed to Orlando.  No, I don’t know why, & I tried to get my ticket changed, but they gave me some song & dance about since I bought a cheaper ticket, I had to suffer on their airlines all day (I think that was the underlying message anyways).  In Orlando, I must have been on the wrong side of the plane, because I didn’t even get a glimpse of Disney, then I walked off my plane only to walk across the hallway & immediately board my next flight, taking me to lovely NY!

 

In NY I had a 3 hour layover, so I had a chance to walk around a bit & dine casually at a restaurant.  I had never had the opportunity to relax over a meal in an airport like that before, so I took the chance, but I think they must have rented to seats by the minute, because I paid dearly for my efforts.

 

I flew from NY to Halifax & for the first time, I had an empty seat next to me, so I spread out & relaxed for a bit in preparation for my 3 hour drive home.  I rolled in to town around 2:30am.  It’s good being back home, but I think it’s time to start planning the next family reunion!

Lovely Knife

When I was in high school, one Christmas I asked my parents for a pocket-knife.  I was a bit disappointed when I received the smallest possible Swiss Army Knife ever…

But I started carrying it around & it proved it’s usefulness time & time again.  It’s been used to cut the wayward strings off clothes, trim & file fingernails, remove splinters, & of course open packages.  When the kids’ toys need new batteries, I don’t have to search for a screwdriver to remove the battery covers.  When I worked in retail, I never had to borrow someone’s box-knife to open the tape on boxes.  It’s handy, & it’s useful.

Yesterday’s post about Asher locking my doorknob resulted in many comments advising buying a new knob for the door.  I had come to the same conclusion LAST time Asher locked the door, requiring a locksmith to open it.  IN fact we had it all figured out that we could take the knob & trade it for one on the storage room, since the storage room has 2 doors.  Even if Asher (or someone else) inadvertently locked the door, we could go in the other door & unlock it, no problem.  We just hadn’t gotten around to switching the doorknobs yet.

Sunday night, I set about trading the knobs.  I figured if we left it again, we’d be out another $40 in about a year’s time when someone had the bright idea to try it again.

I decided it was time to switch the knobs right then & there.  Since I always have a little knife in my pocket, I thought I’d try using that.  I got the basement knob off quite easily, I decided to trade knobs with Asher’s bedroom door too, so we could get the push-lock knob back on our door instead of his.  That knob was pretty easily removed & replaced as well, but when it came time to remove the offending key-lock on our door, it seemed that the bolting mechanism was a bit too big, so it had been jammed into the hole of the door quite tightly.

I almost had to get a real screwdriver…

PChad came to see what I was doing about half-way through & inquired about my choice of tools.  But my little knife was working fine, & it was handy when I started the project.

And when all was said & done, how many tools can boast being able to change 3 doorknobs, file fingernails, remove a sliver, & clean your teeth?

I’ve had to replace my original knife about 6 times due to forgetting to remove it from my pocket before flying.  I’ve had it in red, cobalt, & sapphire, mainly due to whatever colour happens to be available when I’m picking up a new one.


But I just discovered the new summer line… aren’t they pretty?

Flying Lessons

A few years ago, I wrote about taking a trip to my Grandmother's funeral as being the worst trip I'd ever experienced.  Well, yesterday certainly topped it.

The kids & I are visiting my family for a few weeks, so we flew out yesterday morning at 6:30am to Toronto.  When we arrived in Toronto, we had to go pick up our luggage in order to take it through customs to enter The States.  When we got to the luggage carousel, we had a short wait for our suitcases, but Chancery's carseat didn't appear to be forthcoming.  So I went to ask a customer service rep. if it might be in a different spot since it's a large, bulky item.  They looked for it, looked on the computer for it & discovered that somewhere between Charlottetown & Toronto it was lost, but they asked me to wait a few more minutes just in case it showed up, since you are supposed to take all of your luggage through customs yourself.  At this point I tried to call PChad to tell him the humourous tale that the carseat was missing, but alas, I couldn't reach him on the phone.  My next flight was leaving in 1 hour, so I told the baggage people that I had to go.  The told me to look for it once I got to my destination & if it didn't show up, to put in a "lost luggage" form.

