Tales from our Travel

For those of you who know me well know I love to travel, but I HATE to fly. We typically fly 3-4 times a year and each time I say I will NEVER do it again, but I always do. This time will probably be no exception. Please don't try to reason with me about how safe it is to fly... I KNOW!!! Please don't try to reason about how much quicker it it... I KNOW!!!! Just let me rant about my airline experiences. I'm sure that 2 weeks from now I will get back on a plane and come home, just like I ALWAYS do.

So, I booked a flight for 7:25 am (seemed like a good idea at the time) so that we could have an extra 1/2 day here to visit. The boys and I got up early this morning and left with time to go to McDonald's drive-thru for breakfast. As I pulled in to McDonald's I realize I have left my medicine at home. I call Scott and he is luckily still home and has time to bring it to me before work. Now we are running late because I had to wait for him to meet us. We get to the airport about 45 minutes before our flight, check our luggage, and clear security with no problems. (If you have ever been to our airport, you know how small it really is). At this point, I look out the window at our waiting aircraft. Let me reiterate... I HATE TO FLY... especially when my "jet" actually turns out to be a "prop" plane. I asked if that was really our plane and find out "yes" it really is. I'm beginning to get a little upset about this. At this point, the gate agent should have stopped talking, but he didn't. I learned that the flight was cancelled last night due to mechanical problems. If you know our little airport this should scare you. I'm thinking, am I to really believe someone in our town was able to repair a plane between the hours of 10 pm and 6 am??? It it now time to board our plane. It is packed (we looked like sardines). The flight attendant comes through the cabin multiple times counting and re-counting passengers. At this point I realize they are trying to calculate the weight. They begin to have passengers change seats. Any guesses as to what they are doing??? Yep, they are trying to balance the weight of the plane. I kept waiting for the announcement that the plane was overweight and they would compensate passengers for the flight, but it never came. We finally leave about 10 minutes late and have a smooth flight. We have a 2 hour layover in Dallas, so plenty of time for a snack and to play. Time to board flight #2. Remember I HATE TO FLY. This time we have a small jet. I'm a little more comfortable at this point. We are seated and I'm getting the boys settled in their seats. I look up to see Maintenance board the plane. ARE YOU SERIOUS??? The pilot and maintenance talk, maintenance leaves, maintenance returns- more talk, maintenance leaves, maintenance returns- more talk- by this time the pilot seems a little angry. I over heard him say, "I'm not taking this plane like this". Okay, can I PLEASE get off now. Maintenance leaves again and then the supervisor comes on board. More heated talking. REALLY I'll just get off now. The boys and I can live in the airport. It's really okay with me... PLEASE Finally, the pilot announces that there is a problem with our fuel. Okay, to me this is a BIG problem. The fuel crew is on the way back out to take care of the issue, but we will be delayed at least 20 minutes. Apparently, when they fueled the plane they put 800 pounds in the tank on the right and none in the left tank. The pilot is concerned about the weight imbalance and the ability of the plane to fly like this, so we will be getting extra fuel, which of course means our plane has a weight issues again. REALLY!!! Finally, we get out about 30 minutes late, but did manage to land only 10 minutes late. I am now on the ground, safe and happy. I went to baggage claim to get our luggage, only to find that Daniel's car seat didn't make the flight and should arrive in about 4 hours. They will be happy to deliver it to me when it arrives. Apparently this is a common problem as they had a carseat to loan me. It is now almost 10 pm. (10 hours after my flight) and I'm still waiting for the carseat to arrive.

Wait till you hear about my experience with the rental car. I think I might have a "black cloud" following me around.