The complexities of today make me laugh...although I wasn't laughing at the time.
So, my flight is at 7:50 am, meaning I have to get to the airport by 6:15 latest being that it is an international flight and all. I get there at 6:13, (feeling fantastic that I am already ahead of schedule, even if it is only by 2 minutes.) I get to the Kiosk to check in only to find that my flight has been delayed. I get to the counter after 10 minutes of waiting in an empty line, and ask the lady what I should do. She makes a swift phone call, and tells me I can catch a flight to Philly at 7:20 if I hurry. Hurry?
Hurry was the last word I heard and I was off. (Should I mention that I found this really cute flower bag that I packed all my stuff in. I had no check in luggage, and this bag was old- so it had no wheels, and it was heavy only getting heavier as I got further into the trip.)
So, I'm feeling good thinking that I was going to make to Philly ahead of time and could potentially grab lunch as I wait for my connection.
Well that is not how this story ends.
As I turned the corner, I see a massive line of people waiting for their security screening. The line surpassed the black line formers and extended into the main lobby. (Longest security check line I have ever seen and I travel quite a bit.)
I hear people all around me in a panic, telling security that their flight is boarding as we speak. Security responds with the typical, there is nothing I can do (which we all know is not very true, considering they hold the power in the joint and hold a gun.)
I don't bother asking for me, since I know it would just be a waste of time. After about 30 minutes, I see that it is only 7:00 and I can possibly make it! I get my shoes back on, put my laptop back into my backpack and run to the gate. (The bag is getting heavier and heavier as I run, mind you.) I remembered that at the Orlando airport, you have to take a shuttle to the gates, so again, I lose hope. I hop on the shuttle and I'm dancing in my pants like I have to pee as if my dancing will make the shuttle go faster.
I get off, run, and get there by 7:16 thinking I made it as I throw that heavy (but cute) flower bag to the ground!
As I get there I hear the click of the door....and she...turns around... with a rather large and exaggerated grin... and says..."How can I help you?"
It couldn't have been more obvious!
"That's my flight. I need to get on that plane."
Her response is that we must board 6 minutes before take off and she looks at her watch. "Ohh, it's 7:16. I look eat her with a look of desperation and frustration, "You just shut the door. Just reopen it." She responds with the typical lie, "There is nothing I can do."
Instead of arguing that the lady at the front was an idiot for trying to get me onto this flight,
and that for sure will miss my connection flying out of Philly at 11:05, I nicely ask to see if there are other options for getting me to Canada today.
Wait a second...I forgot to mention the rush of getting there early and on the correct flight. My aunt and cousin were arriving in Montreal that very same day at 3:00ish. The drive to the woods is about an hour and I have no vehicle. I know they'd wait, but how frustrating would that be after all the plans we made to make sure we'd arrive around the same time. So, back to my story...
"You can leave here at 10:05 to get to Phillie and catch their 3:30 to Montreal." Thinking to myself, that would get me to Montreal around 5:00 and after customs, who knows when I'd be getting out of there!
She mentions that there is one other option, and that is to go on standby for the 12:30 flight. I take it.
So I fly out of Orlando, and arrive in Philly. I find the gate to my standby connecting flight and I am happy to finally be somewhat close to my final destination.
As I turn the corner, I see a familiar face plugging in their cell phone into a small hidden outlet. It's Michel! My cousin, who would have been waiting for me in Montreal if I don't get on this very flight!
He informs me that there was an open spot on the earlier flight to Montreal but they tried to charge him to go on standby, and I inform him that the open spot was my spot.
So we wait, and talk, and wait some more. The plane loads, and the door is about to close. I'm feeling less hopeful once again, and then the man at the ticket counter says, 2 more spots on this flight. Welcome aboard.
I jump up with a look of glee and I get on the plane.
I am finally on my way to Montreal! but that is still not the end of my story.
The 3:30 flight (the one I should have been on) got cancelled due to a horrible storm in Montreal. I have a picture of it from the plane as we landed. That means I avoided a night in Phillie by literally 2 seats.
Well, customs for some odd (yet fitting) reason was extremely long. The longest I have ever seen, (and the longest Michel had ever seen.) An hour later, we were done and ready to go. We missed the whole storm waiting in line, but apparently it was pretty bad. We take a cab to to car rental place, Michel, Marie, Andre, and I and Daniel picks us up at Enterprise. The storm had been so bad, most of the main roads were closed, and the main highway was shut down due to a fallen down highway overpass bridge.
So, it's Daniel, me, Michel and Lady and we have no GPS, no internet, and no idea where to go. We drove and found roads that looked good, but most led us deeper into nowhere. The roads were so jam packed (again, fittingly so). In our search for the less jam packed roads, we found ourselves getting further and further from an recognizable area. We stopped, made friends who gave us bad directions, and did that several times until finally, we reached a road both Daniel and Michel recognized. 2 hours later, we were at Daniels apartment drinking a cold beer. I don't even remember what kind it was, but it tasted damn good.
The night ended with a fantastic dinner and seeing a lot of familiar faces. The next day we'll be in the woods, and that I am very excited for.
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