# Your biggest travel mishap



## DorotaG (Aug 11, 2011)

The thread about flight time mess up got me thinking about my own biggest (so far) travel mess up. I am a travel organizer/guide/coordinator of all of our trips. I am usually extremely organized; each trip has a folder with pockets with all relevant information. There is a section for air travel, road travel, maps, itineraries, all reservations, restaurant gift certificates, you name it. It is my “Trip Bible” and we would be (literally) lost without it. It really helps me to keep all things organized and I rarely make mistakes (where to go, how to get there) and keeps our trips running smoothly.

Of course there are exceptions.  My biggest one so far happened during our trip to Europe last year. The trip had several legs, with some train travel, several flights. We travelled to Venice from Rome on  EasyJet and from Venice to Malaga on Ryanair. When we arrived to Venice we came to Marco Polo Airport. On the day of our travel to Spain, we took a bus to the airport. While almost at the airport, I took out my binder to verify our exact departure time. To my horror I realized we are heading to the wrong airport!!!!     We were supposed to be at Traviso, not Marco Polo!  We tried to get a taxi at the airport, in panic couldn’t find one, the airports were about 1 hour drive from each other, we “just” missed a bus going there. We had about 1.5 hour till our departure. My husband found a truck driver willing to take us (for $$) and we spent next 45 minutes going 120 miles an hour in a rickety truck.     The driver drove like an Italian he was and we made it within minutes of gates closing…  
My family voted to fire me from my position of the “vacation specialist” but so far their decision was not enforced.  

So what was your biggest travel mishap?


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## loafingcactus (Aug 11, 2011)

I was in a Hertz bus crash on the space between the terminals at ORD.  I knew that if the police got there they wouldn't let me walk to my terminal, so I grabbed my stuff and ran off the bus the second after the crash, as did the other traveler.  So it turned out to be nothing.

I've always told people that they don't need to fret about packing because as long as you have an ID and a credit card anything can be solved.  So I flew to Europe without my credit card... Ooops!  Fortunately I'm Hertz Gold, so they let me take the car without asking for the credit card.  Then at the hotel I very casually said, "Well, lets just charge it to the card on file, eh?" and that worked.  Whew!

I've had my fair share of wrong airport wrong day, canceled flight and drive all night (canceled morning flight, after I had already checked into a hotel, drove to the connection city and checked into a second hotel... A month later travel wanted to know why I had two hotel chanrges for the same night, lol).  Was a business "road warrior" for five years.... Lost my drivers license once and had to talk three Hertzs into giving me cars anyway that week... The drivers license was eventually found in an airport that I had not even been to...


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## chellej (Aug 11, 2011)

In one of my previous jobs I traveled alot and it was always the same schedule so I just got into the routine.  Got up Monday morning, went to airport boarded the regional airline to slc....no problem.  Get to SLC....Ahhhh there is a problem with my ticket when I try to check in....It was for the previous day.  So call my boss.  He has been wondering where I am and the time I would get there I would have missed tooo much so he tells me to go back home.

So I got a flight back home.   Boy did I feel stupid


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## Passepartout (Aug 11, 2011)

Not too long after the post 9-11 madness gave us TSA etc. We were headed to Europe. Going through security, an agent, digging in DW's tote bag began pulling on and unraveling her knitting. DW automatically reached for her stuff to try to mitigate the damage. The agent filed assault charges, we missed that days' flights. A CSA got us on another flight via a roundabout route to Europe with as little delay as possible-one day. 

Bottom line: whatever the nice uniformed public servant wants to do, let them. You can't win!  

Jim Ricks


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## CapriciousC (Aug 11, 2011)

Passepartout said:


> Not too long after the post 9-11 madness gave us TSA etc. We were headed to Europe. Going through security, an agent, digging in DW's tote bag began pulling on and unraveling her knitting. DW automatically reached for her stuff to try to mitigate the damage. The agent filed assault charges, we missed that days' flights. A CSA got us on another flight via a roundabout route to Europe with as little delay as possible-one day.
> 
> Bottom line: whatever the nice uniformed public servant wants to do, let them. You can't win!
> 
> Jim Ricks



Oh no!  Your poor wife!  As a fellow knitter/crochet addict, I can understand not wanting to have your work unraveled.  I've learned to carry my current project in a large, clear Ziploc bag (Ziploc makes those huge ones for storage, in the event it's a blanket or large sweater).  This way they can see what's in there without the risk of pulling on a loose end.

I think we have a tie for worst travel mishap - on our honeymoon, my husband was hit by a Vespa scooter in Florence, while standing on the sidewalk.  Pedestrians, it seems, do NOT have the right of way on sidewalks in Italy 

Our other biggie was when our rental car broke down halfway between Punta del Este and Montevideo, Uruguay, in the dead heat of summer, with no buildings in sight, and with our 18-month-old daughter in the back seat.  Luckily I had juice and snacks for her in the car, we found a shady spot by the side of the road, and some very nice local cowboys rode by on horses, charmed our daughter, and called Hertz on their cell phone (my husband's so-called "international work phone" would only let him dial numbers in the US - his poor assistant was frantically trying to get a hold of the Hertz desk in Montevideo).


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## loafingcactus (Aug 11, 2011)

Passepartout said:


> Not too long after the post 9-11 madness gave us TSA etc. We were headed to Europe. Going through security, an agent, digging in DW's tote bag began pulling on and unraveling her knitting. DW automatically reached for her stuff to try to mitigate the damage. The agent filed assault charges, we missed that days' flights. A CSA got us on another flight via a roundabout route to Europe with as little delay as possible-one day.
> 
> Bottom line: whatever the nice uniformed public servant wants to do, let them. You can't win!
> 
> Jim Ricks



Many moons ago, my mother reached into her purse to show them that the "weapon" they were concerned about was a leatherman tool.  She got put against a wall.

More recently, after she died, I flew home with all of her jewelry.  I insisted on watching them go through it: nothing against them, a broach could get snagged on a sleeve, a ring could roll under a table.  But you better believe I was treated as if I were accusing them of something and public enemy #1.

