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Hello from Sunday night. Oh the drama to get here!

This definitely fits into my “if you can believe this!” category.

The day came too quickly, and I had to return to Vancouver and leave Robert for a few months, so he drove me to Heathrow, I went up to the British Airways counter…and, after three hours of waiting, there was no seat on my plane for me.

Well, if you can believe this: BA had two planes grounded because of freezing weather-related problems and put two smaller planes on the routes, and this meant that a few people got booted from their flights and treated to three hours waiting at Heathrow with all their luggage, and then being bussed to the Holiday Inn for the night.

Happily, I had a day spare between leaving England and a very important CT scan in Vancouver, but I only had the one day spare. As BA couldn’t guarantee a seat on the next day flight because of priority backlog and sold out planes, I had no choice but to take American Airlines to LA and Air Canada from LA to Vancouver. I walked up to the AA counter at which point the man working there looked at me funny as there were no more AA planes going out, and asked me if I was there to check in. I told him that in all probability I was there to cause him problems and he laughed and booked me a seat on the AA flight.

So, faced with 16 hours of flight adventure, I took the bus to the hotel, made myself at home, had supper and a bath, and an early night.

I must say that BA is very organised when they cannot accommodate a passenger.
They had coupons for the bus trips, for supper, breakfast and lunch, a couple coupons for a drink at the airport and practically a full refund on a prepaid Mastercard as compensation.

So back to Heathrow the next morning. I went to queue up to drop my luggage off and an AA security clerk gave me the third degree with 20 questions. Wow, never had the third degree from a specialised security clerk. Apparently necessary for entering into America.

But finally, I was on my American Airlines flight to LA.

And, I must tell you something else. I couldn’t upgrade because the flight was full, but that nice man booked me into a bulkhead seat where I had so much room that I could totally stretch out my legs!



So four movies and 12 hours later, we landed in LAX.
I had a 3 hour layover and was actually looking forward to popping outside for a little California sunshine, lol.
Dammit!

So no sunshine.
I got my luggage, cleared it thru customs, forgot about an orange, had to surrender it at the agricultural customs, had to have my luggage xrayed again, collected my luggage….and realised I had left my iPad pro on board the plane!

So by this time I had about an hour and 20 minutes before my Air Canada connection.
I forwarded my luggage onto the AC flight and sprinted to the AA counter to have them call the plane to get my iPad.
By then it was 45 minutes to my connecting flight, and guess what? The iPad would take at least an hour to clear thru customs!
Dammit!

A good talk with security to find out how best to get the iPad back, I had to leave it behind and get on my AC flight.

Got to Vancouver…but, despite checking my luggage thru, my luggage stayed in LA.

So I walked out of the airport with my purse, camera case and on-board bag to a great big hug from Chloe, and we went home.
The next morning, I drove X town, taught my first wellness journal class of 2018, went to my CT scan, and got home at 8pm.
No luggage.
The next day I chased down my luggage, which was promised between 3pm and 8pm, and it finally came at 10:30 that night!

But hey, it’s all here, nothing broken, all unpacked, laundry done.
My iPad is still in LAX, but thanks to the ingenious brains who are my FB friends, it turns out that a company in Blaine Washington will recieve it for me and I just have to pop over the border to pick it up.

And all is good. Except that I finally did succumb to that nasty cold which I managed to avoid in the UK. I suppose 16 hours of sardine can air flights will pass the germs around like no other.

So I took the weekend to rest in bed and Chloe brought me an orange, turmeric and ginger power shot from The Juicery and two anti cold juices.
I’ve been absolutely overdosing on the vitamin C and taking my zinc and so I think this cold is on its way out the door.

I haven’t got time to be sick.

Besides, now I have to prepare to film a little video for Opus Arts, paint 10 paintings for a late Feb meeting with my art counselor, and drive down to Blaine to retrieve my iPad!

So, how was your week? 😀

Comments: 10

  • January 14, 2018
    reply

    Hooray for your endurance!

  • tammy j

    January 14, 2018
    reply

    OMG! what a nightmare air travel has become!
    I admire you! but I think I’d have to find a way to live together full time.
    either in Canada or England. I couldn’t take that every few months.
    not to mention just the sheer ‘missing each other!’ time seems shorter now for that.
    maybe it’s that I’m getting older? the kids would have to just come to see me!

  • Susan

    January 15, 2018
    reply

    My weekend pales in comparison! Long woodland walks, in crisp very cold air and cooking comfort food to enjoy with family and friends. The ideal would be smooth sailing, ideal but not all that realistic. You have chosen a life of jet setting, taking everything in stride and best of all “enjoying the ride.” Therefore and forthwith and without further ado, “you go girl…”

  • BrozovaHelena

    January 15, 2018
    reply

    Veroniko,
    to bylo dobrodružství!

  • January 15, 2018
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    All’s well that ends well, as Mr Shakespeare said many years ago, but it took quite a journey to get there. Glad you are home safe and beating the nasty cold germs.

  • January 15, 2018
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    Oh my goodness!

  • January 15, 2018
    reply

    Holy moly, what a journey! At least BA is good about compensating bumped passengers, in contrast to those cheap and unaccommodating bastards at Air Canada.

  • January 17, 2018
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    Goodness! That sounds like a journey-and-a-half! Is that first photo of Milton Keynes? It looks very familiar (although MK has changed quite a lot since I lived there, some 13 years ago)
    I hope your cold has thoroughly disappeared by now.

  • January 19, 2018
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    never a dull moment and isnt our screening thorough? when i exited Dublin i went through two screenings one by the Irish followed literally 5 minutes and a short walk later by Americans .. when i said hey i just did this, the nice man said yeah but we’re the good guys .. big chuckle ..

  • January 19, 2018
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    also SO glad the iPad issue worked out ok

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