Day 1 of Travels

Delta flight 69 was all set to leave atlanta at 5:10 pm bound for SF0.
Just prior to getting on the plane, I could see the 39 degree temps
outside had started to produce the slightest of snow flurries! Yep! Not
too common in atlanta. No biggee, I thought. We board the plane and
settle in and its about 5:20 pm. Captain comes across the intercom: "good
evening, folks. It looks like we are gonna need to de-ice the plane
before take-off. We are in line to get to the de-icing pad. It will be a
little bit of a process, but we don't expect too long of a delay. We will
keep you updated."
Next time I look at the time it is now 6pm. I call KELLY kelly to let her
know I may not be making it to her house to see her and her mom when after
I land, as we had planned. I am disappointed and getting ancy sitting
for all this time already! To TRINTY'S delight, there are 2 kids
nearby who are playing cards with their father and yelling and screaming in
a language I don't understand. Oh fun!! The crew then puts the
in-flight movie on to entertain us, which thankfully, it did. It is now 8pm. 3
hours past our scheduled take off time. Captain comes on again and says
we will have about another HOUR before take off. Moans, groans, and
looks of disbelief all around. I guess the airport people operate the
same as atlanta drivers when weather conditions are less than perfect:
they freak out and don't know what the hell to do. We finally get the hell
off the ground at 9:30pm. 4 hours and 20 minutes later of just sitting
on the freaking plane!! UUGGHH. Another 4 1/2 hours to go and I would
arrive at my destination. Sitting down for this period of time was
excruciating for me!!!
Next stop: baggage claim. So, its like 11:20 west coast time when we
land and I go to get my bag. The plane had been big and lots of people we
waiting. We were the only folks at baggage claim. The carousel is
already moving and soon some bags come out. And then the thing stops. Then
it starts and spits out a few more bags. Then it stops again. Uugghh!
What the hell?
Finally, it gets on a roll. Bags and bags come out, but not mine. More
and more people leave and soon there is just few of us waiting. Then,
the carousel/belt stops. We wait and wait and it FINALLY gets going
after. And then, FINALLY I see my bag and head off to the airtrain rail to
go over to the car rental area. By this time it is after midnight and
I'm thinking no one will be in line for a car and I will just breeze on
through and get to my hotel. WRONG!!!!!
There were 2 sets of people in the Hertz line when I arrived. Dad and
daughter at the counter. They looked like they were going on a
serious/camping excursion. The lone Hertz agent seemed to be asking them a lot
of questions. They did not have a reservation and so it was taking
longer to get them situated. Ok, finally they are done and now father and
son duo are at the counter. They don't have a reservation either!
Father to agent (in some sort of accent): "you have ford explorer?"
Agent: "let me check. No, no Ford explorer. You want Higlander? Its
bigger than explorer."
F: "no, I want explorer"
Ok. After a bit, he accepted the fact they did not have any explorers.
She proceeds to ask him if he wants all these other cars. She gives
them the model names and he wants to know who makes them. She doesn't know
and has to call somewhere to ask someone else. He also wants to see
pictures. She tries to explain to him there are no pictures of the cars
being discussed because they are new. This whole process goes on and on
and on. Back and forth. On and on. I look to my left and see no other
people in any other car rental lines. I look to my right and its the
same scene: empty. We are the only ones around.
Finally, he settles on a car and gets the hell on his way.
Finally, I get my car and get the hell on my way which is about 5
minutes away to the hotel where I am staying. Why did I get a car since the
hotel was so close??? Well, remember that I was suppossed to arrive at
7:30pm and I had plans to see clients at their house and then go to my
hotel!!
I checked in without any fanfare and promptly took a shower and got in
bed. I looked at the digital clock: 1:30am PST, 4:30 EST.
What a day!
Thankfully, Day 2 was much, much better. Stay tuned!