You know that movie Snakes on a Plane? We could make a movie called Stuck on a Plane. Don't ever go on a trip with us if you don't like being stuck on a plane--for HOURS--seriously. We can guarantee that if you go on a trip that requires air travel it will more than likely result in spending more than your fair share of time on the plane. And not just time in the air; we are talking sitting on the plane on various runways. We have taken three trips that had us checking bags, going through security, and whipping out our boarding passes. Two of the three trips resulted in a total of eight and a half hours of sitting ON THE PLANE at the gate or on a runway. And you know just how roomy and spacious planes are. Fun times! (I do have to interject here that the one trip we took where we didn't put in runway time, we did get bumped to first class; however, the odds are not in our favor for that to ever happen again. I also feel inclined to mention on that flight, we did not have to go through Dallas, which, as you will see, seems to be the problem.)
Our first air travel was a trip to see another pledge sister in Austin, TX. My memory is a little sketchy since this trip was several years ago (7 years ago this summer to be exact.), so Thelma feel free to correct some of the details. Our flight left home at 7:30 PM, we had a lay over in Dallas, and our entire flight (including the lay over) was supposed to be around two hours. That put us getting into Austin around 9:30. Our flight ended up boarding an hour late, and then when we finally did get on the plane, we taxied to the end of the runway, turned back, and then sat at the gate ON THE PLANE for three hours. The hold up? "Weather in Dallas" (This is the key phrase; watch it will come up again) We did finally leave the gate around 11 PM and got into Dallas about 45 minutes later. We proceeded to the gate where we were to wait on the plane for additional passengers to board, and guess what??? Apparently the "Weather in Dallas" had cleared enough for us to land but not take off again. Go figure. So, there we were sitting ON THE PLANE at the gate AGAIN. I think we finally left Dallas an hour and a half later and got into Austin about 1:00 in the AM. (Oh, and Thelma just had to develop a sinus infection during all of this, so you know that made the fight that much more fun. Are you sensing the sarcasm?)
So, fast forward five years--a wedding and a kid later. We--Thelma, her hubby, me, and my hubby--took that now infamous trip to Mexico. (If you missed it, see our first blog post.) The flight there was smooth sailing so to speak. It wasn't until the flight home that fate reared her ugly head. First of all, our plane left Mexico two hours after its scheduled departure time (ARE you seeing the pattern here?), which we found out after we'd already left our resort and gotten to the airport--bye, bye beach. Little did we know at the time, that two hour wait in the airport would be WELCOMED after the delay we were still yet to experience. Once we left Mexico, we were flying into, of all places, Dallas and then driving the rest of the way home--a 3 hour trip. (Watch. Here comes that key phrase.) So, we got to Dallas and noticed we were continually flying in circles. The pilot finally came over the PA system and said (Here it is.) we weren't going to be able to land because of "Weather in Dallas" (Told you it was coming.) and we were being re-routed to Houston. Now I have never been to Houston and really would love to go, but not at the end of a trip when all I want to do is see my then six-month-old son we had just left with his grandparents for a week and sleep in my own bed. But we were stuck on the plane, so what were we going to do at that point? Sure enough, we landed in Houston and sat ON THE PLANE for 5 hours waiting for the "Weather in Dallas" to clear. When it was all said and done, we ended up getting home 7 hours AFTER our scheduled time to our own comfy and snugly beds.
The moral of the stories: Avoid any flights that require you to land in Dallas if you are traveling with Thelma and me; it can only end up with countless hours of your life wasted while sitting ON A PLANE. Bad news for you though--How are you going to know if we are on your flight? I guess if you end up sitting in a plane on the runway in Dallas, you can start looking for us on your flight. Chances are pretty good that we're probably on it.
Our first air travel was a trip to see another pledge sister in Austin, TX. My memory is a little sketchy since this trip was several years ago (7 years ago this summer to be exact.), so Thelma feel free to correct some of the details. Our flight left home at 7:30 PM, we had a lay over in Dallas, and our entire flight (including the lay over) was supposed to be around two hours. That put us getting into Austin around 9:30. Our flight ended up boarding an hour late, and then when we finally did get on the plane, we taxied to the end of the runway, turned back, and then sat at the gate ON THE PLANE for three hours. The hold up? "Weather in Dallas" (This is the key phrase; watch it will come up again) We did finally leave the gate around 11 PM and got into Dallas about 45 minutes later. We proceeded to the gate where we were to wait on the plane for additional passengers to board, and guess what??? Apparently the "Weather in Dallas" had cleared enough for us to land but not take off again. Go figure. So, there we were sitting ON THE PLANE at the gate AGAIN. I think we finally left Dallas an hour and a half later and got into Austin about 1:00 in the AM. (Oh, and Thelma just had to develop a sinus infection during all of this, so you know that made the fight that much more fun. Are you sensing the sarcasm?)
So, fast forward five years--a wedding and a kid later. We--Thelma, her hubby, me, and my hubby--took that now infamous trip to Mexico. (If you missed it, see our first blog post.) The flight there was smooth sailing so to speak. It wasn't until the flight home that fate reared her ugly head. First of all, our plane left Mexico two hours after its scheduled departure time (ARE you seeing the pattern here?), which we found out after we'd already left our resort and gotten to the airport--bye, bye beach. Little did we know at the time, that two hour wait in the airport would be WELCOMED after the delay we were still yet to experience. Once we left Mexico, we were flying into, of all places, Dallas and then driving the rest of the way home--a 3 hour trip. (Watch. Here comes that key phrase.) So, we got to Dallas and noticed we were continually flying in circles. The pilot finally came over the PA system and said (Here it is.) we weren't going to be able to land because of "Weather in Dallas" (Told you it was coming.) and we were being re-routed to Houston. Now I have never been to Houston and really would love to go, but not at the end of a trip when all I want to do is see my then six-month-old son we had just left with his grandparents for a week and sleep in my own bed. But we were stuck on the plane, so what were we going to do at that point? Sure enough, we landed in Houston and sat ON THE PLANE for 5 hours waiting for the "Weather in Dallas" to clear. When it was all said and done, we ended up getting home 7 hours AFTER our scheduled time to our own comfy and snugly beds.
The moral of the stories: Avoid any flights that require you to land in Dallas if you are traveling with Thelma and me; it can only end up with countless hours of your life wasted while sitting ON A PLANE. Bad news for you though--How are you going to know if we are on your flight? I guess if you end up sitting in a plane on the runway in Dallas, you can start looking for us on your flight. Chances are pretty good that we're probably on it.
lol - good thing I hate flying so that won't happen!! Looks like you two don't have the best of look with planes!
ReplyDeleteSounds like you've had some fun times on planes! LOL! =)
ReplyDeleteHa, that stinks! Hopefully you don't have to waste anymore of your life sitting on planes (and hopefully I don't get on any of your planes...just in case), tee hee!
ReplyDeleteJamie :-)