I always report confrontational TSA agents on the website.  I figure if an arrested person wants to try to find a record of how the TSA agent was looking for a fight it might help them...  I had one wave me through the metal detector, get distracted and not properly watch whether it went off, and then SCREAM at me that I had come through without permission rather than just admit that he was distracted and needed me to do it again.


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## Luanne (Aug 11, 2011)

1.  Missing my train stop completely (still insist the conductor didn't announce it).

2.  Forgetting to  bring my birth certificate when going on a cruise to Mexico.  What was worse was my mom forgot her passport and my sister didn't bring her birth certificate either. They did let us on, but we had to sign some paperwork first.

3.  But the "best" was my mom and aunt who missed their flight to Hawaii. They were at the airport, checked in and in the gate area.  But somehow completely missed the boarding call and somehow never noticed that everyone else was getting on the plane.


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## siesta (Aug 11, 2011)

Falling asleep on the train ride to southern illinois, waking up to the last stop of new orleans during katrina relief efforts. Was able to run across the tracks with a worker to catch a train going the other way which was the last one for the night.


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## UWSurfer (Aug 11, 2011)

Years ago we had a flight to the Big Island out of LAX that was rerouted to Oakland.  It was delayed and ended up very late, requiring a layover in Oahu, arriving a day late on the Big Island on Easter Sunday.   Inner island flights were on Aloha Airlines, which went out of business the day after getting to Island #2.   Then ATA went out of business with no notice and left us scrambling for seats home.  

A much longer thread exists here on TUG as the story developed.

Another time I flew a red eye to Orlando, arriving blury eyed only to discover I had booked a rental van, prepaid, no refunds through Hotwire for the week FOLLOWING our week there.  Ended up renting another van on the spot using Mousesavers to find the best rate I could get while sitting in the airport.


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## Kay H (Aug 11, 2011)

On our one and only trip to Hawaii, we arrived pretty late at night.  Since the rental car was in my name, I told DH to wait for the luggage while I got the stuff for the car.  As I reached down to my waist to get my driver's license and credit card from my waistpack, I realized I had unhooked it on the plane for the long trip and forgot to put it back on.

I ran quite a distance from the carasel to where we got off the plane and they would not let me get back on because they were cleaning the plane.  I was so upset that I couldn't remember my seat number or anything else.  All my money and everything I needed was in that waist pack.

Someone used a walky talky to notify someone on the plane to look for a waist pack.  I was never so happy to see a cleaning man in my life.

Ran back to where DH was waiting with the luggage.  I was a wreck and he just patiently stood there waiting for me.


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## Davidr (Aug 11, 2011)

One time we got to the airport on our way to Mexico and my wife realized that we had forgotten her handbag at home.  Luckily, I had all the tickets and passports.

A few years ago we were in Florida when a hurricane was headed right for us.  After hours and hours on the phone with American  we were able to get a flight out for the next day.  We got to the airport 2 1/2 hours before flight time and it was a zoo.  We waited on line for over 2 hours.  Our place in line happened to be right next to the  American Eagle check in desk when they had checked in the last AE flight and opened it up to American passengers.  We got on the plane just as they were closing the doors.  The plane (one of the last to leave MIA before they closed due to high winds) left half empty with the rest of the passengers still trying to check in.


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## markel (Aug 11, 2011)

Just yesterday. Having not rented a vehicle in about 5 yrs. (usually fly and get shuttled) I didn't think to fill the tank an exit or two before the airport. The minivan tank was empty and when I pulled into the gas station near the airport and saw the price of $5.79/gallon, I quickly remembered how dumb that was. I may stick to getting shuttled around !!!


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## CapriciousC (Aug 11, 2011)

My husband's worst mishaps always seem to occur on business trips...

In July of 1990 he was on a business trip to Kuwait when the US Marines appeared in the hotel where his meetings were being held, and promptly informed all of the Americans present to pack their bags because they were being evacuated.  Iraq invaded Kuwait within the week.

Fortunately the worst thing that's ever happened to me on a business trip was the airline losing my luggage.


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## Passepartout (Aug 11, 2011)

DW will tell of flying into a cruise departure city on embarkation day and the airline's losing the luggage. She, husband (before me), and 2 toddlers getting by on carry-ons and credit cards until the luggage caught up at the first port-of-call. Fortunately each of them had packed some of each-others' clothes  and had necessary meds, etc. 

Needless to say, we absolutely will not schedule it so close that there's not at least one overnight before a cruise departure.

I'm pretty sure that I have seen the above scenario happen to other people on darn near every cruise I have taken.

Jim Ricks


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## vacationhopeful (Aug 11, 2011)

My best story is regarding my ex-bf. I still laugh myself silly every time I think about it.

It is a long story - key words include - spooks, guns, training camps, terrorists, clerics, 3rd world country, lost passport, local army checkpoints, forbidden travel, 6 weeks, missed 1st class ticket home (24 hr flight), shots fired, and 10 days of interviews (interrogation by our men in black) before getting his new passport to get his new exit permit to leave.

End of story was a middle row seat in coach on a ratty 3rd world airline for 3X the cost of his forfeitted 1st class ticket on a US-type carrier for 24 hours with no booze as the best flight he ever got on. Finally, got on, as he got the last seat.

So, if the US government tells you NOT to go somewheres, don't go.


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## Icc5 (Aug 11, 2011)

*Worst we've done*

We drove about 15 hours to get from one timeshare to another only to find out my wife booked the second one wrong and we had another day in between.  It would have worked out great if we knew it ahead of time because there were lots of sights to see but we didn't stop.
Bart


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## Talent312 (Aug 11, 2011)

_Pulling dusty old history books from the shelves:_

In 1991, Pan American Airways was in a death-spiral and had sold its European routes to Delta.
Delta held a fire-sale to fill seats. For a ridiculous low price ($279?), we booked this route:
Tallahassee - Orlando - NY - Rome (Italy).

We arrived at the airport with only carry-on luggage, so proceed directly to the gate to wait.
We waited to the time of our flight, but no ticket agent for the only gate ever showed.
We scurried to the ticket counter where they told us that the Tally-Orlando leg (last that day)
had been cancelled.