So, the kids & I headed off to clear customs.  Of course my passport was "randomly flagged" for further questioning.  We were ushered off to a small waiting area while the border guards thought up a bunch of questions about my parents, & finally they came to ask me what I did for a living & if I'd been to the Middle East.  As a final comment, the officer left me with this gem, "Just so you know, your flight started boarding 1/2 a hour ago.  I'm pretty sure you've missed your flight.  Sorry about that."  Though he didn't seem to be the least bit sorry.

The kids & I managed to get thought security & to our gate with 2 minutes to spare before the flight was supposed to leave, but the door was closed, the plane was gone, & there was no one at the counter.  So off to customer service we went.  I was told there was another direct flight at 5pm, but seeing as it was only 9:30 in the morning, I didn't feel like waiting that long if I didn't have to.

The other option was to fly to Vancouver, & then to Seattle, arriving at 3 pm.  I asked if I'd have to go through US customs again to do that & was informed that I would, & in addition, I'd also have to go though Canada customs in Toronto.  I decided to take my chances & got the new tickets.  The woman ushered the kids & I off to the secure area where incoming  international flights' arrivals go, directed us to the elevators since we had the stroller, & then she left.  We walked down the short hallway to discover there were doors leading into the elevators, which were magnetically sealed, so we turned around to take the escalator...  To discover there were more doors which were also locked.  We then headed back to the door we had come in, to find that it was locked as well.  So we were trapped in a glass cage.  I may, or may not have lost it then.  A kind gentleman saw my plight & went to find someone to let us out.

We made it back though Canada customs uneventfully, retrieved our luggage once again, got new luggage tags, put them on another belt & were off to find our gate for our flight to Vancouver.  Much to Asher's delight, I asked a golf cart driver for a lift, so we sped off to the gate, a kind traveller let us cut in line ahead of her, we boarded the plane & were off!  The flight was relatively uneventful, we watched TV, changed a few diapers, threatened eachother not to take off seatbelts anymore, you know, the usual.

In Vancouver, we found a pay phone to let my parents know why we they couldn't find us at the airport (we were 2 hours later than they anticipated at that point), but that we should be there by 3 (instead of 11:30).  We then headed off to security, were held up due to a forgotten Swiss Army knife, & had to fill out paperwork for that (did I mention we had a hour until our flight left?).  We made it through, & were off to customs.  Once again, we were pulled aside for more questioning (doesn't seem like such a random thing anymore, does it?) due to the fact that Asher & I have US passports & Chancery has a Canadian one.  I think they also had an issue with the fact that we were flying into The States, but driving back, so we had no documentation proving that we planned on leaving (trust me, at this point, I was ready to tell them I didn't even want to enter The States anymore).

Once again, we were told that we had most likely missed our flight, but there was another one leaving at 4 (an hour & 1/2 later).  AS I passed the departures board, I noticed the 4pm flight was cancelled (of course!), and the next one was at 6pm (at least Chancery would have a chance to get out of the stroller & Asher might have a chance to get to the washroom).  But we got to the gate & much to my surprise, the 2:30 flight we were scheduled on, was delayed 45 minutes!  Finally, something had gone my way!  We had 10 minutes before boarding time, so Chancery was released from her confines & given a chance to be bullied by Asher for a few moments.  Asher took the opportunity to knock a gentleman's suitcase over onto another child who happened to be nearby, spilling the man's documents everywhere.

We had a short flight from Vancouver to Seattle, finally we made it!  I went to file a "lost luggage" form to discover that the airline's policy is to give a new carseat instead of loaning you one (I was glad at that point, that I had decided to take the older carseat for Chancery, which was already a little broken from the last time we had flown with it).  If my old one does get found at some point, they'll send it back to me too, not that I really care about it at this point.

My parents asked if we still wanted to go out for a meal as originally planned.  I told them that we really, really needed to since the kids & I had gotten up at 1am local time & had been travelling ever since (it was now 5pm), and all we had eaten was raisins, dry Corn Pops, & fish crackers all day.  We had literally run through airports all day & not had a chance to stop for anything.  I was really glad I had packed such large quantities, because we were nearly out of food.  Also, the kids had not slept a wink all day, but they did remarkably well considering the circumstances.  But gone are the days of leisurely reading a book on a flight.

