Although I’ve done a lot of flying,
I’ve never had such trouble trying
Just to reach my destination
Due to airline procrastination.
We boarded the aircraft right on time
And taxied to the runway line,
But there we stopped for almost an hour:
The plane’s hydraulics had no power
And you can’t fly when that’s not working,
So after a lot of excuses and jerking
Around we had to leave that plane
And go through boarding once again…
The company found a new aircraft
For us, but the people in the last
Six rows got bumped to another flight
Leaving a little later that night.
Once we boarded, we sat and waited
And got even more frustrated:
There was a problem with this plane, too.
What a joke! What could we do?
We took off almost four hours late;
By that time things weren’t looking great –
Some had connections they wouldn’t make,
Others had kids who didn’t take
Too well to such extended delay.
Would we ever get to LA?
Down the back, a poor child screaming
Echoed what we all were feeling:
After all this helter-skelter,
Perhaps next time, I’ll fly Delta.
flight
Jetsetting #8
It had to happen.
Sooner or later, on one of our short changeover schedules, we were going to miss a flight.
I had a sinking feeling at 5am when the Captain announced that we had made excellent time but that air traffic control were not going to allow us to land until 6.20am.
That was going to make our connection schedule very tight. We had less than 40 minutes to get through immigration, collect our bags, clear Australian Customs and get from Sydney’s International Terminal across to the Domestic Terminal – a ten minute bus ride – clear security again, and get to the gate for our flight to Melbourne.
Naturally, that didn’t happen.
Customs was not so bad because I declared that I was carrying medications and nuts.
I’ve discovered you get through much faster if you declare something than if you don’t, because you get sorted into different lines than everyone else. It’s worth buying a bag of peanuts or cashews at the airport just before you fly, even if you have no intention of eating them.
I made it through Customs faster than my companions, but we were never going to complete the rest of the process in time.
Virgin Australia switched us onto the next flight at no extra charge, but there was no guarantee that all of our baggage would arrive at the same time as us because my bag had already been transferred through.
As we were leaving the plane, I looked out the window and saw my shiny red suitcase on the cart. That was a very happy moment indeed.
We collected our bags for the last time, piled them up, and hoped like crazy that my brother-in-law was bringing our Jeep to collect us.
Jetsetting #7
9.45pm LA time.
This is it. I’m on the plane and contemplating my second-last flight for this holiday.
This is my flight back to Australia.
I’m feeling quite heartbroken. I don’t want the magic to end.
I don’t want to go home.
I don’t want to go back to routine, to getting up for work, to teaching classes and grading essays and attending staff meetings.
That all seems so far away. So long ago.
But how do I tell my husband that? He’s sitting right beside me and I know he has seen the tears but he hasn’t asked or said anything.
He’s keen to get home. He’s had enough of travelling for now.
Not me.
Something within me has changed over these past four weeks. I can’t define what it is that has changed, but I do know I have left a few large chunks of my heart behind.
Before we set out I knew that I would love Canada – I already did – but I wasn’t sure how I would feel about the USA.
I can say quite confidently now that while my love for Canada is stronger than ever, I do love the USA, and definitely want to visit again. Almost every place we visited captured my imagination and my heart in some way.
I might skip Chicago next time, though.
An Aussie Maple Leaf, adrift on the wind... 