The local manager did not rewrite our tickets, but ushered us onto a flight leaving for Atlanta.
He told us to check in there. In Atlanta, Delta had no idea why were there, but they gamely
rescheduled us to Frankfurt and thence Rome (on Lufthansa), arriving only three hours late.
_Not too shabby._

But we were not done with the adventure...
In Frankfurt, we moseyed to our next gate, where we saw folks departing.
We handed our tickets the agent, took the bus to the plane, and found our seats.
After 15 minutes, our names are called. We took the bus for the plane to Barcelona!

We did get to Rome, but I wonder what we would have done if we'd gone to Barcelona instead.


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## Luanne (Aug 11, 2011)

Oh yeah, there was the time that our return flight from Maui home was grounded.  It was a charter and the entire airline was shut down.  No more flights ever.  We managed to get out on another direct flight the next day.  And got no sympathy from anyone............"so you got stranded on Maui".


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## sfwilshire (Aug 11, 2011)

Luanne said:


> 3.  But the "best" was my mom and aunt who missed their flight to Hawaii. They were at the airport, checked in and in the gate area.  But somehow completely missed the boarding call and somehow never noticed that everyone else was getting on the plane.



I saw a young couple realize they had done this in Memphis a year or so ago. They were sitting behind a little wall. When they saw what they had done, they started trying to get a resolution from the gate agent. I was waiting for my flight, so couldn't help overhearing some of the conversation. They were apparently going to be charged a very high price for tickets on a later flight.

Sheila


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## loafingcactus (Aug 11, 2011)

sfwilshire said:


> I saw a young couple realize they had done this in Memphis a year or so ago. They were sitting behind a little wall. When they saw what they had done, they started trying to get a resolution from the gate agent. I was waiting for my flight, so couldn't help overhearing some of the conversation. They were apparently going to be charged a very high price for tickets on a later flight.
> 
> Sheila



I did it once.  I was even sitting right by the podium... I guess I was just lost in never never land.  They put me on the next flight.  I told the people I was meeting that I had missed the first flight.  I mean, really, who does that, lol.


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## MommaBear (Aug 11, 2011)

So many stories, so little time..

Delta rerouted me one flight and had me leaving Atlanta 45 minutes before I landed there.... not to be confused with the time I got to my originating airport at the time I was supposed to be in Atlanta as I mis-read the tickets.

Then there was the time I flew from Maine to LA with the 24 hour flu and the 2 kids had it as well- AND we got reprimanded by the flight attendant because my kids did not eat the special meals that were ordered for them. Oh, then there was the time my daughter had her wallet stolen the night we were supposed to fly back from LA and her boyfriend (who she dumped the next week) refused to get up and fax her credentials so she could get on the airplane the next morning. She had to have a friend drive 20 minutes, get her stuff and fax it.

One time it took 39 hours to get from Reno to Maine and I got a voicemail telling me they were going to blow up my luggage if we had not picked it up by 6 pm, but they did not leave a phone number for me to call and let them know I was enroute. Finally got to Maine, could see my luggage in the office but the clerk insisted it was in Denver because the computer told her that is where it was. Took me several minutes to convince her to turn around, look at the tags on our bags to have her believe our bags were in Maine not in Denver.

Or maybe it was the time we had 8 feet of snow when we were driving from Reno to Mammoth... Or the time the airplane was hit by lightning or the time we did a touch and go landing in a 747 in 6 inches of snow because there was a 747 coming down the runway towards us. 

For us the unusual is making all our connections, getting to our destination on time with all our belongings. The fact that I still fly 25,000 plus miles a year either shows a strong constitiution or a sad lack of ability to learn from experience.


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## Luanne (Aug 11, 2011)

sfwilshire said:


> I saw a young couple realize they had done this in Memphis a year or so ago. They were sitting behind a little wall. When they saw what they had done, they started trying to get a resolution from the gate agent. I was waiting for my flight, so couldn't help overhearing some of the conversation. They were apparently going to be charged a very high price for tickets on a later flight.
> 
> Sheila



Mom said United (I think it was) was very gracious and put them on the next possible flight (probably laughing at these two older ladies).  It just threw them off as they arrived in Kona when it was dark and they had to navigate their way to Paniolo Greens.  For those who have been there you may know that it's not all that easy even when it's light. And this was back in the days when the check in was not at the resort, but at the shopping center up the road.


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## Bee (Aug 11, 2011)

We were headed to Maui one time early in the morning, half asleep. There was an annoucement over the loud speaker for boarding. My husband said that us, lets go. We got on the plane and found our seats, but some other people were sitting there. We showed the flight attendant our tickets, explaining someone had taken our seats. Turned out we had boarded a flight to Kona. Luckily, this was before 9/11 and we were not detained.


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## heathpack (Aug 12, 2011)

Last Thanksgiving we were flying home to LA from NYC.  In Manhattan, we grabbed a cab to JFK.  When we got to JFK, I remembered we were flying out of LGA.

Cabbie raced us over to LGA where we just arrived in the nick of time.

Then the entire airport was shut down for bad weather.  

Our flight was eventually cancelled.

We went nowhere that day.  Well, out to Long Island to have dinner with my mother and crash for the night.