I was just really glad that my day ended with a trip to Taco Bell, complete with Dr Pepper in the soda fountain.  Don't you wish you could travel like me?

Lost Luggage

When my family came to visit us last summer, my brother's bag got lost in transit. It was a bag that they planned on taking on the plane, but once they found out that they wouldn't have to pay the additional bag charge, they decided to check it. Unfortunately, it contained Brenda's spare glasses & both their coats.

When they discovered that it had not made it to the airport, they filled out the appropriate forms & were told that the bag had made it to the lay-over, but hadn't been put on the second plane. They were also told that it would be sent on the next flight, the next day.

When it didn't show up again, Brian made numerous calls & finally 5 days later, was told the airline would reimburse them up to a certain amount, for buying new coats, toiletries, whatever they needed.

After their wee of holidays was over, they went home & still had no idea where their bag actually was. About 10 days after they got home, their wandering bag was returned to them. Due to a error in the paperwork, a few weeks later, they also received cheques from the airline to replace the lost bag. When Brian called to tell them that the bag had actually been returned to them, the airline told them to keep the cheques anyway.

The lost luggage debacle of 2009 was not a fun one. It made the holiday slightly less enjoyable for all involved, but it could have been worse...

United Airlines famously broke David Carroll's guitar a few years ago & he wrote a song about it that has received much attention on YouTube, but now United has managed to lose his bag as well.

Here's the song:

A Tactical Error

Dear Stewardess-On-Flight-With-Broken-TVs,

I realize that it wasn't your fault that the televisions weren't working on our flight the other day. It was also unfortunate that the woman sitting across the aisle from myself had encountered this problem on the last 4 flights with your company.

I thought your approach of offering alcoholic drinks to those without working televisions was perhaps a good plan, though the woman-seated-across-the-aisle did not agree. In fact, when she said it was a "poor choice of compensation" I though she was just being a bit grumpy, & perhaps she should have taken you up on the offer. But when you then turned to me a short time later & noticed that my television wasn't working, I think it would have been a wise choice on your part, to also notice that I was travelling alone with a nearly 3 year old & a 10 month old, so perhaps your judgement was clouded when you offered me a choice of alcoholic beverage. I think, perhaps, that you could have offered a food item & maybe that would have smoothed things over with the woman-across-the-aisle.

When you sent the other stewardess (who was clearly in the late stages of her pregnancy) to chat with the woman-across-the-aisle, that might have seemed like a smart move at the time, & perhaps it worked for you, since you passed the grumpy customer off to your co-worker, but the pregnant stewardess' relational skills were a bit lacking.

As I overheard the stewardess tell the woman-across-the-aisle, "we have already re-booted the system 3 times & if we do it again, it's a safely issue," I thought it sounded good, but apparently the stewardess didn't know who she was up against b/c I heard the woman-across-the-aisle say, "I am aware of how many times it can be re-booted."

That was where your co-worker (the pregnant stewardess) faltered. When you follow up a statement like that with, "Well, you are very knowledgeable for a customer!" You are doomed to failure & it's really no wonder that the woman-across-the-aisle decided to swear off your company & fly with the competitor from now on.

A Compelling Argument?

Dear Sir Sitting Ahead Of Us On The Plane Yesterday,

I, firstly, would like to apologize for my son kicking the back of your seat for the duration of the 4.5 hour flight. I was, however, doing my best to keep him from doing so, whilst also attending to the needs of my 10 month old daughter who was seated on my lap.

I found your approach to be a little counterproductive. If you would like the action to stop, perhaps you should not reward the infraction by grabbing & shaking the child's foot playfully each time he violates the "non-seat-kicking code of conduct".

Also, when you finally turned around to speak to the culprit, perhaps you should have first assessed his approximate age before you began your argument. Your plea that he should stop kicking your seat "because it bothers me when you kick my seat," while compelling, does not hold water with a nearly 3 year old boy.

Thank you for your understanding,
Dominee Huisvrouw

p.s. once you turned around to speak to us, it was your own fault that he saw fit to keep asking, "What is your name, Man?" and "What is your name, Man-Sitting-Up-There?" And, no, telling him your name once, really wasn't enough. Welcome to a day in my life.

