Monday - The trip home... or so I thought!
My friend got up early and went to Cafe Du Monde to get hot beignets and coffee before I got out of bed. The beignets were to be our last 'new thing' to try before we left to go home. Beignets are square French doughnuts coated in powdered sugar and Cafe Du Monde is supposed to be the place to get them. I'm sure the whole effect would have been best if the beignets had been eaten hot while sitting at the cafe with the required cafe au lait. They were still a tasty treat first thing in the morning.
We left the Baronne Plaza and headed to the New Orleans airport. Airport Shuttle dropped my friend off at her terminal and took me to mine, Delta. I checked my luggage outside the terminal and a very nice porter put strapping tape around my briefcase and helped me find an address tag. The wait inside was very long with no chairs available for the weary, handicapped or elderly. However, the wait to go through security was not long as they quickly checked purses and checked us with a wand. I went to my gate to await my 12:05 p.m. flight towards home.
We boarded a Delta Boeing 757 and I told the attendant that I might need an extender for the seatbelt. Once seated in my seat, she brought me the extender and discretely handed it to me. Soon we were told that we were waiting for a part to be brought from Houston and it would take at least an hour. We could deplane or stay in our seats. Along with several others I prepared to nap comfortably aboard the plane. I had an interesting conversation with the flight attendant about the best way to approach large passengers, without appearing to single them out, to make sure they are properly buckled. Soon we were told that a tornado had touched down near the airport and everyone would have to leave the plane.
Since my connecting flight wasn't leaving Atlanta until 6 pm, I wasn't concerned when they delayed our flight several times both because the part had not arrived and because of the weather. Eventually, we were told that the part would not arrive until 5:30 that we would not depart until after 6:00 p.m. We stood in several lines to rebook our flights, to get our carry-on luggage off the plane, and to resolve various other problems. The biggest problem with the delays was the lack of information coming to the passengers. Standing in line yet again, I went and got a wheelchair to sit in, as I was feeling faint. I finally arrived at the front of the line and was greeted by the smiling face of Terri Love, a very patient Delta representative - one of the few who managed to smile through the whole debacle.
I was told that I could either stay in New Orleans at a hotel and start all over again in the morning, or I could fly to Atlanta that night and stay in a hotel there at Delta's expense. It was suggested that since Atlanta was a larger airport I would have the best chance of getting home at a decent hour on Tuesday. I opted for the flight to Atlanta. We finally left the Louis Armstrong airport around 9:00 p.m. that night with instructions to get our hotel and food vouchers in Atlanta. We boarded our original plane and I slept most of the way to Atlanta.
Adversity binds people and we went en mass to the shuttle and to the Delta counter as instructed. The woman who was busy closing the counter was very rude and screamed at us to go to the main terminal. Many were commenting that we had had enough of southern hospitality to last us a long time. We went back to the shuttle to find that we were faced with nothing called 'main terminal', but both a north and a south terminal. We did finally find the proper place to line up yet again. I had kept John apprised of my struggles during the day and took this time to call him and whine in his ear about my continued woes. He was on a business trip and was on his way to bed so I kept my whining to a minimum.
Of all the names I jotted down during my trip, I wish I had gotten the name of the woman I dealt with at the Delta counter in Atlanta. I don't think I have met a more disagreeable, mean person in my life. At first she told me I couldn't get a voucher for the hotel since I was delayed because of weather. I explained which flight I had been on and that I was delayed because of equipment failure. She wasn't going to give me food vouchers because she said it was too late at night to use them. She got especially nasty when she discovered my original flights were booked on both Delta and Northwest and questioned why they had been changed to all Delta flights. I explained that since the problem had been with a Delta flight they just booked me that way to get me home. Not having my usual carry on bag with me I was without a toothbrush, deodorant, etc. When I asked about a courtesy kit I was told they didn't have any. Finally, the woman at the next counter explained that they did, indeed, have courtesy kits and went to get them for us. With a final nasty look and an eye roll my clerk waved her hand to the right and told me to 'take a right, a right and go to the shuttle'. Luckily, the couple from the next counter was finished at the same time and the woman taking care of them gave them better directions to the shuttle area. I went with them.