H


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## akbmusic (Aug 12, 2011)

*Hurricane prediction powers?*

Our biggest travel mishaps were vacations that never occurred.
In 2001 we were set to go to Belize and then a hurricane struck, so we had to re-exchange to a different location.
In 2004 we had exchanged into the Cayman Islands. Hurricane Ivan struck, and we had to re-exchange somewhere else.
In 2005 we were set to go to Marco Island for Christmas, and then Wilma hit. Had to re-exchange somewhere else.
In 2008, we were planning a long-weekend anniversary trip to the Turks and Caicos and those islands got hit.
Have made it to the Caymans, and can't wait to go back. All the others, we haven't made it to yet, but we're going to give it a try.
Really, re-booking flights and giving up vacations was nothing compared to what the residents were going through at the time...
For a while there, we were beginning to think that us planning a vacation to a location was almost a "curse" though


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## sstug (Aug 12, 2011)

In 2000 I was flying to Tanzania for a volunteer trip on the same day as my niece’s HS graduation (she was valedictorian) and the person who made arrangements for our flights gave us the details as a 10pm flight.  So I worked it out that I would go to the airport early in the afternoon and check in, go to the graduation, and be back at the airport in time for the flight.  I got the tickets just a couple of days before the trip and didn’t notice until check in at the airport the flight was 8pm!! He misinterpreted what time 20:00 was and I was dumb enough not to look immediately upon getting the tickets.  Well, I checked in as expected (now knowing I didn’t have time for both) and while driving away called friends for advice.  Got a friend to agree to pick me up at the graduation and drive me as fast as possible back to the airport. Well, traffic was horrible and I realized even that would not work.  I was on the phone crying to my sister half way across the country.  I decided family was more important and couldn’t miss graduation.  So my sister spent an hour on the phone for me calling the airport to inform them I would not make the flight after all.  Come to find out later when I went back to the airport the next day to rebook my flight that the person at check in who took the call did not tell the flight attendants on the airplane.  They were paging me and looking for me forever…and the group I was flying with never spoke up to tell them I was not coming.  So because the counter folks were mad at me for delaying the flight they were uncooperative in helping to get me on the next flight.  Unfortunately the tickets were booked by a London travel agent on 2 airlines (Virgin & BA I think).  So I was running back and forth between counters trying to get them to coordinate my new flights and they kept refusing to rebook me.  I had to go to the airport at least 3 times (Boston – very expensive parking) and pay a change fee but they finally gave me flights for a week later.  So instead of flying to Tanzania with a group for a 2 week trip, I flew alone for a 1 week trip.  Lesson learned…


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## IngridN (Aug 12, 2011)

This is a great thread.

Other than DH having his pocket picked on a bus in Rome (we knew exactly what was happening and did everything to prevent it, but they got $40 in cash from a deep front pocket in his khaki's. He didn't even feel it, they were that good  ) ), our greatest mishaps were also vacations that never happened.

The first was about 4 years ago. We were loading up the car for a very early morning flight to Hawaii when I dislocated my kneecap. I kept insisting I was OK, but clearly wasn't. I had to have surgery to reposition the kneecap and tie it down. On the positive side, that knee is better than before!

The other was 2 years ago when DH's mom had a stroke (very mild and she's recovered) 2 weeks before we were to fly to Russia for a week in Moscow & one in St. Pete's. There was no way we were going. 

Ingrid


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## sfwilshire (Aug 12, 2011)

MommaBear said:


> Delta rerouted me one flight and had me leaving Atlanta 45 minutes before I landed there.....



That's SOP these days. Happens to me more often than I care to mention. I was scheduled that way four times in one day recently before it became obvious I was NOT making it home that day.

Sheila


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## jlwquilter (Aug 12, 2011)

Great thread! Now I have some perspective on my 'bad day(s) at the airport and throw in everything else while at it' experience several weeks ago.

We were headed to Glacier National Park via flying into Calgary, connecitng thru Chicago, on American. Had a friend of mine take us to the airport in Miami (2 hours away) and drop us off. First time doing this and I felt so smart! We'd save alot of $$ on parking (we'd be gone 16 days) and taking the Tri-Rail (public train transport) would be cheap and easy enough when we got back - friend would be leaving our car at her local Tri-Rail station a few days before we got back. Best laid plans...

Everything went great until a horrible electrical storm blew in over MIA. Flight delayed. Delayed again. After 6 hours it was cancelled. To be fair, I wouldn't have wanted to fly thru that storm anyway. But now the fun really begins. We get in a VERY long line to re-book. After an hour we get the 'all I can do for you is re-book you on same flight tomorrow' help at the gate. We step aside to discuss it, at which point the gate attendant walks away with a 'be right back'. 20 minutes later she comes back with a coffee in hand. Without looking at anyone (the line is still VERY long behind us) she calls on the phone for more assistance. She needed it. To be fair, she deserves her break too, but to just walk away.... So we decided to take the next day flights as a 'back up' and see if we can do better. We go to the official re-booking center, which is about 500 people long and 2 working agents. Forget that. We go to a corner, boot up the laptops to find other flights, and call AA. After a 30 minute wait online, DH gets halfway thru the situation and call drops. Call again, wait another 20 minutes. Get thru it all this time and agent says he'll call another airline to get us on a flight leaving in an hour. Great! Oh wait, there's a 20 minute hold for the other airline to answer calls and he won't/can't wait that long so... bye! He hung up. The agent, not my DH. So we decide to haul butt over to the other airline/terminal, etc. and see what we can do. Nope. They can't do a thing without AA and there's just no time left to make anything happen. We finally accept that we are not flying out - after 9+ hours in the airport. I call hotels - all booked. I call my friend and she calls her husband so he can take our car over to the Tri-Rail station so we can pick it up after we take the train. We of course just missed the train and had to wait over an hour for the next one. Over 1 hour train ride to station. Another 45 mintues to get home.

On the way we stop at the semi-local Wendy's that is open until 2am to get DD a burger and frosty. She's been a trooper and other than a few minor melt downs, held up fairly well. Oh, wait, the Wendy's decided to close early for no apparent reason on a Thursday evening at 10pm. Great. 

We get home...no power. None. DH drags the generator out of the garage and thankfully we have a jug of gas. So I make pasta and the AC kicks in, and we can take showers. Power comes on 2 hours later.

5 hours of sleep and we drive back to the Tri-Rail and take it to MIA (a 2 hour trip total). Of course this flight is delayed too although not due to a storm. We get on the plane 90 minutes late feeling ok, we can make it, but then there's an issue with baggage and we are delayed on the plane another hour. We get to Chicago 15 minutes after our connection (yes, last one of the day) left. Call AA from Chicago and actually get a rep who will help and re-books us on AirCanada for the next morning (vs. having to wait for the AA flight early in the evening and miss another day of vacation). Get AA in airport to give us a hotel for the night. It's 30 minutes away. Take the free shuttle with a bunch of other stranded people.

