Sunday, September 5, 2010

Sleepless in Seattle....

Yeah, I know that is the title of a movie but it fits my day Saturday thru Sunday morning perfectly.

That's right.  Hubby and I are back from Montana and we did not get eaten by bears or mountain lions.  We weren't even asked to play with them.  Sheesh!  Evil Twin was very disappointed.

We had a great time and I will post some photos soon but I thought I would share our sleepless story today.

Yesterday (Saturday), as we were attempting to fly from Small-Town, Montana, to Seattle, Washington to pick up our connecting flight to Texas, our plane had a mechanical problem.  The plane was a prop plane seating about 50 people. The "mechanical problem" occurred after we were all loaded and buckled, and had watched the flight attendants show us how to buckle our seat belts and how to find the lavatories.  Don't you think it's funny that they show you how to buckle your seat belt after they tell you to sit down and buckle your seat belt?    

They let us off the plane and back into the terminal while they attempted to contact a mechanic on a holiday weekend.  They were estimating about an hour delay.    Hubby and I knew better.  

About an hour later, they unloaded our bags and started re-booking passengers.  It was obvious that nearly everyone was going to miss their connecting flight in Seattle.  At least we had some sunshine and beautiful mountains to look at while we waited.

Apparently, no mechanic certified to work on our aircraft was available so they had to fly in a couple of guys from Seattle.  They were placed on a flight that was headed to Another-Small-Town, Montana but had to be diverted to Small-Town so they could work on our plane. 

Back in the terminal, several hours later, we were bored and our bellies were full from our airline-provided pizza.  Burp.

Excuse me.

We giggled as we saw a plane land and a couple of guys with plumber's crack hop off and make a beeline for our plane. We supervised them making a repair somewhere deep in the plane's belly, hoping that since they had re-loaded our bags onto the aircraft that the plane was repairable and we would soon be on our way. 

We made it to Seattle with the mechanics in tow.  Hubby and I were fortunate that there was a redeye flight to Texas.  Most of the other folks were sleepless in Seattle, having to find lodging with their hotel vouchers and continue their travel early on Sunday.  We were sleepless, too, sitting in the terminal waiting for our connecting flight listening to some jerk play videos on his laptop for over an hour.  What IS it with some people?    Evil Twin was about ready to make this guy have a "mechanical problem".

That's all for now.  I need a power nap.

Have a great holiday!


25 comments:

Anonymous said...

It used to be said that "getting there is half the fun"

I wonder what idiot said that? It's the "getting there" and "getting back" that ruins the middle.

Unknown said...

Glad you got there safely. And is there anything other than a small town in MT?

00dozo said...

Welcome home! Strange how one returns from a vacation and they need an extra day to 'rest' from it. Enjoy your Labour(less) Day!

Unknown said...

Welcome back! I'm glad that you and hubby weren't eaten by bears. Evil Twin probably scared them off. I'm surprised that Evil Twin made it through security.

does enzyte work said...

Nice to have u home. great to have u back!

ReformingGeek said...

@Dana - Yeah, air travel isn't what it used to be.

@AmyLK - Thanks. Good point.

@00dozo - Thanks. Ha! I have to work today.

@Lauren - Thanks. It was touch and go with TSA.

@does - Thanks.

MrsBlogAlot said...

Welcome home! I'm surprised ET let that guy with the videos live (-:

Ziva said...

I'm not sure I would get back into a plane that had a "mechanical problem", fixed or not. I'm glad you did, though, it's good to have you back!

The Old Silly said...

Thank goodness Evil Twin didn't take a hammer to his privates! LOL, thanks for sharing in your own inimitable style ... and Happy Labor Day, Reffie! :)

Leeuna said...

Ohmigosh! I'm just happy they found the mechanical problem before the plane was in the air. Have a good nap. I'm looking forward to reading about your vacation.

Anonymous said...

Yay you're back! I'm even glad Evil Twin is back! Yay!

I'm glad no grizzlies gotcha!

And it sounds like you made some pretty good lemonade out of those plane lemons!

Yay! You're back!

Suzanne said...

So glad you're back my blog just isn't the same without your comments.
I've seen some of your pictures on FaceBook and I'm jealous. Glad you had a nice vacation!

ReformingGeek said...

@MrsBlogalot - Yeah, I thought she was going to chop off his head.

@Ziva - Thanks. It was funny that the mechanics flew back with us.

@Old Silly - Thanks. I had to take away anything that could be used as a weapon.

@Leeuna - Uh oh. I guess I'd better get busy writing.

@Quirky - Boo! I didn't even get to SEE a grizzly.

@Sue - Thanks. It was so pretty up there.

MikeWJ at Too Many Mornings said...

I'm glad you're back safely, but sorry your plane had problems. I've been encountering that a lot lately, and I'm not sure why. It makes me nervous because I keep wondering what will happen when these apparently poorly maintained planes start running badly when they're in mid-air.

Jean Knee said...

god I hate flying

especially on those prop planes


glad your vaca was fun

K A B L O O E Y said...

Sounds like you had a terrific attitude about it all. That makes all the difference. As for laptop guy, that was rude. I brought three pairs of headphones with us on our trip, including an old pair that I had to dig around to find because my 5 year old can't keep earbuds in her ears. There's no way I'd annoy people like that. Welcome home.

Raine said...

I'm sorry, I don't mean to eavesdrop via the internet but Seattle caught my attention.

I've a couple travel experiences like that. Glad you got back home safely.

ReformingGeek said...

@MikeWJ - Prop planes seem to have more problems than some of the others. Pilots are trained to land with little or no engine...... ;-)

@Jean - So Hubby and I won't come and get you for a quick buzz around central Texas?

@Kablooey - Yes, laptop-guy was incredibly rude and he was foreign. This made me wonder if all people from his country act that way.

@Raine - Welcome. I love Seattle. I think most of us that have flown a lot have had those kinds of experiences. I'm always surprised when I encounter someone who hasn't.

Mike said...

I don't like to fly in the first place, ESPECIALLY when a mechanic is called in to assist the trip!! LOL

Marissa said...

Call in the mechanics? How 'bout call in a martini! My nerves would be shot, wondering if my plane was gonna nose-dive later.

I Wonder Wye said...

Flying is such a pain in the arse anymore. I'll drive any time -- or if not worried about time, take a train for novelty...glad you made it an adventure though...

Shauna said...

I am new here! Hope you come visit and follow me too :)

http://www.trying2staycalm.com/

Have a beautiful day!

ReformingGeek said...

@otin - It was quite amusing.

@Marissa - There was free beer and wine on the flight!

@Wonder Wye - Yeah, it's not much fun these days.

@Shauna - Welcome!

Ivy said...

What a trip... that is honestly my worst nightmare when I'm traveling. So glad you got back, although I would have paid for pictures of evil twin dealing with Captain Videoboy.

Mama-Face said...

Well, I'm way behind, but I did come checking to see if you had posted all of the great stories from your trip. One down; many more to come?

Airline pizza. ugh.

Glad you're back-you know it. :)


"1.00s, 1.50s, 1.75s for the short arms. If you know what I'm talking about, you're probably old, too."

"Boomer brain fog: What was the last, middle, and first part of what you just said to me?"