Flying Home
Dec. 30th, 2006 09:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
indigo_rose99The Short Version
Yesterday, T, Mom, Dad & I traveled from Seattle to home. I have had longer days. Not many, but some. They usually involve travel from another country. But no, this was all domestic flights. And usually, I am not very worried about the health of my traveling companions. Of course, I believe that this trip was only the third time I've ever traveled with more than one person (the others being flights with my parents when I was a kid or teenager).
All flights were delayed. There was much craziness and stress. We were supposed to arrive home about 11:30pm. We arrived home around 3am.
Yesterday, T, Mom, Dad & I traveled from Seattle to home. I have had longer days. Not many, but some. They usually involve travel from another country. But no, this was all domestic flights. And usually, I am not very worried about the health of my traveling companions. Of course, I believe that this trip was only the third time I've ever traveled with more than one person (the others being flights with my parents when I was a kid or teenager).
All flights were delayed. There was much craziness and stress. We were supposed to arrive home about 11:30pm. We arrived home around 3am.
The Longer Version
10:30am After a large breakfast with my friend Rebecca, we all pack up the rental car. This involves everyone but T (the driver) being buried in luggage. I had to navigate for him with the TomTom around a large bag in my lap. Mom and Dad doubled their luggage at the last second, and even an upgrade in rental car size could not easily accommodate it all. *sigh* Infrequent travelers.
11am Turn in rental car.
12pm Made it through security. T got a big kick out of seeing me stretched out as they did every thing short of a cavity search on me. The culprit turned out to be a packet of tea in one of my pockets. Evil tea!
2pm Our flight does not start loading. We check our boarding passes in bewilderment.
2:40pm Our flight should be taking off. Instead, there is an announcement that they are waiting for a missing part.
3pm Still "waiting for the part." Suggest that people go down to the official office and perhaps get put on later flights. Before she is finished talking, I was on my way. A wait in a short line (grew much longer behind me), they said that our flight out of San Jose was also delayed. She said that if our flight was not loading by 4:15, I should come back and they would reroute us.
4pm Got back in line.
4:15pm New twist on the message. There are no other flight options to get us home. Funny... There HAD been options the first time I went through this line... None for three days. T mildly freaks, citing Dad as "We have a 70-year-old Type I diabetic with us. We cannot wait three days! Do your thing." I so rarely get permission to Be The Bitch. *evil grin*
Alaska Airlines suggest that our best bet is to take the much-delayed flight to San Jose, and hope that our flight home has waited for us. It has weather delays.
Mom suggests renting a car and driving home. Ugh.
4:48pm Boarded at last! Yes!
Amazingly, an annoying screaming child in front AND back of Mom & Dad. I'm special! Usually those screaming children seem to follow me around.
5:05pm "Delayed for paperwork" Now 2 hours, 20 minutes past scheduled departure.
5:23pm Still "delayed for paperwork." No guesses on when to take off.
The guy behind me (also party of 4 transferring in San Jose to our flight home) optimistically believes the story that there is enough of us that the airlines will send us a bus and not make us transfer through security from one terminal to another.
He must not fly often.
5:35pm At last! Moving away from the gate!
5:45pm Actually taking off! Only 3 hours 5 minutes late. *sigh*
7:30pm Landed in San Jose. They let us of the plane first and said that there would be a bus to take us directly to our new flight. Given that we would otherwise have to change terminals and San Jose is one of the five worst (longest) security lines to get through in the US... I started feeling hopeful that we might make it home at this point.
7:50pm Watched our entire plane exit beside us while we stood (yes, stood!) on the tarmac. I actually enjoyed the jet engine as it covered the sound of the really bored child screaming his head off continuously. Watched the next flight board our plane....
And finally the bus came. They warned us to jump on the plane, grab the first seat and let the plane take off -- the flight attendants were about to be over time and get pulled. So if we didn't get on quickly enough, the flight would be... cancelled? Enormously delayed again?
But we took off. Yay!
1:30am Arrived in our home airport.
And then we waited for luggage. And waited. And waited. And waited.
There were mounds and piles of luggage everywhere. I took a 10 minute walk around the baggage area. None of the mounds were ours. And there were lots of people obviously waiting for luggage. At this hour of the morning??? I couldn't figure out why there were so many of both. Made no sense.