Hotel was nice enough except that our room didn't have hot water. Seriously. Called and had us switched to a different room. It's now after midnight. DD passes out and DH and I shower and get 3 hours of sleep before taking the shuttle back to the airport. We are now re-booked on AirCanada, fly east to Toronto to connect to fly back west to Calgary. Finally get there for 1pm Saturday when we had started out at 10am Thursday in MIA.

It took about 3 hours (and we considered ourselves lucky!) to locate someone to rescue our checked luggage out of customs. It had been in Calagry over a full day before we got there.

The good part is that the hotel (Best Western) and the car rental (Dollar) that I had to keep calling and moving things as flights changed/cancelled/etc. (finally cancelling the hotel stay completely), were very understanding and helpful. I did end up paying for 2 days of car rental that we didn't need on the front end but by then, I simply didn't care anymore.

The best part is that the rest of the trip was wondrful! And the trip home was a breeze. Except that the gas station by the airport that was to open at 6am (and we were waiting for it with half a dozen other cars) didn't open. We left at 6:20am as we couldn't wait any longer. Of course we got robbed on the partial tank charges.

Our 2nd trip to Paris (we went the first time a few weeks earlier when the Icelandic volcano was erupting. That was also not fun with all the cancelled flights and re-booking and shifting the apartment rental but retrospectively, was a piece of cake!). We had a 3 hour layover at JFK that evaporated due to delays and the President flying out of NYC that night. Luckily, our connection to Paris (yep, last one of the night) was also somewhat delayed leaving due to the President. I had my daughter wiggle her way to the front of de-plane-ing and run to the connecting gate. I got off with our carryon and did the OJ Simpson run to the gate. They held the plane for me but they were NOT happy. I got on sweating and puffing, and ran the gauntlet of hundreds of accussing eyes to our seats in the back (like I had been in the bar and couldn't be bothered to board on time - I wish!). Oh, and all the overhead comparment were full (they said) so I needed to gate check our carry on. I ended up emptying the thing (I wanted our stuff for the flight after all) and they check an empty bag. Whatever. I got to sit in my sweaty and then crunchy clothes for 6+ hours. Joy.

Needless to say our checked luggage didn't make the connection. It took them 24 hours to get it to us. Luckily DH was already in Paris and he did laundry at the hotel ($20 for a single load of wash and dry!) while DD and I sat naked in the room. After that, the trip was great!

We still think traveling to these great non-drive to places is worth it, but I think the day will come when it's NOT worth it.


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## SuzanneSLO (Aug 12, 2011)

My worst travel mishaps was actually a series of mishaps that occurred many years ago when I was returning home after a semester in Washington DC.  I started the day by packing up all the stuff I had accumulated over the 3 months.  I also had to move the sofa sleeper from the bedroom back in to the living room.  Unfortunatley, as I moved it by myself, the bed opened and jammed in the door, thus making it impossible for me to leave the bedroom! The jump from the second story bedroom window did not look too interesting, nor would it have solved my probelm as the front door was locked.

I found a nail file stuffed in a bathroom drawer and was able to use it remove the legs and finally after, several hours, librerated myself and completed the move.  I still had a couple of hours before my flight, so things were looking good.

I loaded my rental car and headed down the highway.  Unfortunately, the latch on the hatchback flew open.  I pulled to the side of the road, put my emergency flashers on  and managed to slam the hatchback shut.  When I got back in the car, the flashers will not disengage.  I pulled off the highway into a service station and the attendant is able to use a screwdriver to take the switch apart and turn them off.  I still have almost an hour to my flight.  It looks like I will make it!

I return the car and check in at the airport.  Opps! Apparently my ticket, purchased months ago, is actually for tomorrow.  But tomorrow is the day before Thanksgiving, and the agent decided they would rather have an empty seat then, so they swapped my ticket for a flight today.  Looks like I will still make it home, just about 4 horus later than I thought I was going to.

With more time to kill at the airport, I decide to rent a locker.  Put my stuff in and turn the key.  They key jams and I can neither get the key out nor open the locker to get my stuff out.  I find a security guard who calls a maintenance man, who take apart the locker mechanism and gives me my stuff back.  I schlep to the gate, deciding that sitting with my stuff for a few hours is not the worst thing that can happen.

My flight is called and the entire remiander of the trip home was completely unremarkable!  I guess I had my already filled my quota for weird mechanical happenings for the day. -- Suzanne


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## x3 skier (Aug 12, 2011)

Took me 23 hours once to get from Dayton OH to Lancaster CA by air back in the day.

Took off from Dayton, flew up to Chicago, circled an hour and a half because of weather and returned to Dayton. 

Rebooked to Kansas City, waited an hour or so, flew there, just made the connection and as I settled into my seat, a gate agent came on board and asked my traveling partners and I to come with him. Turned out the GA in Dayton had pulled the MKC - LAX tickets back in Dayton so we had no ticket.

Sat at the gate for a few hours while that got straightened out and then finally onto LAX. By the time the plane arrived at LAX, the last flight of the day to Lancaster had left. Since the rent a car weenies had no cars for us, we waited for somebody we were to meet in Lancaster to drive to LA to pick us up and drive back to Lancaster.

Almost 23 hours to the minute for what should have been a 6 hour connection via Chicago and LA. Even with the TSA, never experienced anything like that since.

Never did let the guy who planned the trip make another one with me. 

Cheers


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## WinniWoman (Aug 12, 2011)

jlwquilter said:


> Great thread! Now I have some perspective on my 'bad day(s) at the airport and throw in everything else while at it' experience several weeks ago.
> 
> We were headed to Glacier National Park via flying into Calgary, connecitng thru Chicago, on American. Had a friend of mine take us to the airport in Miami (2 hours away) and drop us off. First time doing this and I felt so smart! We'd save alot of $$ on parking (we'd be gone 16 days) and taking the Tri-Rail (public train transport) would be cheap and easy enough when we got back - friend would be leaving our car at her local Tri-Rail station a few days before we got back. Best laid plans...
> 
> ...



