My first flight from hell…..
Well, here I am on the flight to San Francisco (SF), a nice cold chardonnay next to me, and I need it, and the 8 or so before it, lol. It’s been a day of traveling hell.
This morning I left the hotel at Puerto Vallarta in Mexico at 11.30am for a 1.30pm departure to Dallas to then fly to SF, I had checked online and the flight was on time.
Well unfortunately it wasn’t, so I had an additional 2 hour wait at the airport, barely any air-conditioning, no lounge to access, and a massively crowded airport. The only comforting thing was watching the economy passengers having all their checked in luggage checked by security by hand, every piece opened. The lines were enormous. That’s why they say to get to that airport so early. Fist class, we just got checked in, and they didn’t even open one bag, see, there is a good thing about the pointy end of the planes. Lol.
After 2 hours I am still sitting in the departure lounge area, watching the TV monitors, but still my flight was showing an “expected” departure time, still no confirmed time. Anyway, I decide to head on down to the gate area, which was only about 1 minute away, and it was so crowded, and had been all day, it was a nightmare area, and I had been watching a DVD on my laptop up in the waiting area just away from the gates, and someone made a comment about the Dallas flight about to leave.
I made some very heated enquiries, only to be told “oh yes, plane leaving, NOW”. It seems that where I was sitting along with over 500 people, the TV screens didn’t update the departures, only arrivals, and the speaker system did not work.
Well I made it to my flight, JUST. Oh, forgot to say, they had to bump me onto the next San Fran flight as I was not going to arrive in time due to our departure being 2 hours late.
I now have to say I have never sat next to anyone like this guy next to me, and remember I am in row 1, so you sort of expect some sort of culture and style at the pointy end of the plane. (I know…. why am I there??). Well get this……he started clipping his fingernails, all ten of them, but he may have been from the deep south so there may have been 12 of them, who knows.
Once that was done, and he wasn’t concerned by the stares of me and the people across from him or the cabin crew, he then proceeded to clean his ears, and he continually checked his fingers each time. The guy was gross. Thankfully the flight was only 2 odd hours. Finally landed in Dallas.
Well for the first time US Immigration decided to ask me some pointed questions, i.e., how much money am I carrying, and I said under the $10,000 limit, he said no, how much on you now. Well as I had come from Mexico I did not withdraw money from the ATM, I was doing that at SF airport, so I had $20 with me and coins from Turkey, Mexico, Euro, England, so about another $10. He then proceeded to question how was I going to support myself. I said I use ATM’s to take out cash as I need it. He then said I have been ducking in and out of the country, WHY???????
He thought I was trying to find work or something, anyway the clock was ticking, my flight to SF was getting very close, and I still had to clear customs with my luggage and get it checked into the next flight.
So finally I said, look at the ticket coupon, look how much I paid for the ticket, does it look like I am backpacking or doing this trip on a shoestring, and I also pointed out look at all the follow on flights outside of the USA, and all the ones before USA. Well I got out of there at 6.02pm, baggage claim was like being in Mexico or Bali, they changed our carousel twice, finally at 6.10pm I check in the luggage and I am currently in D terminal, and I have to be in A terminal for a 6.29pm departure. Was I going to make it, let alone my luggage????(Will have to let you know that later when I land).
Well I have to get a skytrain, 4 stops and at 6.23pm I arrive at Terminal A, gate 36, by the way there are over 150 gates at Dallas I understand. I run to my gate, there are no passengers, just one person behind the desk, I yell out “San Francisco”, she just stares, says NO WAY, I said I have to, I just give her my boarding pass, she opens the gate door, yells down to hold it, and I run, I am the last person and literally about 30 seconds after getting seated the doors shut and we start pushing away. I cannot believe I made it, which makes me worry even more that I ran and got the train to the gate, I bet my luggage didn’t get there as fast.
So, here I sit, just relaxingly drinking my chardonnays, and thinking myself lucky that I have been carrying an onboard suitcase with spare clothes and bathroom accessories; because tonight may be the night I actually need it.
And if my luggage doesn’t make it tonight, well it will be the first stuff up on the trip, well besides the Hurricane Wilma trashing my resort in Fort Lauderdale, and me having to go to Toronto, but that was a pleasant surprise. (still trying to sort out my refund on that one, especially the $1400 accommodation bill in New York, which my insurance company has to sort out.)
Well, we are about 30 minutes from SF, so have to start to shut down the laptop, so will let you know how the luggage situation goes.
Oh, all the pics will start up again in SF, am looking forward to that. Puerto Vallarta was just a few weeks lying on the beach and relaxing and enjoying myself, all this traveling wears a guy out, so I needed a rest. Anyway keep an eye out over the next few days for the Golden Gate pics and Alcatraz. (Is there anything else in SF??????).
MY LUGGAGE DIDN’T MAKE IT, IT ARRIVES TOMORROW.
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