A week before we were to travel to San Francisco for the first leg of our vacation trip we learned that there was a transit strike in the city. The BART was shut down and the roads were clogged. People were struggling to get to work or unable to get to work and tempers were frayed. It didn't sound like we were going to have a pleasant experience.
Then, a couple of days before we left, it was reported that the parties involved were going back to the bargaining table. Hooray! we said.
Then on the Saturday before we were to leave, there was an airplane crash at SFO. The tail end of the aircraft clipped the seawall, causing the plane to crash on the runway. Several were killed and many injured. The crash is still being investigated.
On Sunday we heard that air travel had been impaired to San Francisco. Many flights were being delayed. Others completely cancelled.
Monday morning at 6:30 am I called Southwest Airline for the status of our flight. I was told it was on time to depart at 9 am. Hooray! we said.
We arrived at the airport at 7:45 am and while checking our bags, Sherri's phone rang. It was a recorded message from Southwest Airlines. Our flight departure was being delayed for 2 hours.
We were pretty much stuck at the airport so we tried to make the best of it. I had Starbucks and Cinnabon and read the newspaper. Sherri played Friends with Words (or is it Words with Friends?).
Another announcement - our flight was now scheduled to depart at 12 Noon.
Then another announcement - our flight was cancelled. At this point we stopped using the word, Hooray!
Fortunately, Southwest Airlines placed us on a different flight, one that would take us to Oakland. Unfortunately, our rental car was in SFO.
After conferring with other travelers we learned that the BART had a special line that ran from one airport to another. We would be able to get our car. Just not in the way we imaged.
So...we took the plane to Oakland...we took a bus to the BART station...we took the BART to the SFO airport...we took the little service train at SFO to the car rental counter...we picked up our car and drove to our condo in Pacifica, CA.
We were quite late in getting to where we wanted to go. But we weren't particularly frazzled or frustrated. It had been a challenge and adventure. And we made it.
My dear, sweet wife will tell you that I am a nervous traveler. But I managed very well, in spite of the cancellations and complications. Why?
Because Sherri was with me. On my own, it would have been a very unpleasant experience. But being together, supporting one another, thinking things through together, made it a fun trip (never thought I'd type those words!)
It is interesting - of all the great experiences we had on our vacation, the one I will remember the most is what it took to just get there.
Not that I'd like another adventure like that again. I'm getting older and how much excitement can my heart take anyway? A plain, old boring trip with every flight on time and no delays or cancellations would be great! Did you hear that Southwest Airlines?
