Monday, December 20, 2010

The 12 Travel Troubles of Erin Schalk

I’m always so excited to be coming home that I often forget how much trouble traveling can be. Although I’ve done the cross country trek half a dozen times now, this trip was the worst. Read on for my take on a classic Christmas song.

The 12 Travel Troubles of Erin Schalk

1- Crazy Cat Lady. I decided not to bring Portia home this time. The trip is hard on her, and it would be super expensive. So, I decided to board her in Anchorage. She’s staying at a place with a lady who refers to herself as The Crazy Cat Lady. I met her in baggage claim in the Anchorage airport. She gave me a clipboard with four pages of paperwork. When I finished filling it out, I took it to her and she had covered Portia in cat nip. It was quite a site.

2- Delayed Flights. The charter we had scheduled was supposed to come in at 5:00 Friday. However, I got a call saying the weather might go down and we should come earlier. After much rearranging, we managed to arrange to come in at 3:00 to Bethel. I called the charter office and they said they’d come as soon as they could. They came at 4:45. Seriously? We were supposed to leave at 5:00. Oh well. The second time was in Bethel. I was suppose to leave at 2:30 PM and the flight was cancelled due to weather.

3- Times I went through security. Twice in Bethel, once in Anchorage. There were no full body scanners thankfully.

4- bags I schlepped back and forth from the Bethel airport. One was checked, two carry-ons, and a cat.

5- Weather changes that affected flights. Two times in Eek and three times in Bethel. The fog would go up and down and up and down. Very frustrating.

6- Boarding Passes. Between the number of flights and the Bethel trip being cancelled then rebooked, then seats changed, I ended up with six passes.

7- Times at the baggage office in the Cleveland airport. In Bethel, I asked for my bag to go through Cleveland. However, the agent there coded it wrong. Instead of being on my United flight with me, it went on a Continental flight to Cleveland. So, of course, it wasn’t there when I was. After going back and forth between the two offices it finally got figured out where my bag was and who was responsible for getting it to me. Let me just say that United does not top my list of great airlines to travel. But, I got my bag, so it all turned out ok.

8- flights I’m associated with. 1 Grant Aviation from Eek to Bethel. Three Alaska Airlines flights, two from Bethel to Anchorage and one from Anchorage to Chicago. One US Airways flight from Chicago to Columbus. One United flight from Chicago to Cleveland (the one I was actually on). Two Continental flights (one that my bag was supposed to be on and the one my bag was actually on).

9- Amount of money I paid in Chicago O’Hare airport for a cup of coffee and an apple.

10- Amount of dollars I paid for lunch for my brother and I at Taco Bell. My first meal back in Ohio.

11- Calls or texts to my mom telling her of flight situations.

12- Drinks. Number of drinks I consumed between leaving Eek and arriving in Uhrichsville.

Although there were a few bumps in the road, I am so happy to be home and see my family.

Merry Christmas!

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