Friday,
August 4, 2000
We
arrived back at Midway Airport on Friday morning at 7 a.m.
We joined the others for a shuttle bus that was to take us to
O'Hare. No Bus! So, they herd the available cabs and
limo's to take approx. 175 people across town to O'Hare
Airport. Ray and I were among 8 in a limo. (This
was the first time I have ever seen or been inside a limo!) We got to
O'Hare and .........Oh Goody ! I got to stand in another line.
My turn, finally, and I failed to get assigned seats at Midway before
leaving for O'Hare. I explained that no one told me
about that part of the game. I guess since I was the
last one in line they were tired of giving the rules to the
game and I just had to make them up as I go...!! Well, I
was told that all we had to do was wait at the boarding gate
and they would give us whatever seats that were available. "There will be plenty of
seats, since this is a special flight for the canceled passengers". Yeah, right, why don't I believe her???
I
requested a wheel chair for Ray, since it would be a long
walk from the ticket counter to the boarding gate. A nice
young lady brought the chair and pushed Ray to the Security
Gate. Since we had 2 hours before loading we
figured we should grab a bite from the McDonald's Concession
stand before going through security. The young lady said
she could not leave the wheel chair with us but would bring it
back when we got ready to board. All we had to do was
ask.
We had
breakfast, we got ready to go to the boarding gate and asked
for the wheel chair. "Oh, you have to go to the
ticket counter and they will page for one there".
That was about a mile across the airport and I had walked that
mile once, Thank You. Ray said, "To heck with it,
I'll walk". After making all
the alarms go off, AGAIN, (gee, won't they learn?) we started
walking. What a mistake ! Ray was about to pass
out before we got to the boarding gate. This was the most
exercise he had since his hip replacement!
Okay,
we got our seats, 3rd row, aisle and middle seat. As we
prepared to take off, we saw no one was assigned the window
seat. I slid over to give Ray more
room, *grinning* I wanted to see out! (This was my
first flight)
As the
plane started to taxi down the runway, Ray took my hand and
held it during the eternity it took to get off the ground.
Finally, we are on our way !!
Seattle here we come !
I looked
out and saw the beautiful country we live in. I even saw the
smoke from the horrible Forest Fires that were plaguing the
western states. We landed in Seattle, I started breathing again,
and got our Rental Car. A Grand Marquis ! Beautiful car and
comfy to boot ! We arrived at the hotel after about an
hour of driving. It should have taken only 15 minutes
but since we got lost umpteen times, it took longer.
As Ray brought in the luggage, I called Scott's house.
Everyone there was in a state of panic. Since I didn't
even give it a thought to take phone numbers with me,
and didn't even think about calling anyone about our
cancellation, they knew nothing about what happened to
us. Ray's brother, Jack, and his wife Ida,
arrived at the airport about an hour after we were supposed to
arrive. They sat waiting for us at the airport for
nearly 5 hours before getting a cab and going to the hotel !
(We were to share the rental car) It seems to me, that
if
I were in
their shoes that night, I would have gone to the ATA counter
and checked the arrivals and would have seen that the flight
had been canceled and would have gone to the hotel a lot
sooner !!!! That is why I gave him our flight number and
airline with time of arrival.
Ray's
ex-wife and her sister, came to the hotel to lead us into
God's green acres and to Scott's mountain hideaway! We
were there early enough to meet everyone and take part in the
rehearsal. Scott had a wonderful cookout - grilled
steaks, salmon steaks, shrimp, potato salad and fresh fruits.
Since we were very tired, we begged off early and returned to
the hotel
to get some very needed rest and showers. We Got Lost Again !
Darn those mountainous roads !!!! GET OUT OF MY LIFE,
PETER PRINCIPLE !!!!
To be
continued...
