My flight from Portland to Dallas was fine except for the school group and a few kids throwing up during the descent. I had an hour layover in Dallas and everything appeared fine. We board our plan to Dulles on time. As I was walking past the flight attendant, I heard her comment to a service person that they needed more ice because we could be sitting on the runway for awhile. Okay. I get into my great seat next to a very nice woman who was taking her grandson on a trip to Botswana. People are still boarding when the pilot comes on to say that due to weather and traffic issues in the DC area, we would need to pull away from the gate and then sit on the runway for 2 hours. Shades went down and air vents pointed at our faces. I began text messaging Mary for updates. They came around with water. One flight attendant was so surly that I thought a guy was going to chuck his Blackberry at her head. Nice seatmate kept offering me ritz sandwich bits. No thank you. Lack of beverage service isn't the time to start eating gummy food.
An hour goes by and the pilot comes back on to say that we could end up sitting another 2 hours, so they were debating if we should return to the gate or stay on the runway in case our departure time changed. Hour and a half goes by and he says we are returning to the gate. This was a good thing because I was starting to feel a little claustrophobic with the heat. Plus, if the woman behind me let out another large sigh that the pilot could probably hear, I was going to shove her plastic cup down her throat. As we pull up to the gate, the flight attendant said the flight was now cancelled. She gets on a minute later to say that it was still on. We unboard and the gate agent says it is cancelled.
I get rebooked on a flight that was leaving at 8 pm. It was only 4:30-5:00 so I had lots of time to kill. By the way, I heard three different stories about our luggage so I was a tad nervous but figured it would all work out. I went off and had something to eat before I decided to plant myself at the gate. Little would I know that we would eventually move to 4 more gates and I would see two different terminals. Have I mentioned yet how much I hate the Dallas airport? My 8 flight kept getting delayed and delayed. I called my hotel to tell them I was going to be a late arrival and that I wanted to confirm the non-smoking/double room. I called the shuttle because I prepaid. They gave me a number to call when I arrived.
I eventually started bonding with some of my fellow passengers. At one point, I had to go to TGI Fridays (I guess it is now called Friday's) to slam a vodka tonic because of the kids playing soccer behind our seats. I think it shocked one of my group members. Clearly, I was the lush of the group. One woman who was not part of the terminal social group kept pacing back and forth. She came up to us to tell us of a gate change. At that point, Mary sent me a message that showed our flight leaving at midnight. I told everyone and there was a collective moan. This woman flipped out on me. I flipped our right back and told her I was not American Airlines and to settle down. She stormed off to our new gate. I get a new text from Mary saying she meant 11. Oops. We then realized that no one at our gate had told us of the gate change and they had all disappeared. The phone at the gate started ringing. It wouldn't stop. A woman in my group answered it and pretended to work for American Airlines and to get some information on our flight. I dared everyone to get the loudspeaker and say that American sucks in customer service. No one stepped up to the dare. At another point, I saw some bored TSA people quizzing each other on "security means what?" and "health and something are what." It was one of the strangest moments I've ever seen in an airport. I thought they were going to start a song and dance routine.
We finally took off at 11. I had Mary call the shuttle people to give them my arrival time of 3 am. Slept the entire flight. Land. Mary sent a message that the shuttle people were unreachable and to take a cab. Cabs from Dulles=lots of $$. Fortunately, there was no traffic at 3:30 in the morning.
I get to my hotel at 4. Get to my room. Ashes are all over the toilet. I realize I am in a smoking room that hasn't really been cleaned. Call the front desk. No other rooms are available. They didn't show the non-smoking request in the system and it doesn't matter because there aren't any other rooms. I would have to wait until 11 am to see if I could switch. I complain about the dirty bathroom. Nothing he can do. I fume. I then see the message light flashing. I call back to the front desk. The person who could read the message for me had stepped away. What the hell? Am I at a Hilton or at some 1/2 star hotel?
I barely sleep. I debated about going to the hotel lobby and camping out just to prove my point. Decide it isn't worth it. I woke up early and called the agency that booked this room. Yep, they had sent along my request to the hotel. I walk down to the desk primed for battle. My hair was kinda sticking up. I really did look a little deranged. The woman was very nice and quickly called to have another room cleaned (deranged=move ass quickly to get rid of crazy lady). She even gave me a free breakfast. Oh and she said..."you have a message...would you like it now?
It was from my boss.
Now I am in a nice room and I just asked Meg to bring a bottle of Vodka with her so we can have cocktails when she shows up.
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