Online House Shopping

In September we will be moving out to Prince Edward Island. After much deliberation & prayer we accepted the call to go out there. So after the baby is born at the end of August we'll be making preparations to make a very loooong road trip from Alberta to PEI. We must have a masochistic side.

So, in the mean time Chad & I are planning on flying out to PEI next week for a week to go house hunting. We've been in contact w/ a realtor out there who has sent us property info for over 25 homes & we've been trying to narrow that down to about 10 to start looking at when we get there next week. It's quite a difficult proposition. Some of the hosues really sound great & then you start to look through the pictures only to discover that the house was decorated in the 70's complete w/ green, brown, & copper carpeting. The walls were papered w/ rust & brown striped wallpaper w/ floral bouquets. The cupboards are an appealing stained plywood......

Other houses are really hard to figure out b/c you have no layout of the house you are left to a few pictures & your imagination to try to figure out if the kitchen is near the living room or not. Some houses only have a few pictures of the outside & a picture of the kitchen. None of the bedrooms or the rest of the house.

I think we've got our short list now, I hope we find something we really will like while we are there next week. Of course, my main concern is that "Baby X" will wait at leat until August to make it's appearance b/c anything earlier than that & we may have a PEI baby instead of an Albertan! Yikes!

Back in Canada

Have you ever felt like you've been in transit all day? We left G&M's at 8am to go to Gatwick. We got there at about 10, & our flight was scheduled for 11:45. By the time we were checked in it was time to go through security.

I usually leave Asher's drink in the diaper bag simply b/c it's easier. There's enough other stuff that we have to do that I don't mind them having to check it after wards as it gives us a chance to get all our shoes on, the laptop put away, Asher in the stroller, & all our bags situated again. Well, the lady had to do a swipe of the bag w/ her little kleenex thing & then check the cloth in the scanner. When she did so, the scanner beeped & printed out a little report so she had to call over her supervisor who then had to question us & she had to re-swipe the bag. The second time it didn't go off, however I had noticed while she was waiting to check the bag that her cloth thing was already quite dirty, so I think it was from someone else's stuff, but it didn't really matter anyway.

I did find it quite humorous however that the supervisor's first question was “who does this bag belong to?” Well, truthfully Chad & I answered that it was Asher's, so the man said to Asher, “well young man, you have some questions to answer here,” before he actually began to question Chad.

Once we were through security we began to look for a place to get some food, but the only places in the area were travel items, clothing, Harrod's, cosmetics & alcohol, so we decided to head toward our gate figuring we'd find something out there. Costa Coffee was the only thing to be found, so we settled for a few muffins & smoothies.

They began boarding our plane about 10 minutes after we had finished eating, so we really didn't have much time to let Asher run around before we got on the flight, but it couldn't be helped. Once we were on board we discovered we were in row 4, just one row behind first class. I wasn't sure it was a great place to be sitting, but it worked out ok. Our luggage had to all be put up top, which was kind of annoying, but the people behind us didn't have anything under the seats, so we could shove our shoes under the seats & it also gave Asher more room to muck about.

It took about 10 minutes for Asher to fall asleep & he slept for over 2 hours. It gave Chad time to sleep & I had a chance to watch "The Bucket List." I was quite glad that I didn't have to pay for it since I didn't find it to be that great of a movie. Out of a 7+ hour flight that was the only bit that Asher slept for, but he was pretty well behaved, so we didn't mind too much.

When we got to Toronto, we called the hotel that we had parked at, so they could send a shuttle to get us. Once we were at the hotel they told me they said we had no reservation, so I showed her my confirmation paper, & she asked if it had been confirmed when we had arrived. I said yes, & she then told me that nothing had been booked, but she booked us in, so it was ok. She was in a bit of a snarky mood I had noticed. The man behind me asked her something & she directed him to the lifts. He turned & didn't see them, so he asked her where they were. Her response was, “the brown things right behind you.”

We got settled in our room & then went to find a place to eat even though it was only 4pm local time, it was 9pm London time. We didn't find much at first, it seemed we were in a bit of an industrial area, but then we saw a billboard for Denny's, so we went there for dinner. When we pulled up to the restaurant I enthusiastically told Asher we were going to Denny's b/c there was a McDonald's right across the parking lot. Asher fell for it! He noticed the McDonald's, but wasn't overly upset that we weren't eating there.