We found the shuttle area and eventually the correct shuttle from the directions given to them. We were shuttled to our hotel, Comfort Inn on Best Road, to find one lone clerk checking everyone in. As this young man checked people in and whittled down the line a new shuttle load of people arrived and his line was long again. However, he never lost his smile or his temper. When asked about somewhere to get something to eat he sent us to an area at the end of his counter where they had sandwiches, chips and drinks. He patiently asked each stranded passenger if they needed a wakeup call. He was amazing and his calm attitude sure helped the tired passengers keep what was left of their shredded tempers.
When I finally arrived in my room, I called John's cell phone and left a weepy update on his voice mail. I sat in the hotel room with no extra clothing, a courtesy kit from the airlines and a sandwich and juice I didn't really want even though I hadn't eaten all day. At that point I had hit my limit, so could only sit and feel sorry for myself and cry. After my tear fest, I ate part of the sandwich, drank some of the juice, took a shower and brushed my teeth. By then I had my spirit back and realized I could wash my panties in the sink and blow-dry them with the blow drier. What a way to top off a horrible day. It actually made me laugh to sit in a strange hotel room blow-drying my underwear!!!
Tuesday - The nightmare continues
My wakeup call came at 6 a.m. John called at 6:05 a.m. I was so glad to hear his familiar, comforting voice, giving me some balance to face the day. He chatted with me while I dressed and got ready to face another day of trying to get home. I boarded the 6:30 a.m. shuttle to the airport.
I'm happy to say that the morning shift at the Atlanta airport was much nicer and more helpful than the evening shift. Their security search was quick, yet thorough. Several of us from the day before met up at the same gate, waving in recognition. Luckily, D. Matson, the woman at the desk was friendly and helpful and we boarded soon.
Again, upon boarding, I asked for a seatbelt extender and it was handed to me right then. My window seat seemed to be more comfortable than the day before but I had less leg room. It was a fairly short flight to the airport in Cincinnati.
I found that the airport in Cincinnati had two terminals in the main building but I was directed to a shuttle to a different terminal. All I could think was, "Oh no, here we go again!" However, it was a pleasantly short ride in a roomy, clean shuttle. The terminal had gate numbers into the 60s and I figured I was going to have to walk forever to get to my gate. What a pleasant surprise to find the terminal was circular and all gates were easily accessible.
At this point, I had plenty of time so I found Darci's Cafe/Bakery and asked if I could use the meal vouchers that 'Miss Personality' begrudgingly gave me the night before. What a helpful, friendly gentleman behind the counter! He helped me use all $14 of the dinner and breakfast vouchers. I ordered a fresh green salad, a very good sandwich plate with chips, a soda, a huge muffin and a cookie. I ate the salad and half of the sandwich there and packed the rest for later. (Thank you Delta!)
I boarded my final flight of the trip. Again I asked for a seatbelt extender at boarding, it was brought to me and handed over discretely. The seats were not necessarily comfortable but I was so exhausted that I settled in and promptly went to sleep and slept most of the flight. Upon landing, I was tempted to dramatically kiss the ground like a POW returning home after a long captivity.
In my home airport, after an eventful trip, I collected my luggage and waited for my briefcase to appear. No such luck! The conveyor belt stopped and I went to the Delta counter to file a missing luggage report. There, I was met by two smiling faces. I learned that one clerk was learning her job and I was to be her first misplaced luggage report. This could have been yet another disaster but the woman training her was very good and they finished the report quickly and explained that my bag would be brought to my home within the next 24 hours.
I gathered my bags and went to wait for the shuttle to the parking lot. The shuttle pulled up right then and a man with a smiling face climbed out and loaded my bags. He was very chatty and declared that ladies returning from long trips shouldn't have to carry their own luggage. I shared with him some of my travel woes and tales of meeting unfriendly people on my trip. He was very friendly and chatted with me about his lady love who worked in the toll booth at the parking lot. He pulled up behind my car and loaded my luggage into the trunk for me. I was so glad to be home that I seriously over tipped him and even tipped the parking lot attendant when she took my money on my way out.
After a half hour drive home, I unloaded my luggage, greeted my dogs and took a long nap in my own bed. Now that is heaven!!!
Coming up Next Week.... Accepting Yourself First!
