Saturday, February 18, 2012

A few days ago, I blogged about my nightmarish drive home, one that should’ve taken a little over an hour but ended up dragging out to four and a half hours long. 

Welcome to the crowded freeways of southern California.  LOL.

In Canada, they don’t have such issues.  So whenever my girlfriends come down to California for a visit, they’re not only amazed I can navigate the complex interwoven freeway system here but also, their minds cannot process the sheer number of motorists on the road.

A couple of days ago, those same girlfriends came down to California for a belated birthday celebration with me.  Theirs should have been an easy enough four-hour journey.  Go to the airport, hop on their plane, arrive here in California and take a taxi to their hotel. 

Oh, if only things had gone so smoothly….

Just as with my nightmarish commute home in traffic the other day, my girlfriends found they’d embarked on what’s becoming more the norm with air travel—a living nightmare.

Everything went well enough on the way to the airport.  But then they learned that their flight had been cancelled.  Eventually, they were placed on another plane.  Of course, since theirs was not to be a smooth journey here, that plane ended up having mechanical troubles not long after taking off.  So…the airline rerouted them to another airport.  Once there, the passengers were made to sit on the plane for an extended time while that Airline Company attempted to fix the mechanical problem.  But alas…that would’ve been way too simple. So, in keeping with my girlfriend’s trip from beyond, it was deemed that the plane could not be fixed.  Exit all the passengers into that airport…to wait…. 

Since that airport was also in Canada with a limited number of flights coming and going through that airline carrier, my girlfriends, along with the other weary passengers, were eventually placed on a plane through a different carrier.  By this time, near nine grueling hours had passed—more than double the amount of time it should’ve taken for my girlfriends to arrive here in California!

Through all this loveliness, the airlines had deprived the passengers of any food…or beverage, the planes they’d been flying on too small to have even offered food that could’ve been purchased. 

Good grief!

Now seated on a fully functioning plane, one would’ve thought my girlfriends could’ve relaxed.  But their travel troubles were far from over.  You see, this new carrier and “accommodating plane” wasn’t going to deliver them anywhere near where they needed to go.  In fact, once arrived, they would be on their own to find transportation that could get them near two hours away to where their hotel was!

Nice!

They did finally arrive, and after having to pay an exorbitant tab for a taxi, managed to arrive at their hotel.  By this time, twelve ours had elapsed!  To add insult to injury, though my girlfriends were exhausted from their travels, they were famished.  So they went looking for food.  But, seeing as it was after 11:00PM, nothing was open.

Of course it wasn’t….

So…hungry, feeling grungy from an extended day’s travels and frustrated, they each crawled into bed, hoping that the morrow would bring with it happier times.  It did.  We three were able to get together.  My girlfriends got to eat, shop and sightsee.  And then we spent a lovely evening together with other friends.

Let’s hear it for happy endings!