After dinner we went back to the hotel for the promised swimming! I had been looking forward to that since I booked the hotel. Asher wasn't quite sure about the big pool, he got as far as the 2^nd step & wasn't sure he wanted to go any further. Perhaps having a Rubbermaid container for a bathtub is giving him a fear of big water. But once we started having him jump into the water to Chad he was ok.

Next on the agenda was a bath for me, since it is a luxury I seldom get these days. We got into the room to discover that the plug on the tub was broken! Arrrgh! I called the front desk & they said they'd send maintenance. I was pleasantly surprised to hear them knock a mere 10 minutes later. Chad figured they knew I was trying to have a bath right then, so they sent him quickly. I had a very enjoyable soak in the tub. It's now 7pm & I'm off to bed!

The Worst Trip in History

We have finally returned home after the worst travelling experience I have ever had. We went to Montana for my Grandma's funeral. The actual time we had there was wonderful. We enjoyed spending time with my family, and all 11 of my cousins were together for the first time in 17 years.

We left on Tuesday afternoon last week to go to a hotel in Detroit as our flight out was early on Wednesday morning. We got to the border in Port Huron only to have Chad's Passport set the alarm off. An officer took our passports away and we were escorted to a parking spot. An officer held a stick in front of the car and instructed us to drive right beside us. Apparently Chad was a flight risk! He had inadvertently turned in his Student Visa when we moved to Canada for the internship, but he should have kept it b/c he's still technically a student. We spent an hour explaining to an immigration officer what happened, and he finally let us go.

We went to the hotel that I had reserved on-line, to discover that it was a MOTEL of the lowest form. We decided to continue to the hotel we had previously stayed at. When I called to cancel the first hotel I was told that we should come see the rooms for ourselves (I told the lady her hotel looked dumpy so we wouldn't be staying there). I said we had, and she then told me that I'd be charged for the room anyway...... chalk it up to experience. We'll be sticking with our old favourite from now on. I paid for 2 nights, one before our trip and one after our trip.... I don't suggest this for the future (more on this later).

Wednesday morning we arrived at the airport bright and early for our 8am flight to be delayed, then cancelled for mechanical problems. The next flight they could put us on would be the next morning, could we go home? Chad said "not a chance, I'm not crossing the border again!" We asked about other airlines and got put on a Delta flight at 4pm. The check-in lady comforted us by informing us that Delta was in the "nicer, newer terminal fully equipped with children's play areas." We got our luggage off the carousel and headed to the "nicer, newer" terminal. We were told we had to wait to check-in as you are not allowed to check-in more than 6 hours before your flight. Luckily at this point we only had about 1/2 an hour to wait.

When we finally got rid of our luggage again, we headed to security. Off came the coats, shoes, out came the liquids, laptop, fold the stroller.... it's much worse when you travel with a little one! The security officer informed us we had been flagged for extra screening. Sure, why not?

Twenty minutes later we were on our way to find a child's playplace. Chad & I had visions of mall-style play areas like we've seen in the Seattle airport..... Little did we know. We passed 2 play areas before we discovered their definition was quite different from ours. The play area consisted of a Little Tykes House. Asher enjoyed it for awhile. Not 8 hours worth, but it was better than no play area at all.

After many hours of bliss, we were boarded onto our plane and off we went. Asher must have decided it was night time b/c he fell into a deep sleep that lasted most of our 4 hour flight. Our layover was surprisingly uneventful. We arrived in Montana and awaited the arrival of our 3 suitcases & carseat. We received 2 suitcases (one with a large hole where the wheel used to be). After discussing with the ticketing agent that the hole was not there to begin with we were informed that wheels are not covered by the airlines. Chad found our other suitcase, but the carseat remained unaccounted for. We were sent to our hotel with promises of a carseat exchange by the next day.

We had a great time. My brothers were there, we had an adjoining room with my parents, so we could send Asher in to visit them, the only complaint was the pool was a bit chilly.....

