We are finally home today, but it was quite the journey back...
Saturday morning, we checked out of our ship. We bid our stateroom goodbye, ate breakfast at the buffet, and walked off the ship with our assigned group. It was a sad time as we were not yet ready to leave. After searching through the sea of luggage, we found our bags and got on the shuttle to the airport.
Upon reaching the airport, we were met with a gigantic line at the airline check-in counter. After navigating through that line and through security, we found our gate and found out that our flight was running REALLY late. That wasn't good news because we had a connection to make in Washington/Dullis. Everyone around us was getting nervous as the time ticked by.
Finally, we were allowed on the flight and were on our way to Washington Dullis. When we arrived, it was 9:45, and we our flight was leaving at 10:05. We were really nervous as we trotted to our gate which luckily wasn't far from the other gate. We thought for sure that we were going to be okay because we were there 15 minutes before the gate was supposed to close.
Unfortunately, when we got there, they wouldn't let us board. There was a weight restriction, and even though two seats were available on the flight, the plane couldn't take on anymore weight. It was a disappointment to us, but somehow we banded together and stayed calm. It just wasn't worth getting angry at that point. Perhaps all the adoption struggles have helped us with this!
They set us up with a hotel, dinner, and gave us two free roundtrip tickets to anywhere in the continental USA. We barely noticed as we were so tired. We stumbled out to the area where we were told to go to catch the shuttle for our hotel. Unfortunately, when we got there, one of the shuttle drivers told us that the hotel United had set us up with was 45 minutes from the airport and did not have a shuttle. Our patience was tested, but we still managed to hold ourselves together as we searched for an open United counter. Almost everyone was closed, but we finally found someone and got set up with a hotel near the airport.
We ran out to get our shuttle and found out that it had left just 2 minutes before we got there. So we had to wait another half hour for the next shuttle. I almost felt like crying, but we took a deep breath and quietly waited for the next shuttle.
Finally, it came at 11:30 PM, and we made it to the hotel. We grabbed some pizza at the bar (thanks United!) and went to our room. At that point, even though it was 12:30 at night, we were wired. We tried to lay down and relax while watching a movie. Finally, exhaustion overtook us and we fell asleep.
We woke up at 5:30 the next morning and groaned as we got ready. There is nothing like showeing and putting on dirty clothes! (our luggage was in transit to Pittsburgh already, or so we thought).
After making it to the airport, we grabbed some Starbucks and waited for our flight.
Hours later, we were finally home in Pittsburgh. We got our luggage and relaxed in the van as Tim's parents drove us home.
What a trip! Although the ending wasn't exactly wonderful, the overall trip was unforgettable and truly an adventure we would gladly do again!
Welcome back home to you two. I sat last night devoting the time to catching up on your blog in one sitting. What an incredible journey! What a treat to read. Thanks for being so candid and funny. Sure enjoyed the humor!!
ReplyDeleteYou wouldn't have really wanted to see a bear up close and personal... right? I've lived in Alaska for 30 years and I've never seen one in the wild except for on a tour in Denali Park from a tour bus. Now my husband has seen many -- he grew up here in Alaska in an area where bears roam freely, and he's had many a bear sightings/run ins. We've had so many maulings this year around the state. Weird year for bear behaviors this summer.