I’ve heard travel horror stories all my life. Passengers suffer one problem after another. I haven’t flown commercially that often – maybe five or six times. Most of my flights have been in privately owned aircraft with a couple magical flights in a corporate jet. Those flights were all pleasant and went off without a hitch. Up until this trip, the worst that had happened to me was the airline putting my luggage on the wrong plane. Well, I have now experienced some of those travel blues I’ve heard so much about.
I’d like to start by saying that I absolutely LOVE to fly. Takeoff is my favorite part, and landing doesn’t bother me a bit. I love the feeling in my belly when the plane starts its descent. Turbulence doesn’t faze me other than it makes it difficult to read if I’m engrossed in a book.
My business trip to Seattle with my boss last week began with my very first TSA pat down. It wasn’t too bad. The agent explained everything that was going to happen, offered to do it privately, and then was quick and efficient. Of course, I wasn’t hiding anything, so I wasn’t detained further. I’m still not sure why the darned thing pinged on me in the first place.
The flight to Dallas Fort Worth airport would have been much more pleasant if the air conditioner on the plane had been working. They had us keep all the window shades pulled down and rerouted all the air from the cockpit to the cabin. They warned us that those in the back of the plane were in for a warm ride. It was in row 27, and it was definitely warm. The rest of my trip to Seattle went smoothly, though.
Our trip home from Seattle was a huge debacle. American Airlines transferred us to Alaska Airlines because our American flight was delayed. The Alaska flight was also delayed by several hours, and we missed our American flight home. By the time we landed at Dallas Fort Worth, the airport was closed due to bad weather.
Our plane, which was a very nice one, had been in a holding pattern around the airport for a couple of hours due to weather and the fact we had enough fuel to stay in the air while other planes were forced to land or run out of fuel. The pilots were skilled, and landed us as smoothly as possible, but they had to fight to do so in the storm. It was around 11:00 p.m. by the time our wheels finally hit the ground, and we were exhausted. We were the last plane to land.
We weren’t sure what to do next since our plane home had left without us. Alaska Airlines told us we had to talk to American Airlines, and they had all gone home. They recommended we call American, and we tried. The wait time to talk to a person was estimated at two hours.
With no one there to help us from our airline, we were forced to make a decision. Do we stay at the airport with several thousand other stranded passengers, find a hotel and address it the next morning, or rent a car and drive home? We talked about it and decided we wanted to go home.
So, my boss and I rented the tiniest car I’ve ever seen and drove out of Dallas in the monsoon that closed the airport. He drove us out of Texas, but by Oklahoma my very tall boss was really suffering in that tiny driver seat, so I took over. I’m approximately a foot shorter than him, and the car fit me much better.
We pulled into Joplin around 6:00 a.m. the day after we started our trek home. I got home around 6:15 a.m. and my stomach decided to purge itself of everything I’d eaten in the past several hours before I could go to bed. I finally made it to bed around 7 o’clock. I slept until around 3 o’clock that afternoon and was back in bed by 10:00 p.m.
I’m thankful that my boss and I made it home to our families safe and sound. On a side note, driving through Tulsa at 3:30 in the morning is the perfect time to navigate those huge streets. I didn’t have a single problem. All in all, our travel adventure wasn’t so bad. It wasn’t great, but we are still alive to tell the tale. Thank you for reading Ozarks Maven! If you’ve enjoyed my little seeds of wisdom and joy, please subscribe to Ozarks Maven, Like Ozarks Maven on Facebook, or follow me on Twitter or Instagram @OzarksMaven.
I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Comments