Our flight out of Montana was at 5pm and check-out was 1pm. I asked the desk clerk if we could have a late check-out of 3:30 so Asher could get a nap, and she said that would be fine and put a note to that effect in the computer. We put Asher down, decided we should sleep too since we would be getting back late.
-1:10, the maid calls, "Will you be staying or leaving?" I told her we were having a late check-out of 3:30. "OK"
-1:20, "Hi, this is the front desk, your check-out time is 1pm." I told her the situation only to be informed that since check-in was at 3 we could stay no longer than 3 or we'd be charged for another night. "Fine, we'll leave at 3."
Asher of course woke through all these calls, so the nap was not as we had planned.

We went to the airport to await our outbound flight. 5 minutes before departure, no plane. The board finally switches to let us know we'll be 1 hour late.... 1 hour later, same thing happens again. At this point I know we're going to miss our connection so I go the the check-in to see if I can rebook. Apparently the flight we were on at 7pm was the last one for the night and the next one they could get us on is 10am. The lady tries to convince me to go back to the hotel and catch a 6am flight from Montana to get the 10am connection. We decided we'd like to get as far as we could in order not to get stuck in the tiny airport in Montana.

We missed our connection, and stood for an hour to get rebooked on the 10am flight. Since it was a weather delay the airline wouldn't put us up, but gave us a hotel discount voucher. We headed for the hotel shuttle area to be informed that our hotel's shuttle came every 1/2 hour, and we had just missed one. When it finally came it was quite full already, not too sure where all the people on the bus came from, but they had to turn people away. This is the point where I was very glad to have Asher along, as there were protestations that the baby had to be allowed on the bus, so we got squished on.

We got to our gorgeous hotel around 11pm, and headed straight to bed, but where was the crib we ordered? 10 minutes later I called for it to be informed that they hadn't received an order for one. It finally came about 10 minutes after that.

Tuesday morning we awoke bright and early to catch the 7am shuttle from the hotel to the airport. We almost caught the 6:30 shuttle, but we were too slow in putting our coats on. The 7am arrived on time loaded with people. They had room for 5 passengers, and were taking crew members first. There were 5 crew members, we didn't have a chance. There was a guy who apparently worked for the airline that kicked up a fuss and said this thing happens every morning and he had to get to work same as everyone else, he pushed his way onto the bus and there was a bit of a scuffle, but that was all they took.

One man got so irate he yelled at the manager, the guest services guy, and anyone else who looked like they worked for the hotel. The manager wanted to call a cab and have the hotel pay for it just to get rid of the guy. That would have been a pretty costly cab fare though, since we were about 1/2 an hour from the airport. The irate guy said there were 2 more busses out there and he was going to take the keys and drive them himself! He signed up for the 7 o'clock bus, and what's the point of a list if you don't honour it?

Around 7:20 another bus showed up and the manager rushed out to tell the driver to take us all aboard and get going. The driver protested that he was the 7:30 bus, but the manager said if he didn't go he'd have a riot situation on his hands, so off we finally went!

We got to the airport to discover that the lines for security were quite long, so we decided to eat at the Burger King before we got in line. I was quite chuffed to discover that a restaurant had the foresight to have a kid's meal on the breakfast menu! I always think that would be really smart, well, BK is really smart! :)

After eating, we got in the security line and in about 10 minutes we were through! The security personnel were really efficient (although they did dump out Asher's water. Apparently juice is allowed, but not water for kids). We boarded out flight on time, and we were on our way home!

We arrived at the hotel around 3:30pm, and since we had missed our flight, they had changed our reservation to the next night. Since it was early afternoon we didn't really need the room anymore, so I asked if I could have my money back. "No, we can't refund." I asked if I could get a voucher for the credit. "No, unfortunately not." What he could do is change my reservation for a few months out, so I can call to change it and stay there again, but if I don't use it w/in 6 months I lose my money. If you're flying out of Detroit in the next few months, let me know, and you can have my room.

We were supposed to be back home in Strathroy by 5pm for the Youth Group's Pancake dinner, but it was over at 7, and that's about when we got home. Asher went to bed shortly thereafter, and slept 'til 8:30!

We are home, and happy to be here. Chad says no more air travel in the States..... we'll see how far that gets us!