Post by Honeylioness on Apr 25, 2011 21:09:04 GMT -5
Okay, so when did I develop such bad luck with traveling? Perhaps it has always been this way and I am just more conscious of it. Who knows.
Anyway, on the morning of April 13th the girls and I were up in time, threw the last itmes into our bags and loaded up the car and headed off to Logan (after a necessary stop at Dunkin' Donuts of course). I have become rather spoiled regarding my daily commute of three miles through town and had forgotten what a mess the highways are during "rush" hour - which is one of the most ridiculous oxymorons I have ever heard of - how can going under 20 MPH be called a "rush"?
However we had left well in advance and got into Boston, parked the car in the long term lot, caught the shuttle to the terminals and finished checking in. I had already printed off our boarding passes and logged our bags in as well. Even security moved right along as did boarding.
However after we pushed back from the gate things went downhill. After taxing out towards the runways we came to a halt and an announcement was made that we were told to hold until some weather patterns moving through were gone. We heard the same comments at least three times - that it would be just another 20 minutes. Finally after two hours we took off. Of course this meant that we completely missed our connection in Newark to Seattle. In fact, almost 50 people on our plane missed the connection by less than five minutes. You would think that with that many people making the same transfer they would have held the flight. GRRRR
So after waiting in line for over an hour, during which I sent the girls off to eat lunch, we were told to go to another terminal for a "possible" connection. But they neglected to mention that the other gate was at least 1/2 mile away!! After getting nowhere with that gate agent we were shuttled to yet another customer service post and given boarding passes. What I didn't realize was that they were listed as Stand By.
So off we went to yet another gate MILES away and checked in there. One of the interesting things about being in Newark is the diverse groups of passengers. There are the business day trippers, people connecting and the locals - a lot of who are Orthodox Jews. The agent at this gate was a real hoot. Obviously local with an interesting blended accent of New Jersey and Hispanic - and she called me "Momma". As in - don't worry Momma I take care of you". I had told her that if there were only two seat available I would send the girls and stay for a later flight, but I couldn't leave them behind. At the last moment we were told to run down the hall that there were four empty seats. So at least we were aboard. We arrived in Seattle about six hours late.
The following week, on April 20th we were back at SeaTac for a midnight flight home. The leg to Houston was uneventful and we managed to get a little sleep. Then after two hours waiting it was back on the same plane and heading back to Boston. I had made the decision to not have any coffee during the layover because I wanted to get some more sleep on the second leg.
About 40 minutes into the flight they made an announcement asking if there was a doctor or nurse on board - this is never a good thing. about a half hour later the pilot came on the intercom to tell us we were going to make an emergency landing in Atlanta as a passenger was really ill. Fastest landing I have ever experienced. I could not believe how fast we dropped altitude and almost slammed into the runway on all three wheels at once.
You know how normally the plane slows down then you meander towards the gate at about five miles an hour? Not this time. I swear he was doing 40-50 MPH towards the terminal. There were several security cars I saw blocking off other runways with their lights flashing. As we braked in front of the terminal two fire trucks and an ambulance raced towards the plane - sirens blaring. The door was opened, the stiars wheeled into place and three paramedics in full gear came down the aisle. After quickly talking to the doctor who had been with the passenger they carried the man out, down the steps in a fireman's hold and then into the ambulance. The wife followed and we heard the baggage door opening.
We were on the ground for about two hours while they re-fueled, got the man's luggage and did paperwork. Apparently the FAA wants a lot of forms filled out when a plane makes an unscheduled landing. The doctor also had to do paperwork and then we were back in the air.
About 100 miles out of Boston the pilot came on to warn us there was a bit of rough weather ahead and be prepared. Another one of the biggest understatements I have heard in a LONG time. It was like saying a hurricane was just a wind storm with rain. Not only was the plane making large dips it felt as though it was fishtailing in the air as the back end moved from side to side. There were 40 MPH winds gusting across the water and the white caps were huge.
My stomach was telling me very clearly it was NOT happy. I tried deep breathing to calm myself - this worked for a few minutes. However as the plane made another big sudden drop it was all over. I have not been that sick on a plane in years. And from what I heard I was not the only passenger using the little blue bags. I felt like garbage as I staggered off the plane finally.
Once we ransomed the car from parking and hit the highway home all I could think about was coffee, a shower ... and there was no food in the house to feed the girls dinner. So first stop - Dunkin'. Then the chinese buffet so the kids could get food they could either eat at home or warm up later. Honestly, I felt like I had been through the wars by the time we finally arrived home at 5:30 pm.
Oh, and did I mention the three car pile up on the roadway that closed two lanes and slowed us to five mph for three miles??