2:15am Finally got our luggage. A little wet, but otherwise intact. Home by 3am. Tried to talk Mom & Dad into staying with us rather than driving on home (they live 45 min beyond us).
You know how hotel sheets smell funny? Our sheets smell so much better... I slept really well for the first time since we left home. Yay, home!
10:30am After a large breakfast with my friend Rebecca, we all pack up the rental car. This involves everyone but T (the driver) being buried in luggage. I had to navigate for him with the TomTom around a large bag in my lap. Mom and Dad doubled their luggage at the last second, and even an upgrade in rental car size could not easily accommodate it all. *sigh* Infrequent travelers.
11am Turn in rental car.
12pm Made it through security. T got a big kick out of seeing me stretched out as they did every thing short of a cavity search on me. The culprit turned out to be a packet of tea in one of my pockets. Evil tea!
2pm Our flight does not start loading. We check our boarding passes in bewilderment.
2:40pm Our flight should be taking off. Instead, there is an announcement that they are waiting for a missing part.
3pm Still "waiting for the part." Suggest that people go down to the official office and perhaps get put on later flights. Before she is finished talking, I was on my way. A wait in a short line (grew much longer behind me), they said that our flight out of San Jose was also delayed. She said that if our flight was not loading by 4:15, I should come back and they would reroute us.
4pm Got back in line.
4:15pm New twist on the message. There are no other flight options to get us home. Funny... There HAD been options the first time I went through this line... None for three days. T mildly freaks, citing Dad as "We have a 70-year-old Type I diabetic with us. We cannot wait three days! Do your thing." I so rarely get permission to Be The Bitch. *evil grin*
Alaska Airlines suggest that our best bet is to take the much-delayed flight to San Jose, and hope that our flight home has waited for us. It has weather delays.
Mom suggests renting a car and driving home. Ugh.
4:48pm Boarded at last! Yes!
Amazingly, an annoying screaming child in front AND back of Mom & Dad. I'm special! Usually those screaming children seem to follow me around.
5:05pm "Delayed for paperwork" Now 2 hours, 20 minutes past scheduled departure.
5:23pm Still "delayed for paperwork." No guesses on when to take off.
The guy behind me (also party of 4 transferring in San Jose to our flight home) optimistically believes the story that there is enough of us that the airlines will send us a bus and not make us transfer through security from one terminal to another.
He must not fly often.
5:35pm At last! Moving away from the gate!
5:45pm Actually taking off! Only 3 hours 5 minutes late. *sigh*
7:30pm Landed in San Jose. They let us of the plane first and said that there would be a bus to take us directly to our new flight. Given that we would otherwise have to change terminals and San Jose is one of the five worst (longest) security lines to get through in the US... I started feeling hopeful that we might make it home at this point.
7:50pm Watched our entire plane exit beside us while we stood (yes, stood!) on the tarmac. I actually enjoyed the jet engine as it covered the sound of the really bored child screaming his head off continuously. Watched the next flight board our plane....
And finally the bus came. They warned us to jump on the plane, grab the first seat and let the plane take off -- the flight attendants were about to be over time and get pulled. So if we didn't get on quickly enough, the flight would be... cancelled? Enormously delayed again?
But we took off. Yay!
1:30am Arrived in our home airport.
And then we waited for luggage. And waited. And waited. And waited.
There were mounds and piles of luggage everywhere. I took a 10 minute walk around the baggage area. None of the mounds were ours. And there were lots of people obviously waiting for luggage. At this hour of the morning??? I couldn't figure out why there were so many of both. Made no sense.
2:15am Finally got our luggage. A little wet, but otherwise intact. Home by 3am. Tried to talk Mom & Dad into staying with us rather than driving on home (they live 45 min beyond us).
You know how hotel sheets smell funny? Our sheets smell so much better... I slept really well for the first time since we left home. Yay, home!
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no subject
Date: 2007-01-01 11:27 pm (UTC)This part made me laugh out loud. I'm so glad I have one of those, too. *grin* Glad you finally made it home and seem to still have a sense of humor about it.