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The all too-normal travel day! |
Feature... Flight Schedule - leave airport 1:00 pm - arrive destination 6:00 pm (5 Hours Total) First Leg: NO RESERVATIONS Upon arriving at the airport, you discover that you are not booked on the flights you thought you were booked upon. Why? The travel agency booked your travel arrangements for March 16th, not April 16th. So you rebook your flights and sweetly talk the airline folks into not charging you a processing fee for changing your flights. Then you call the travel agency to rebook your rental car and your hotels to discover that the hotel you were original staying in is now fully booked due to the conference. Your two choices are Super 8 and Town House Inns. So you book a "quality" room with Super 8 for $39.99 (which does stock a hair dryer, shampoo, lotion, an iron, an ironing board, and last by not least a phonejack!). Second Leg: DELAYED FLIGHT Upon purchasing new tickets it is discovered that the original flight you thought you were booked on is running an hour late, which would cause you to miss your next connection. So the airline person kindly books you on an earlier flight since you have arrived early in the airport to get through security. Third Leg: DELAYED FLIGHT AND SECURITY You arrive at your gate for the first part leg of your flight and find that this one is delayed also. It finally takes off about the time your original flight was to take off so you are at least on time for the connection. However, as you walk up with your boarding pass and picture ID you are pulled off the line for a security check.You are the last one to board the plane. Fourth Leg: CHANGING PLANES/DELAYED FLIGHT You arrive at your first stop to catch your next connection and are just about to board when they announce that the plane is delayed. Thirty minutes later they inform you that you will be switching gates to a new plane. However, this new plane has to wait for the flight crew to arrive. Finally you get on board. Fifth Leg: EMERGENCY LANDING You need to land in a small town before proceeding to your final destination. However, the landing gear has a blinking light and you circle the airport for thirty minutes waiting for the emergency crews to get in place below and for the pilots to try and figure out if this is a malfunction or a reality. You are strongly encouraged to stow all your carry-ons in the proper location and tighten your seatbelt. Sixth Leg: STUCK ON THE RUNWAY You land. It was just a malfunctioning light. However you are now stalled on the runway as the steering of the plane has been locked down. You wait another thirty minutes before proceeding to the terminal. Seventh Leg: DE-PLANING/BUS SERVICE You are asked to de-plane as the plane you were on is going in for maintenance. There are no other flights to your final destination, so you board a bus after waiting another forty-five minutes and are bussed two hours to your final destination. Original Flight Schedule - leave airport 1:00 pm arrive destination 6:00 pm (5 Hours Total) Actual Flight Schedule - leave airport 1:00 pm arrive destination 11:00 pm (10 Hours Total) Eighth Leg: MOTEL NIGHTMARE At the airport, you get your rental car and drive to the hotel where the person in front of you has two credit cards declined before you are helped. You go up to your room to discover that the lights are on in the bathroom and there is luggage on the bed. You quickly leave the room and go back to the front desk. After getting a new room, you board the elevator with two people who get off on your floor and go into the room that you first entered. You don't say a word - you just go to your new room and try to sleep. Then you wake up in the morning with your eye half swollen shut due to a spider bite! The all too-normal travel day! |
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