After this experience, it would have defintiely been my LAST time flying!


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## JudyH (Aug 12, 2011)

Wow, I feel fortunate in comparision.  Last week I arrived at timeshare a day before reservation and needed a hotel room on a Sat night.  Hotels.com worked out ok.  I feel fortunate compared to the above posters, considering all the traveling we do.


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## Catira (Aug 12, 2011)

Many years ago when we were living in Venezuela South America I arrived at the airport around 4 am. Which means I was up around 2 am in order to get dressed and make the 40 minute trip from Caracas to the airport. I arrived, checked in luggage and got my boarding pass. When "my flight" to Houston, Tx. got announced I headed over to the gate and gave agent my boarding pass. Once on plane, I proceeded to look for my seat. Let's say it was 6D. Kept looking around, saw 6A,6B,6E but no 6A. I approached the flight attendant and when she glanced at my boarding ticket I was told I had boarded the wrong plane. That plane was heading over to Bogota, Colombia.   If I had found an empty seat at 6D, I would have probably ended up in Colombia and having to pay my way back to Texas. That mishap, quickly woke me up.


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## famy27 (Aug 12, 2011)

*Festive end to our honeymoon*

On our flight back from Puerto Vallarta to Chicago, we hit some of the worst turbulence I have ever seen, combined with a horrible thunderstorm.  About halfway through the flight, the pilot informed us that it was no longer safe for us to fly, and we ended up landing at the nearest airport, in Oklahoma City.  The problem was that it was an international red eye flight, and all of the customs people in OK had gone home, so they couldn't let us off the plane.  We sat on the tarmac in 95 degree weather for several hours until the weather improved enough for us to take off again.  For the rest of the flight, the pilot ordered the flight attendants to remain seated, so we never even got much-needed liquid refreshment.  My DH was convinced our marriage was going to last 7 days, followed by our funerals.


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## vkrn (Aug 13, 2011)

Luanne said:


> 3.  But the "best" was my mom and aunt who missed their flight to Hawaii. They were at the airport, checked in and in the gate area.  But somehow completely missed the boarding call and somehow never noticed that everyone else was getting on the plane.



I did the exact same thing, although I didn't miss my flight, just almost! I was sitting there, reading my book and completely disregarding the announcements until they kept calling my name!! Ouch!


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## vkrn (Aug 13, 2011)

I think my worst mistake was years ago on a road trip to Yellowstone with the kids. We had reservations in Wyoming and drove across the state late into the night in a blinding rain storm to Cody. . . only to find out our reservation was for Casper!!! 

We drove around trying to find a motel with vacancies. Finally we found one who said they had one room left only because a bus had come and needed one less room than they had booked. What a nightmare. I was sure we were going to be spending the night in the van with 4 kids.


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## UWSurfer (Aug 13, 2011)

I'm reminded of another time it took 8 hours to fly from LAX to Las Vegas.

I had booked a flight on Reno Air months before.  Reno had a policy of realigning routes each quarter & the FULL flight I was supposed to be on had been cancelled a couple weeks before.   Unfortunately, they didn't tell anyone.  I arrived at LAX couple hours early around 1pm (pre-TSA days) and found a small line forming at the ticket counter with some unhappy faces on those who were at the counter.

A line grew behind me numbering more than 50 people by the time I got to the counter.   Cutting to the chase, they put me on a flight to their hub in Reno.  There I was scheduled to be on a flight to Vegas an hour or so after I arrived.  When it came time to board, they were looking for volunteers to be bumped to a flight leaving an hour later.   Dreaming of exotic locations I accepted and received a free flight voucher, only to discover (later) they didn't go anywhere I wanted to go.   The flight I was bumped to was delayed and I arrived in Vegas a bit after 9am for what is normally a 45 minute flight.  

Reno Air was later acquired by American Airlines.


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## Janette (Aug 13, 2011)

On our flight from Dallas to Seattle on July 28th, our plane blew a tire on take off. The tire went into the engine which made climbing very difficult. We first smelled burning rubber and then the plane started jerking as it was trying to climb. We were routed back to Dallas but it took about 30 minutes before we could land. There were check lists for the captain and the emergency equipment had to be prepared. The crew was wonderful as were all the passengers. We had a smooth landing but had to be towed to the gate. This took about an hour with no air conditioning. Who cared? We were safely on the ground. They had another plane waiting for us, had booked our connecting flights and put special tags on our luggage. No one panicked. I think we were all praying. We had a wonderful three weeks in Canada and feel very blessed.


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## grgs (Aug 13, 2011)

Not a mishap while traveling, but my stupidest mistake to date was booking 4 tickets to San Jose, Calif. instead of San Jose del Cabo.  Thought I was slick just using the airport codes, but got SJC mixed up with SJD.  Unfortunately, I didn't realize the mistake until the 24 hour cancellation period had passed.  I did call American and asked if there was anything they could do for me.  They were sympathetic and gave me credit for the tickets, so we ended up taking an bonus trip to San Francisco.  

Glorian


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## nightnurse613 (Aug 14, 2011)

Not a mishap but a funny story: I drove down to Kansas City for my husband's graduation.  Afterwards he was flying to California and I was driving out. I had packed a nice outfit for the graduation which I wouldn't need anymore so, I had him pack it in his suit case.   Of course, when he landed he left his baggage claim in the pocket in front of his seat so, the agent asked him to identify something in his suitcase that might be unusual.  I guess the lime green dress and matching shoes did the trick!!


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## siesta (Aug 14, 2011)

nightnurse613 said:


> Not a mishap but a funny story: I drove down to Kansas City for my husband's graduation.  Afterwards he was flying to California and I was driving out. I had packed a nice outfit for the graduation which I wouldn't need anymore so, I had him pack it in his suit case.   Of course, when he landed he left his baggage claim in the pocket in front of his seat so, the agent asked him to identify something in his suitcase that might be unusual.  I guess the lime green dress and matching shoes did the trick!!


 that reminds me of the movie Blow, when hes coming back thru customs with contraband in his suitcase. The agent takes a look imside and finds ladies lingerie, looks at johnny depp, and all he can say is " old habits"


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## Conan (Aug 16, 2011)

For our first trip to the Caribbean, I prepaid a hotel in St. Martin (this was pre-timeshare for us) and a flight from New York JFK to SXM.

