We have been here before. More than once actually but most memorably last year when trying to return from a similar Home Leave. You can refresh your memory here. The long and short of it is that I may have to reconsider ever going on Home Leave again...
I thought it wise to check on our flight status before ever leaving the house on Thursday. Heck, I did it before I even showered and packed the make-up bag. Because why would I shower if the flight was delayed and I would just be getting back in my parents pool? I even mentioned this in jest to my family the night before. I checked online just after lunch to see if our 9:30 flight was on time. This is what I saw...
If you looked closely you would see that my red-eye flight had been turned into an all day trek. Starting tomorrow morning. At 7:00 am. This is an international flight so we need to be there two hours early to make sure it all goes smoothly. I also need about an hour to get myself showered, re-packed and ready and then do the same for the girls (minus showers and the packed and ready parts. Let's face it, at that hour I drag them out of bed and throw them on the shuttle). And then it is a 30 minute shuttle ride from the AA approved hotel to the airport (because we would still have to take the flight from Austin to Dallas so that we could get on this rescheduled flight). So, subtract 3 1/2 hours from 7 am and you get...oh, good gracious is there any other way?
B was on the phone immediately. We didn't have a lot of options. We tried to get on the same flights just a day later but they were already booked solid. We tried to re-route ourselves through Lima and then to Santiago but there was just no good way. It seemed our only option was to stay put and try again tomorrow. This time flying from Austin to Dallas, Dallas to Miami and then Miami to Santiago. Yep, I'm exhausted just reading that too. And I haven't even left home yet.
Fast forward to the next day. We leave just after lunch to make our Austin/Dallas flight. Smooth sailing all the way. We get to Dallas and ride the train to our appropriate gate. The minute, almost second, we have the gate in sight we hear the announcement that they have changed our gate. Not a good sign. We hop back on the train and head to the farthest point possible from where we are. We board with minutes to spare. And then sit. And sit. And sit. The pilot comes on and informs us that the plane was scheduled to go to Costa Rica but then they found out that it didn't have the correct clearances to leave the country. So we were given the plane. But now it didn't have the correct software to fly to our current destination, Miami, so we would have to wait while they loaded it. And wait. Finally we were ready to go and the storm settled in. And so we waited some more. I finally looked back at B and asked the question I just hadn't wanted to know the definitive answer to until now, "We aren't going to make our connection, are we?" A slight shake of his head was all I needed.
But we were off. And we landed in Miami just a minute too late. In fact, our plane was still there. It was still at the gate and the gate was still open but they had oversold the flight and they now had no room for us. So it was off to re-booking we went.
We were re-ticketed quickly enough because there was only one option. There is only one flight a day to Santiago out of Miami and it was the one we just missed. We had 24 hours to sit and wait. 24 hours with a 5 year old and a 4 year old. Fun.
Vouchers in hand (lots of vouchers since we had a full day) we headed to the hotel. Which was convenient since it was in Terminal E. Yep, we didn't even leave the airport. I felt a bit like we were in the Tom Hanks movie from a couple of years back. But I didn't have the energy to think about it. I was tired and it was almost 1 am. Both girls were well beyond their bedtimes and so was I.
We spent the next 24 hours at the airport. We did a bit of fooling around and eating and walking and taking naps...
And finally it was time to board the plane. But we had to make sure, just one last time, that the plane was actually going to take off...
So we settled into our seats. After all of the trouble we had they put us in Business Class. It was a godsend since the girls had been running on no sleep and little schedule for the past couple of days. We settled them in and they made it seem like they flew at the front of the plane all of the time and this was just another seat...
The girls and I were ready for take off. It was past 11:30 pm and we were all ready to just lay our seats flat and curl up with our duvets. No such luck. We were delayed again. Not a big problem because we were leaving and we would still make it to Santiago tomorrow morning, just a bit later, but the girls really wanted to sleep and until take off they had to remain in an upright position. About 12:45 am we did take off - and MadHatter was out (for the rest of the flight). Stinkerbell hung on for a bit but soon was snoring soundly too.
We finally made it to Santiago! 2 days later than originally planned but at least we made it before MadHatter missed the first day of school. We breezed through immigration and went to the Baggage Claim. Where it took only a few minutes to realize that our bags had not made the journey. How can the airline have 24 hours to get the bags on the right flight and still not get them there? So we trekked home, happy to be there but still baffled about our bags.
They did make it in. The next morning on that one flight a day they have out of Miami. And I began the unpacking process. And then realized, my stroller didn't make it. The stroller we checked ourselves, at the gate. It was still missing. Guess when we got it? You guessed it - the next morning as it had to take the only flight out, again. Problem is, it looked like this when I got it...
How much pressure do you have to put on a piece of metal to make it fold like that? Now we are waiting for them to replace the stroller for us and doing so in Santiago may be difficult. But at least they are making it right.
We are home. We are safe. And everyone is healthy. That is really what counts in the long run. But I wouldn't want to be travelling with me the next time I try to fly to or from Santiago.
(Next up - a series of recaps about what we did while in the U.S.)
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