This week it was finally my turn.
I’ve been pretty lucky I guess. I’m 62-years old, I have flown quite a bit to various places at all times of the year. I don’t think I have ever missed a flight. Until this week.
This week I flew to Texas to see my grandson. His mom and dad too. It was just me on this flight as I tried to escape March in New England and Priscilla couldn’t get the time off.
We have discovered that there is no easy way to get to Corpus Christi, TX. The route we’ve settled on is Boston to Dallas and then Dallas to Corpus Christi. Those connections in Dallas can be tight and this week it was too tight.
I was scheduled to leave Boston at 6:04 p.m. Saturday which would give me an hour layover before my next flight. Yeah…that departure time came and went. We boarded on time, we even pulled away from the gate but then we sat there. The pilot made an announcement about the weights and balances or something. I think he said he was waiting on the paperwork but it was after 7 p.m. when we left. Yeah, this is gonna be tight.
You know it’s going to be close when the pilot comes on the PA and says, “I know several people have flights leaving around 10:30 p.m. and we will try to get you there.” Yes, notice he said “try.”
Also, TWICE before we landed the flight attendant announced, “We have people that NEED to get to connecting flights so if you have an hour or more before your flight, please let these people off first.” Did the other passengers wait? It certainly seemed like a lot of people stood up in front of me.
When I finally got off the plane I had 13 minutes to go from Terminal C to Terminal B and if you’ve never been to Dallas/Fort Worth… that ain’t close. You have to take the SkyLink rail from one terminal to another.
By the time I got there the door was closed, the monitor said “Flight closed” and there wasn’t even a gate agent. Great. What do I do now? It’s 10:45 p.m. and that was the last flight to Corpus Christi. I found an agent at another gate and he booked me on the first flight out the next morning.
So now what do I do?
I knew there was a hotel in another terminal so I called to see if they had a room and they had just had a cancellation. The man said I could book online (for $330) …. I tried and I couldn’t. So I take the SkyLink to Terminal D, go up the escalator only to find out that someone booked it in the ten minutes it took me to get there.
Great!
I figured I would just sit on the comfy sofa in the lobby but when I asked, I was told the lobby closed at midnight. So back to the airport I walked. And proceeded to camp out. All night.
I tried to sleep after being on the phone with my wife and daughter explaining the evening’s adventures. There was a row of chairs but they all had armrests so I couldn’t stretch out. Even if I had tried to squeeze under the armrest, with my back I probably wouldn’t have been able to walk the next day. I got as comfortable as I could and tried to sleep a little.
I was off in a corner by myself and alone for a while before a group of ladies, who I guess also missed their flight, came and sat in my section. They proceeded to talk about their adventures. And talk. So much for sleep. Plus I was also in a strange place with people walking by all night and the janitors buffing the floor.
So I spent my time on Facebook, Tik Tok and editing my photo collection. When did I take so many?
Fortunately the airport opened at 3:30 a.m. so I could start the process of going through security again for my 8 a.m. flight. Unfortunately there was no food or COFFEE available until 5 a.m.
Eventually it all worked out. I made my 8:00 flight, took a nap on the plane and my daughter Sarah AND my little buddy were at the airport in Corpus Christi.
Oh and my luggage made it too. I remember the night before I had asked the gate agent what happened to my luggage. He pointed out that since I didn’t make the connection, chances are my luggage didn’t either. I will admit: I didn’t believe it until I saw it.
So I’m here. The weather is warm and it’s always a good day with my buddy.
The donuts were good but the Sunday afternoon nap was even better.
Oh and we’ve already changed my return flight so I have a longer layover in Dallas. The man at the counter in Corpus Christi said he would be glad to change it for me but he would have to charge me the “Change” fee. He suggested we call the 1-800 number and he was right. When I called Monday morning and explained everything I asked if there would be a fee and the nice man said, “After what you went through I will gladly waive that fee.” That was nice.
Barring any early-April Texas snow storm (that’s not a thing, I think) I’ll have two hours to make my connection.
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