All went well until about 2 hours into the flight. Then the Captain came on the intercom and said, "you may have noticed we've turned the plane around" (of course, I'd noticed nothing), "the volcano at Monserrat has erupted and the airspace has been closed."

Two hours later we were back at JFK. I went into a gift shop and browsed their copy of Travel and Leisure. Inside the front cover was an ad for a new hotel opening in Grand Cayman. It turned out to be a Holiday Inn, I called the 800 number and made a same day reservation. Meanwhile American Airlines put us on a flight to Grand Cayman, leaving an hour or so later but from LaGuardia. Somehow we recovered our bags and found a taxi to dash to the other airport, just in time.

A year later we did make it to St. Martin (of course we had to pay for that flight since we'd had our flight to Cayman), and the hotel there being aware of the Montserrat situation credited us our reservation.


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## pedro47 (Aug 16, 2011)

The Commander-In-Chief once left our cruise tickets in our checked baggage at the cruise port. The porter was about to load our luggage on the ship.  When she realize what has happen. :-x

Yes!! We were able to retrieve our cruise booking tickets in time to board the ship.

A big tip was given to that cruise porter.


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## ScubaKat (Aug 16, 2011)

I am such a horrible traveler.. I used to travel so much for both work and play I cut flight check-in/boarding times pretty close...  have missed a bunch of flights but always managed to fly standby on the next flights out...  found out the hard way that airlines over book their Caribbean flights by 30% during peak winter seasons... they had to put me on first class with a totally different airline just to get me out.

Hmm.. other issues:

Left my passport in an IAD bathroom just to have other nice people turn it in and I only found out after they announced my name over airport intercoms...   

Stood at the airport counter when I noticed my visa to the country I am traveling to be expired and talked my way onto the plane and got someone from the embassy to sort it out on the other side...  

Losing my passport an hour before leaving for a flight and having to delay my trip for 2 days while getting a rushed replacement passport...

I think the one to top it off to make myself feel like the biggest idiot was when I had a 10 hour connection in Brussels and managed to MISS the connecting flight while I was in the airport the whole time!!  The people at the counter were like.. ummm... you were here for 10 hours.. I was like...ummm.. yea... I was shopping... watching movies.. patiently waiting for my connection without noticing there was a time change between The Gambia and Belgium!   

I am lucky dh is the total opposite of me when it comes to traveling.. he actually makes lists for packing..    I am happy to report that we now arrive 2 hours ahead for international flights as suggested.. can't really just pick up and go now with our 2 year old in tow... :rofl:


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## glypnirsgirl (Aug 17, 2011)

I have two - 

While on our honeymoon, Ian and I had a one night layover in New Yord City before going to Nice. We took the subway from the airport to our hotel. Ian was reading the subway maps and when we arrived at our stop, as the doors were getting ready to close said, "get off." I did. "No, this isn't the right stop, get on." Hopped back on. "Get off!" I trip while hopping off for the second time. Busted open both of my knees! I was not a happy camper.

A year later, Ian and I are on our first family vacation. We hike out to Cape Flattery, the furthest northwest point in the continental US. 

About 3 miles into the hike (and about 300 feet from the point), I fall off the mossy boardwalk, about a 5 feet drop into a large hole, and break my leg. I am down in the hole. The edge is too tall for me to climb out. My leg is BROKEN - 4 pieces. There is no cell phone service. No park rangers as this is on on the Makah Indian reservation. 

After about 20 minutes, hikers that are returning from the point see us and collect enough information to send the Indian rescue squad back to us once they get to cell phone service (about an hour until they get to cell phone service), then the rescue squad has to hike in --- with a game dolly. A bunch of strong Indians drop down into the hole, secure me to a backboard, and lift me up to the surface. 

I get loaded onto the game dolly. I am thinking that they will dolly me back to the parking lot - but I was wrong. They dolly me out towards the point.

They have called the Coast Guard to airlift me to the hospital. Coast Guard radioes back that they have a heart attack in front of me. 

I notice that my husband is just standing around, concerned and doesn't know what to do. I tell him to start taking pictures. I was expecting him to walk out to the point and take some pictures, but he doesn't want to leave me. So, he is taking pictures of the rescue squad and me - flat on my back on a stretcher with a clear hood that covers my head and shoulders.

I understand the stretcher, but have no idea why there is a hood on the stretcher.

After about 30 minutes, the Coast Guard helicopter arrives, but does not land. Instead a chain is dropped down and a young Coast Guard rapels down. He comes and looks me in the face with a really worried expression. He tells me that he is going to hook the stretcher up to the chain and that they are going to lift me out as there is no place for them to land. 

At this point, I am more worried about the young Coast Guard than I am about myself. I tell him, "I am going to be fine. I am not afraid of heights. I will follow your directions exactly. And I do not panic." 

After reassuring each other, he hooks me up. And I follow his directions. One of his directions is to close my eyes because the chain will oscillate. I wanted to open my eyes so that I could enjoy the experience, but I had promised I would follow his instructions, so I kept my eyes closed. (I really wish that I had opened them)!

They pulled me into the helicopter. Let the chain back down for the guard. And he begins to take my vital signs. Pulse 60. Blood pressure 126/60. 

The guard looks at me and says, "Ma'am, you are the first person that I ever rescued that is calmer then I am."

It took us about 15 minutes to get to the hospital. It took Ian about 2 hours to drive. 

Ian wanted to come straight home after the fall. I wanted to continue our vacation. We stayed, had a great time and left at our regularly scheduled time.

elaine


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## Rose Pink (Aug 17, 2011)

Wow, Elaine!  That is a great story.  I'm sure it was no fun at the time but does make for interesting adventure.

It reminded me of a man in our neighborhood who went to Thailand a few months ago.  While there, he slipped and fell into a depression in a rock and broke his hip.  He couldn't get himself out and the tide was coming in.  The crabs were also climbing on him and biting him.  The people who were with him managed to flag down some Thai fishermen who wrapped nets around him to lift him out.


