What I Did On My Summer Vacation

(AKA: Airport 2010 ... A Horror Story)

I have been editing and going through trying to find the "right" pictures to post. But there are just too many. So, I have decided to make a little slide show to share. However, in order to buy time to figure out how exactly to do that, I will share a few here and tell you some stories.

***WARNING: If you are planning a trip this summer and are scheduled to fly on an airlines that starts with "U" and ends with "nited", you may either want to run away now OR take notes and be prepared. I'm just sayin... ***

Friday morning my mommy flew into town and we met up at the airport. After a quick trip out to breakfast with the family and a romp through some unknown parts of inner Detroit (I do NOT recommend this procedure) looking for a bank, we returned to the airport where I said goodbye to my sweet girls and my wonderful man. (I may or may not have bawled like a big ol baby!)

(Please note - I had not yet removed the camera from the bag, but if I HAD, you would now be seeing pictures of the girls chewing on the fruits of their puppy dog eyed labor - gummy worms. As well as pictures of my mommy lovin' on her grand babies.)

Mommy and I checked in and headed to our gate - all was right with the world, as we even had time to stop and get some snacks. And then our plane pulled up to the gate. At which point I began to wonder if this plane had a mommy that might be accompanying us. Don't believe me? See for yourself:





Yeah, those stairs, that is how we got ONTO the plane. M'hmm ...

And, this, dear friends, is where the adventure/story of woe begins.

We left D'town a little bit late and knew that our time between flights in Washington DC would be limited. We mentioned such to the flight attendant and asked if she could possibly determine where we were to go when we landed so we would not miss the next flight. She called ahead, found out the gate number and showed us, on a map, how to get there.

We came in at Gate A3, grabbed our bags and took off. We had to get to Gate D16 (in another building entirely) in record time. We had been told that there were various hours of the day in which the "people movers" were operating and that they would be the fastest way to get there. We found one, bound for the C/D terminal, and jumped on. We ran through THAT building and arrived at our gate in time. Except, thank you so very much, our flight's gate had been changed to A1 - that would be the one right-stinkin-next-door to the one we came in at.

So, we grabbed our bags - again - and took off. Ran back through the A/B terminal, jumped back on the people mover and headed to ... the Z terminal. Which, it would seem, is the place where it parks when it's done moving people for the day.

nice.

At this point, we are simultaneously laughing hysterically and growling angrily. It's an odd emotion ... I don't recommend it.

We flung our bags on our backs and headed out again. This time running the entire way from Z to A ... literally. We arrived at our gate with, according to my watch, my cell phone, mom's watch AND the clock on the stinkin wall, five minutes to spare. Only to learn that the plane had already left. At which point Miss U***nited Airlines looks me in the face and says (with an attitude) "everyone else got here on time".

She then sends us to the Customer Service agent in the C/D terminal.

Who sends us to the INTERNATIONAL Customer Service Agent in the A/B terminal.

Where we find "everyone else" (ya know, the ones who got there on time) waiting in the same line trying to get on a new flight to Montreal.

We finally make it through said line and find ourselves booked on a new flight which is to leave in an hour and a half.

Except, ya know, not so much.

All said and done, our 30 minute layover turned into a SIX hour adventure in the Amazing Race training ground, otherwise known as Dulles International Airport, Washington DC.

This is where I need to let you know that shoes like this:



are not meant for running.

And this is where I took the one and only picture of mom and I together of the entire trip.



(how sad is that?)

Eventually our plane arrived - this one was the first plane's LITTLE SISTER!!! - we climbed the FOUR steps to get on and left the USofA.

We arrived in Montreal, Quebec, Canada sometime after 1AM. And, it would seem, the hotel shuttle does not run very efficiently - or, ya know, at ALL - at that hour. So, we hopped ourselves into a cab ... and $50 later, checked into a beautiful hotel room, collapsed on the beds and slept til almost 10AM the next morning.

And so, with the airport 2010 horror behind us (for now), we headed out to see Montreal ...

To Be Continued ...