No pictures in this one, however, the story should be adequate entertainment.
Heather Lynn and David now have to join the rest of the crew down in Hilton Head.
The plan: Take a flight from Ottawa to Toronto at 10:00 AM. Leave from Toronto at 12:15 to go to Atlanta (Air Canada flights). Now take a Delta flight at 3:40 to Savannah (the closest we can get to Hilton Head .. about 50 minutes away by car) that should be arriving in at about 4:40 PM (on Monday). The idea is that Pam will come pick us up just before 5:00 PM and we should be back to Hilton Head before 6:00 PM (same day service).
What really happened? Well, we got going on the Ottawa to Toronto flight fine. We met a very interesting person who uses computers and math to make drawings of buildings to within a .3 mm scale. It all uses lasers. He was intrigued with my math background (and computers), since he is all self-taught (a drama major back in the 60s). He was currently trying to figure out the formula for a cylinder if he has two sets of three points taken from a distance (which he knows). Anyways, I digress. As we are just heading into Toronto the pilot comes on and says we cannot land just yet due to ice fog in Toronto. He says we will have to circle for up to 45 minutes before they allow us to land. I start to wonder if we will make our connecting flight. After about half an hour he comes back on and says we will run out of fuel waiting since Toronto is in very bad shape and we head back to Ottawa. I stop wondering if we will make our connecting flight. Hmm, looks like the day is going to be interesting.
Back in Ottawa we wait for about half an hour (serious line-ups trying to figure out what we should do at the gate). When it is my turn they tell me because our travel plans are complicated and we are flying on Aeroplan 'free flights' we will have to go back downstairs to a ticket agent. Now we have to figure out if our bags already got re-shipped to Toronto on the next flight? Fortunately, we find out that they are waiting for us. We rebook a flight to Chicago. At that point we are supposed to go to Atlanta then on to Savannah. I call Pam and tell her that her planned pickup has hit some snags and give her the new plan.
We take off again at 1:00 PM from Ottawa non-stop to Chicago (which is a good thing since we get to pre-clear US customs in Ottawa). We arrive in Chicago without event at about 2:20. In Chicago we now go to get our next flight which is scheduled to leave at 4:10 (this one is a Delta flight .. which is good since our connecting flight from Atlanta to Savannah is also Delta). Unfortunately, the Delta flight is cancelled! Arrrgh. I call Pam. Fortunately, the flight that was supposed to leave at 2:10 is going two hours late! We leave Chicago at around 4:25. As we head out from Chicago the pilot tells us that we are scheduled to land at 7:02 PM in Atlanta. This is good, since our next flight is scheduled to leave at 7:40 PM. And you think the story is close to an end!
As we arrive into Atlanta the pilot informs us that there is a large backlog getting into Atlanta (they have had bad weather for the past three days .. including this day which has been rainy with low visibility). We circle for about half an hour and then touch down at about 7:34. We get out of the plane at 7:39. To our amazement the 7:40 flight leaves on time! Seems like one of the very few. As you can imagine, if you get out of one gate at 7:39 and have to get to another one in one minute, and if that plane leaves its gate at 7:40 it is somewhat difficult to make that flight. Which we didn't! At any rate, what's new. We are now running three scheduled flights missed out of three! I call Pam (again) to let her now what is going on.
Well, no big disaster I think (foolish me), since there is a 9:40 flight to Savannah. When Heather Lynn and I go to check into that one, however, we find out that it is cancelled. Hmmm, sounds like we may be staying at my uncle's place in Atlanta for the night. I wish! We find out that there is one more flight at 11:25 PM heading to Savannah. Since we are on 'cheapy seats' we either take it our pay for new ones the next day. Oh well, one more call to Pam to see what she wants to do, since she has to pick us up and take us from the airport back to Hilton Head. I offer to stay at a hotel at the airport, but she wants to get us (yeah, Pam). Little did we know.
As we get close to 11:00 PM (and boarding time) I notice that the flight says something about Augusta, Georgia. Eh? So I go and ask. Well, it turns out that the 11:25 flight is a milk-run. I.e. a short one hour flight is about to turn into a two hour flight!
Well, after leaving from Atlanta half hour late, and with our scheduled stop in Augusta complete, we actually arrive into Savannah at around 1:35 AM! We find out (after waiting for our bags for about 15 minutes) that our bags actually arrived earlier .. on the 7:40 PM flight! Sad, oh well. I think that our bags got onto an earlier flight from Chicago to Atlanta and were able to make the connection at Atlanta (unlike us).
Well, only the drive to Hilton Head left. And guess what? No scary things happened on the way! Pam drove us and we got in at almost exactly 3:00 AM (on Tuesday). Only 9 hours later than scheduled, and having aborted or missed every planned flight along the way. Certainly not one of the best flying days I have had. Heather Lynn was great and thought it was kinda neat since she got to be in or near six cities in one day (seven if we count Hilton Head) and have five take-off and landings.