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## shagnut (Aug 17, 2011)

*Which one?*

When I was in St Thomas I was snorkeling and saw some huge black spiny urchins and thought that would hurt like hell if you stepped on them.  I swam away and was just floating around in the mangrove when the boat blew the horn and not knowing I had floated backwards and stepped right on them. I had to be rescued and the hospital wouldn't touch them, scared of infection so I had to wait till I got home to see the Dr . It took almost 3 hrs to get all the spikes out.  

Aruba , now this was some trip!!  I took some wonderful tuggers to lunch for being so kind to me.  3 hrs later Kelli & I were rushed to the hospital with food poisoning. Oh boy , were we sick.

Same trip 3 days later we went on an island tour. We went all over the island and when we got to the rough surf on the north end and the tour operator was going to take a group pic when all of a sudden a wave knocked me over and took me out to sea. Because of my bad leg I couldn't get up and had to be rescued. Luckily I used to be a life guard when I was young so I told him to just grab my suit and we were going under the big waves taking deep breaths and coming up etc. We were scared we were going to get sucked under the rocks but we were lucky. Finally we got close enough in that the rest of the group had made a chain to pull us in.  That was the end of that tour.  

In San Francisco I had a mobility scooter mishap and it turned over backwards and I hit my head and had a mild concussion. 

I've had more as most of you know but these are some of the most memorable ones.  shaggy


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## Happytravels (Aug 21, 2011)

*What Was I Thinking!!!*

Absolutely the worst…….We had a two week trip to the Bahamas (our home resort and exchanged for anther week).  Everything went with out a hitch……..

In the second week of our vacation I got word my father had passed away in Fl.  We had purchased a magic jack before leaving home.  Using the MJ called the airlines to change flights…..was a nightmare  over an hour on the phone…(this would have been a $150.00 call if we would have used our cell phones, plus I called all my siblings and daughter several time..it sure was well worth the cost and since renewed)….Peek summer travel  (June) and everything was booked.  They could reroute us (forgot where and be a charge of $880.00 per person!!  What!!  Is that the best you can do) They came on to tell me they could get me from MCO to IAH but the problem was getting from Ft. Lauderdale to Orlando…So I asked about the drive….how far and how long they thought it would take us…no problem we will just rent a car and make the drive….all is good right….   well not quit…….

We asked the guy at the hotel were we staying at how long it would take us to the airport…told us to take this other road less lights and less traffic to get better time, it was less lights and less traffice but took longer!!  After three days in Orlando it’s our day to return home after almost three weeks gone, getting to the airport took us almost 30 minutes longer then what they guy told us. we get to the airport and return the car, they over charge us…not much but some I told my DH lets go we don’t have much time.  

We get to the counter when they tell us we are too late to get our bags on the plane.  They IMMEDIATLEY CANCEL our seats!!!!!!  Tell us we will have to fly stand by!! Shouldn’t be that big of deal right…well the next flight out there was only ONE seat…I of course said I’ll take it. Our luggage was on the plane!!  Not thinking clearly, I had to leave my DH in Orlando and I took off on that flight….I couldn’t believe I did it, .I was almost in tears….I landed got ALL the luggage and waited for him, surely he was on the next flight just two hours later.  He was next in line!  They called him to the counter to take the ONE seat they had left….and her comes some guy running to the counter with that one seat ticket .  So they delayed him again.  After over fours hours he finally got on a plane back to Houston.  After me waiting in the airport terminal over 6 hours lugging around all of our luggage for two weeks in the Bahamas (two large bags) large back pack and carry on. in over 90 degree heat…going to the bathroom was the most challenging …..I was so ready to go home…

We vowed to never be separated again!!!  Leave the bags go and we will stay together.


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## skulipeg (Aug 21, 2011)

My DD (who was 5 at the time) and I were flying from Winnipeg to Victoria in mid-January.  When we got close to Victoria, we were informed that there was a blizzard of all things (used to hearing that about Winnipeg, but definitely not Victoria!).  

We circled around for about 20 minutes or so before the pilot had to abandon the attempt to land, and we had to turn around and fly to Calgary (the Vancouver airport was also closed at the time), finally arriving there after midnight.  All the circling around Victoria caused my daughter to become airsick, and the poor thing was sick all the way back to Calgary, and for the entire cab ride to relatives house where we stayed for the night.  Thank goodness that after a very short sleep her stomach settled for the flight to Victoria the next morning!  Also thank goodness for wonderful relatives in Calgary willing to rescue us in the middle of the night without warning!

The frustrating thing was that my parents were waiting at the Victoria airport for us, and said if we had arrived 5 minutes earlier, or had circled for 5 minutes longer, we would have been able to land.


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## Talent312 (Aug 21, 2011)

Volcanos and weather issues are interesting, but I'm more prone to human error...

(1) We flew off to the Bahamas with plans to stop in Miami on the way back to see a Dolphins football game. I hid the game tickets a carry-on, but at the last moment, took another bag, leaving them safely at locked in the house. Upon arrival in Marsh Harbour, I called a neighbor to ask a favor. I asked him to push open our kitchen window, crawl in over the sink, find the tickets and Fed-X them to our hotel in Miami. We got 'em just in time.

(2) My DW and I were about to leave for Europe, only we both put our keys in our luggage which I proceeded to lock in the trunk of our car. Our spare keys were locked inside the house. I was about to call a taxi, leaving our luggage in the car, when I remembered that there was a narrow pass-thu behind the back seat. Somehow, I managed to fish one of the bags to the opening and dug out a set of keys.


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## sfwilshire (Aug 21, 2011)

Talent312 said:


> I called a neighbor to ask a favor. I asked him to push open our kitchen window, crawl in over the sink, find the tickets and Fed-X them to our hotel in Miami.



Now THAT'S a good neighbor. Maybe you should leave a spare house key with them in the future.

I would have noticed the tickets were missing on the day of the game. Lucky you were ahead of the game. Glad it worked out.

Sheila


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