And then I got to get up early the next morning to go into work. On what was supposed to be a vacation day.
But that is another story.
Anyway, on the morning of April 13th the girls and I were up in time, threw the last itmes into our bags and loaded up the car and headed off to Logan (after a necessary stop at Dunkin' Donuts of course). I have become rather spoiled regarding my daily commute of three miles through town and had forgotten what a mess the highways are during "rush" hour - which is one of the most ridiculous oxymorons I have ever heard of - how can going under 20 MPH be called a "rush"?
However we had left well in advance and got into Boston, parked the car in the long term lot, caught the shuttle to the terminals and finished checking in. I had already printed off our boarding passes and logged our bags in as well. Even security moved right along as did boarding.
However after we pushed back from the gate things went downhill. After taxing out towards the runways we came to a halt and an announcement was made that we were told to hold until some weather patterns moving through were gone. We heard the same comments at least three times - that it would be just another 20 minutes. Finally after two hours we took off. Of course this meant that we completely missed our connection in Newark to Seattle. In fact, almost 50 people on our plane missed the connection by less than five minutes. You would think that with that many people making the same transfer they would have held the flight. GRRRR
So after waiting in line for over an hour, during which I sent the girls off to eat lunch, we were told to go to another terminal for a "possible" connection. But they neglected to mention that the other gate was at least 1/2 mile away!! After getting nowhere with that gate agent we were shuttled to yet another customer service post and given boarding passes. What I didn't realize was that they were listed as Stand By.
So off we went to yet another gate MILES away and checked in there. One of the interesting things about being in Newark is the diverse groups of passengers. There are the business day trippers, people connecting and the locals - a lot of who are Orthodox Jews. The agent at this gate was a real hoot. Obviously local with an interesting blended accent of New Jersey and Hispanic - and she called me "Momma". As in - don't worry Momma I take care of you". I had told her that if there were only two seat available I would send the girls and stay for a later flight, but I couldn't leave them behind. At the last moment we were told to run down the hall that there were four empty seats. So at least we were aboard. We arrived in Seattle about six hours late.
The following week, on April 20th we were back at SeaTac for a midnight flight home. The leg to Houston was uneventful and we managed to get a little sleep. Then after two hours waiting it was back on the same plane and heading back to Boston. I had made the decision to not have any coffee during the layover because I wanted to get some more sleep on the second leg.
About 40 minutes into the flight they made an announcement asking if there was a doctor or nurse on board - this is never a good thing. about a half hour later the pilot came on the intercom to tell us we were going to make an emergency landing in Atlanta as a passenger was really ill. Fastest landing I have ever experienced. I could not believe how fast we dropped altitude and almost slammed into the runway on all three wheels at once.
You know how normally the plane slows down then you meander towards the gate at about five miles an hour? Not this time. I swear he was doing 40-50 MPH towards the terminal. There were several security cars I saw blocking off other runways with their lights flashing. As we braked in front of the terminal two fire trucks and an ambulance raced towards the plane - sirens blaring. The door was opened, the stiars wheeled into place and three paramedics in full gear came down the aisle. After quickly talking to the doctor who had been with the passenger they carried the man out, down the steps in a fireman's hold and then into the ambulance. The wife followed and we heard the baggage door opening.
We were on the ground for about two hours while they re-fueled, got the man's luggage and did paperwork. Apparently the FAA wants a lot of forms filled out when a plane makes an unscheduled landing. The doctor also had to do paperwork and then we were back in the air.
About 100 miles out of Boston the pilot came on to warn us there was a bit of rough weather ahead and be prepared. Another one of the biggest understatements I have heard in a LONG time. It was like saying a hurricane was just a wind storm with rain. Not only was the plane making large dips it felt as though it was fishtailing in the air as the back end moved from side to side. There were 40 MPH winds gusting across the water and the white caps were huge.
My stomach was telling me very clearly it was NOT happy. I tried deep breathing to calm myself - this worked for a few minutes. However as the plane made another big sudden drop it was all over. I have not been that sick on a plane in years. And from what I heard I was not the only passenger using the little blue bags. I felt like garbage as I staggered off the plane finally.
Once we ransomed the car from parking and hit the highway home all I could think about was coffee, a shower ... and there was no food in the house to feed the girls dinner. So first stop - Dunkin'. Then the chinese buffet so the kids could get food they could either eat at home or warm up later. Honestly, I felt like I had been through the wars by the time we finally arrived home at 5:30 pm.
Oh, and did I mention the three car pile up on the roadway that closed two lanes and slowed us to five mph for three miles??
And then I got to get up early the next morning to go into work. On what was supposed to be a vacation day.
But that is another story.
