I'm Home

 First, I will recap my trip highlights later.

Second, I am posting this picture because it makes me happy (look how cute I am). 

My dad, mom, Uncle Timo, Grandmother Honey, Granddad (mom's family) and me!
On the table are my cousins, Debbie and Danny

I was kind of a ham.

Finally, This was my trip home. It was not good.

Here was our horrid itinerary.

1. Thursday PM - Left Montenegro Thursday night for Istanbul. Only flight got in at 11:30.

2. Thursday PM - Checked in and slept at an airport hotel.

3. Friday AM Istanbul Time - Left hotel at 6:00 AM. Fly from Istanbul to London - leave at 8:30AM

4. Arrive in London at about 10:30 AM local time (body time now 12:30PM)

5. Leave London to Dallas Fort Worth about 1:00PM (body time is now 3:00 PM)

6. Arrive at DFW local time 5:00PM (body time is now at MIdnight)

7. PSP flight scheduled at 8:55PM was moved to 9:35PM

   7.a - Go to gate and board 1st plane near 10:00PM

     7.b - Sit on plane about 10 minutes

       7.c - Then asked to deboard plane after everyone is on board. Note: Asked to take all our things, including luggage that's not good.

         7.d - Told that we "will hear more later". But there might be some seats to Ontario, San Diego, and LA. We could get those if there were some available AND you ran (we didn't, but those that did were super screwed as the San Diego Plane was later canceled).

           7.e - Hazzah. Told at 10:45, there was a flight at 11:30 in Terminal B (we were in Terminal D). We all shelp

             7.f - We wait at the gate, and wait. At about 11:15 we were told that the particular plane wasn't available, but a new plane in Terminal A would leave at 1:35.

               7.g - We all haul it to Terminal A and wait until about 1:30. Captain and crew get on. All looks good!

                 7.h - We all line up; they put the wheelchair people in line, and the door opens....

                   7.i - Whant Wa... door closes with us on the wrong side. Crew timed out.

                     7.j - At 1:35, we were all told that the new flight is at 5:00 AM. But hey, if you want a hotel voucher for the 3 hours you have go to customer service (where there is already a 30 minute line). Same with food vouchers. But that is okay, because every place to eat is closed by midnight at the latest.

8. We try to rest and sleep at gate 14, a quiet place where many sleep on the disgusting, dirty, trod-on floor carpet.

9. Back at gate at 4:25. People are lined up. Old ladies are back in wheelchairs again. We wait. At about 4:45, nothing has happened. At 5:00 AM planes leave for San Diego and San Antonio (two other cancelled flights).

10. Scott, who has been reasonably pleasant, has small issue and talks with counter ladies at 5:10AM - On Saturday

 Now, this is where I am annoyed. I go up and ask the counter people what the problem is. They say, "They are waiting." 

I said, "I have been waiting as well. And I slept on the floor." 

Counter lady is not impressed, she has been here a little while too. She asks "DO you want to make an announcement to everyone?" and hands me the microphone. 

I'm not one to shy away from a challenge. I reached for it, and she grabbed it back. 

The other one asks me "Are you done venting?" 

I said "I don't even know why we are waiting; any idea?"

She says (this is her downfall), "There is one flight attendant missing." Mistake. The people waiting to board were appalled at my actions but were listening intently.

Tribal calls of "Where are they?" begin to rumble in the crowd.

Counter people say, "We don't know, she is supposed to be on her way here."

I walk away, annoyed, but slightly less tightly wound.

Counter people make their second mistake, as I walk away, one holds out microphone and trys to embarass me by saying, "Does anyone else want to vent?" 

This brings a lot of response from the audience who would, in fact, like the microphone to vent. Counter people say they were joking.

Counter people call police.

Counter people announce they have called the tower, and the tower doesn't know where the flight attendant is either.

This does not have the calming effect she anticipated.

Rumbles are made, but two large police officers in back of crowd enforce a sense of quiet dread.

We wait.

.

.

Finally, after about 45 minutes, the poor flight attendant has to walk through this crowd to get on the plane. Calls of "finally" and "where have you been" ring through the crowd.

Before everyone goes completely feral, the counterperson pushes the first wheelchair down the ramp without waiting for those chair-pushing guys. They start boarding as quickly as possible while taking one wheelchair down the ramp at a time while others are being shuffled in.

The tardy flight attendant is punished by having to welcome everyone to the plane. She hides deep back in the galley as people glare at her. At this point, even I feel sorry for her. 

The minute people are in, they close the door, help put bags up, and we drive to the runway, turn, and take off without any of the normal stop-and-go.

They make up time and we land at 5:47AM. Two days after this entire shit show started.