Thursday, April 8, 2010

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles...


You really can't talk about a vacation without talking about the travel itself, right? Whether you're driving, flying, training (training?) there always seems to be some drama.

For instance, on our flight from Orange County to Portland, OR, we were in line to get on the plane, and this older couple that looked like they had just come from the country club comes up to us and says haughtily (yes, I used an adverb, sue me) "We're riding first class, may we get in front of you?"

Okay, number one, they called first class about fifteen minutes prior, if you're not there on time, in my opinion, you miss your privilege of early boarding. So, I was about to give Mr. and Mrs. Howell what for, but Rusty stopped me and said, "Sure, go ahead." >:(

These people wavered back and forth between either just hopping in the now empty first class line or in front of us. Who effin' cares? Just go already.

Now here's the kicker, by coincidence they were doing extra security screening at our gate. This couple finally decides to hop in front of us and guess what. Lovey gets taken aside for the extra screening. Can you say Karma? If we wouldn't have let them cut, it would have been me. And her bastard of a husband left her there and got on the plane without her. Rich people.

I've had other strange flying experiences, like trying to get on an airplane in an ice storm, having our flight canceled, and on the way home having my dad call and tell us he found us another flight. So we turn around and go back. Planes are still delayed. We're in the airport for a good 4 or 5 hours with a 6 month old, who was perfect by the way, and an angry mob from Oakland because our flight to AZ had um, borrowed their flight to Oakland.

You know what really irritates me? Parents who put their kids at one end of the plane and sit at another. On our honeymoon this happened. And it's because their kids are so horrible they don't want to be near them. And these little dears were sitting right behind us. Needless to say, they were obnoxious and our chairs were constantly getting kicked. When the milk flew up between my husband and my seat, we'd had enough. Rusty scared the crap out of them. They were quiet the rest of the flight. It was a while ago, but I think he may have had word with the parents too. I think I try to repress the memory as best I can. Nice romantic honeymoon flight, huh?

There was also the time I was flying from Jackson Hole Wyoming. Small airport = small plane. I don't like to fly first of all, small planes makes it worse second of all, but add a thunder and lightning storm to the mix, and well, it becomes terrifying. The plane literally felt like a pendulum swaying back and forth in the wind. I hadn't prayed for years up to that point, but I'll tell you what, my Catholic upbringing came flooding back, and I said a whole rosary on that flight. I nearly kissed the ground when we landed.

I could go on and on, like the fact that I get motion sickness on trains and cars, but that's not a pretty story. So, I leave you with that. Do you have any bad travel stories?

Kisses

:*

Megan

7 comments:

  1. On a recent return flight from Orlando to Newark, a group straight out of a real housewives of NJ spinoff were in the bar directly across from our gate while waiting to board. We were delayed slightly - the entire time, they were SUPER obnoxious, singing and chugging shots - and being vocal about it "chug, chug, chug," etc. Again, right across from the gate, in full view of the airline personnel.

    Sure enough, they go to board and they continue to be loud, even on the Jetway. A lady nicely asks them to lower their voices for the sake of the children - they reacted "shut up, mind your business, we are celebrating our daughters' chearleading competition victory" - the nice lady retreated and just told everyone in the Jetway "Hey, I tried."

    At this point, the steward comes into the Jetway and glares at the women - so do they get quiet - of course not. Instead, they yell "We are not drunk!" - pretty much establishing that they are.

    He told them to calm down if they wanted to fly. Did they, nope! Kept it up, ridiculous.

    Here is the fun part - when it became their turn to go through the doorway, that same Steward said "You ladies wait over here" - they were like "we need to get home" - his reaction "Comply immediately, or be arrested."

    Priceless. They never got on the plane - everyone cheered this fact. I wonder how that phonecall went "Sorry honey, but I wont be home tonight because I got hammered celebrating your victory and wasnt aloud on the plane!' Good stuff.

    ReplyDelete
  2. That is a sweet story. Love retribution. In a big way.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I've had lots of crazy travel stories. Seems like something always has to happen, doesn't it?

    Nice post!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oi! Yeah--I've been in the seat where that kid in the top pic is, only it was a 300 pound man on one side and a woman with a kicking toddler (back before they made you buy a seat for babies)--catch this--from Honolulu to Sanfrancisco... ACK!

    The parents that really irk me are sitting there NEXT TO their child who is kicking the seat--are you KIDDING ME? My kids have always gotten adequate bribery to behave on airplanes (though they did take to wrestling in the Kansas City Missouri airport once)

    ReplyDelete
  5. OMG.

    I would be mortified if my kids misbehaved in a place like that.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Usually I just try to go with the flow -- because you KNOW something is going to go wrong -- and collect as many we're-sorry-you-were-inconvenienced vouchers as possible. But once I was one of the last people to board only to discover that a -- how to be nice about this? -- LARGE lady had taken not only her assigned seat but mine as well. She'd put the arm rest up and left me five inches of seat space. I was not as large as she, but I am wider than five inches. Ensued the whole drama with me trying to explain to an unsympathetic flight attendant that there was a problem, and her trying to tell me I had to sit in my ASSIGNED SEAT and me finally raising my voice and saying, "I'm trying to be NICE, I don't want to EMBARRASS anybody, but I have PAID for a whole seat and therefore you have to PROVIDE me with a whole seat...." The pilot finally came out to see what the problem was, because he wanted to push back, as they call it, took one look at the situation, and...told the attendant to move me into first. Booya! (Well, at least it started out as a horror story! Happy ending, though.)

    ReplyDelete

My Dad. He's awesome.

John Messina, Personal Injury Attorney

Total Pageviews