Sunday, December 23, 2007

vacation part 2

Friday started out like any other day of the week except for the fact that we had to pack to go home. Before we showered, we got everything packed that could be and all was good. We showered, ate breakfast, went for our walk and came back to pack up the bathroom stuff. We were all ready to go by 9:30am but, didn't want to leave too early. We would have ended up sitting at the airport for hours.

Check out time was at 12 noon, but decided to check out at 10:30. I can't stand waiting around waiting. Everything was still good. We got to the airport before 11am but they didn't start the check ins until almost 12. We got our 2 bags checked went to the belt to pick up our luggage and proceed to the security check point. So far so good. Our boarding time was 1pm so, being early was good. Our plane came in and everyone on it got off, they cleaned the plane, filled it with gas, got the food on board and they started boarding at 1pm. When everyone was on the plane, we were waiting for clearance from the tower. While we were waiting, something went wrong with the navigational thing. They could still fly the plane but not into Philly because it was raining and visibility was 6 miles and I guess the FAA wouldn't let them fly into it with the plane like it was. So, we ended up being diverted to Charlotte, NC because that is the closest US Air hub. Charlotte also had the part they needed to fix the plane. Now, we had to had for a flight to plan and for the tower to ok us to take off. Keeping in mind everyone was still on the plane, and we didn't get to take off until 3pm. Taking 4 hours to get to Charlotte, it was going to take at least a half hour to put the new part in. It actually took a little longer than that because we ended up circling the airport waiting for our turn to land.

Everyone who had a connecting flight in Philly missed it. The pilot was trying to get some info from Charlotte airport about getting people connected to get them home. As it turns out, they would have had to go through security again because that's how the airport is set up. Philly isn't. So..instead of having everyone get off and have to go through all that, everyone stayed on the plane and waited for the plane to get fixed. By the time we got to Philly it must have been about 10:30pm. The pilot said it would take a little over an hour to get to Philly from Charlotte. Our ride was there and when we got home, it was about 11:30pm. We should have been home at 7:30. The flight crew gave us, mini pretzels, coffee, water, soda, chips, granola bars and they also said when got up in the air, we would get free drinks. They just couldn't open the liquor until we were up in the air. I didn't have one but, did have a soda. As it turned out, the weather in Charlotte was no better than that n Philly so, we really don't understand how they could fly into Charlotte but, not Philly. We did have lunch at some point. A chicken and walnut sandwich with chips. It was really good. When the flight attendant came by, I told her I wanted 2 sandwiches. One for me and one for Doug. They were $7.00 each. They had a limited amount of sandwiches and those in the back probably ended up with the other choice. Anyway, the attendant told me that they only had a limited amount and there would not be enough for everyone. She probably thought they were both for me. I let it go but, seeing as I am paying for it, should I not get what I want? Doug thought that they should have given us free sandwiches but, my way of thinking is that, at least we were getting something and I was getting hungry. We were half debating about eating at the airport before boarding but decided to wait until we were in the air because we had a big breakfast and weren't really hungry yet. A lot of people ate at the airport so, they didn't get anything.

It was frustrating to say the least but, everyone took it well and nobody got to the point of making a scene and getting kicked off the plane or worse. that's what I was afraid of.

We were actually talking about our next vacation trip but, not sure where. Do we take US Air again? Do we take Delta and hope they don't go on strike again like they did in 2000 and left us stranded in Florida for 3 more days? Do we take American Airlines and have a bird fly into the engine and have to change planes and have our luggage arrive a day later like we did when we went to Aruba on our honeymoon? We were half thinking about a cruise but, I don't know about that. The way our luck has been running traveling? No good can come of that either. lol Do we stay home? Not an option! lol

So this is one more story for the books. We have a few months to decide what we are going to do for next year. THIS should be good! lol

Until next time...
Bunny

2 comments:

Sandie said...

My first thought was that I hope the bathrooms were in working order on the plane. LOL I'm thinking they could land in Charlotte because the weather conditions were better than in Philly? And they had the needed part of course. Sorry you had such troubles, but the good part is you are home safe and had a great vacation.

k said...

Oh if you ever land in CHarlotte call me I'll be right over.:)
You are a true fiber artist -taking your things with....so glad you had a terriffic time.what a blessing to have shared with your beloved.
(((HUGS))
kathyg