We arrived at the airport, checked our bags, and got our boarding passes for our 2 p.m. flight to Calgary before heading over to arrivals to pick up the new puppy. The puppy (now named Lucy) was arriving from the local
shelter in Grand Forks (yes, the little town where John's dad and stepmom live - what a strange "small world" twist) via Nelson. She arrived safe and sound and Max and I were able to meet her before she headed home to start her new life with Auntie J, Uncle B and Ruby. You are one lucky dog, Lucy! Here is a picture of us in the parking lot at the airport. (husband's note: please enjoy the sight that is Holly's hair)Max and I headed to our gate a little early to get some play time in on the floor before the plane ride. Due to a snowstorm in Calgary, our plane was delayed leaving Calgary so we didn't leave Victoria until almost 3 p.m. Once we arrived in Calgary, the plane circled the airport for nearly half an hour in the air because of a logjam of planes arriving and departing. I was starting to worry about our connection to Ottawa but we were assured that all of the connections were waiting for our plane to land. When we finally landed, I grabbed our stuff and ran to the gate with Max, an elderly gentleman, and a pregnant woman. We were quite the sight! We were pleased as punch to see our plane still at the gate. Then the bombshell dropped: our flight had closed a few minutes before and we wouldn't be able to board.
Here is a transcript of the conversation I had with the Westjet employee:
WJ Dude: We're so sorry. The flight is closed. We tried to wait for you but we had to let the flight go when you were circling for so long in the air.
Me: When is the next flight?
WJ Dude: No worries at all!!! I've booked you on the next flight to Ottawa!!! (in the sunniest Westjet voice just like the TV commercials. I half expected the guy to say that he had shoveled our driveway in Ottawa on his way to work in Cowtown that day.)
Me: When does that leave?
WJ Dude: It leaves Calgary at 12:35 a.m. and lands in Toronto at 6:00 a.m. then you catch an 8:00 a.m. flight to Ottawa arriving at 9:00 a.m!!!! (obviously completely oblivious to the five-month old infant in my arms).
Me: Is this a joke?
Seriously. There was no way that I was going to take the red eye with Max. I asked for a hotel room and to be booked on the first direct flight on Saturday morning. They tried to book me on the 10:55 a.m. flight the next day but shortly realized that because it was Saturday, this flight wasn't being offered. The only direct flight on Saturday was the exact same 5 p.m. flight that I had just missed. At this point, Max was still an absolute trooper but I was near tears. The prospect of spending 24 hours in a Calgary airport hotel AND the reality that I would be missing my sister's 30th birthday party in Ottawa really hit me. It took another 90 minutes or so to get my new tickets, arrange the hotel room and meal vouchers, pick up my luggage and make my way over to the hotel shuttle bays. It was almost 7 p.m. Calgary time when we arrived at the hotel. I ordered some room service, made some calls to home to wallow a bit, and gave Mr. Max a bath. Max settled in nicely at the hotel and we both drifted off to sleep easily after our long day of traveling . . . .
We were awoken just before 6 a.m. by the fire alarm. Yes, the fire alarm. I was a bad mother and lay in bed and hoped that it was a false alarm for a few minutes. When the beeps became much faster and I heard the sirens, I knew that we had to get out. I threw a very sleepy and confused Max in a sling, grabbed the diaper bag, and headed down the four flights of stairs in my pajamas. Luckily, we only had to evacuate to the lobby given that it was -30 outside without the wind chill factor. Once the firefighters had cleared the building about 30 minutes later (apparently, some IDIOT was smoking in a hallway), we headed back to our room. Wonder of wonders, Max went back to sleep after a nice nursing session.
On Saturday morning, I was packing up the room and couldn't find Max's toy lion (for regular readers of the blog, this is one of Max's favourite toys from the Gymini playgym he got for Christmas). I looked everywhere for this toy because in Max's short life, this is one of the only toys that has captured his sustained affection. When I was looking under one of the beds in the hotel room, I thought I spotted the toy but alas, it was a used drug pipe. Yes, a blown glass pipe reeking of ganja under my hotel room bed. I called the front desk and someone was dispatched promptly to collect the paraphernalia. On the plus side, the hotel took care of my room service charges to atone for this under the bed find. I realized later that I had left Lion and another teething toy in the front pocket on our Victoria-Calgary leg in the rush to make the connection to Ottawa.
We made our way to the airport and enjoyed some lunch with the meal vouchers and did a little bit of shopping. We also checked in at the Westjet desk to see if Lion had been located. Eureka! An employee there had found Lion and the other toy on the plane and given them to another employee to put in the Lost and Found. Unfortunately, the toys never made it to the Lost and Found. (Side note: John is still trying to follow up with Westjet to see if we can find Lion! The really brutal part is that because Lion was part of the playgym, he can't be replaced.)
My flight left Calgary without incident and Max was a super trooper for the last long flight of the trip. He slept most of the way and charmed his way into a few more passengers' hearts. John was a sight for sore eyes when we finally arrived in Ottawa at 11:00 p.m. It was a most fabulous feeling to FINALLY get home around 11:45 p.m. Ottawa time on Saturday night to the cats and our own beds. What a crazy journey!!!!
p.s. I will say that all the employees we encountered, from the Westjet employees, the shuttle drivers who helped me with all of my bags, and the hotel manager who gave us a really late checkout, were really wonderful.
No comments:
Post a Comment