The trip so far (Pics)

It has been interesting so far.

(The synopsis of the diatribe below is that we are STILL in Oregon and will again try to depart for Ireland tomorrow)

June 16
Our 2:30 PM flight from Redmond, Oregon to SFO in San Francisco was delayed a couple hours due to mechanical failures. As originally scheduled, we had a 3 hour layover in SF. By the time we took off we would have 15 or 20 minutes once we landed in SF to catch our 7:15PM flight to London and then on to Ireland.

We asked the folks in Redmond to notify Gate 98 in SF that we were on the way and able to make the flight in time. They said they’d arrange for a shuttle at the gate. Our stewardess and flight crew know our situation with the tight time line and we are seated in the front rows so we can dash out upon landing.

We land at SF at gate 76 in Terminal 3, bolt out the plane into the waiting area and ask the United agent about the shuttle. “Shuttle? We don’t have shuttles in this airport”. Fine, would you call gate 98 and let them know we are here? “Call? I can’t call nobody from here…”

We took off at a dead run.

I get to gate 98 a couple minutes ahead of the girls. The plane is there. The door is closed and a lone United agent is at the counter. I shout “Hold the plane, we’re here!”. The agent looks up from doing here nails and says “The manifest is filled. You can’t get on the plane.” I plead. Cajole. Beg. Demand. She repeats her mantra ““The manifest is filled” over and over. Maureen and Allie show up. Maureen notes the clock shows 7:02PM. She pleads. Cajoles. Begs. Demands. Other United employees show up as back-up. 10 minutes later the plane is pushed back and flies away.

Looking back on it now, these were the salad days of our 3 day stay in SFO. It only got worse.

Re-book for the next night’s 7:15PM flight to Heathrow, we are comp’d a motel room.

June 17
The next day at about 5:30 PM the United computes world wide seized up and no planes departed SF until after midnight. Although lots of planes are landing and the passengers are stacking up in the terminal behind passengers who have been waiting 1,2,3,5,6 hours for their delayed flights.

At 11:30 PM it is announced that the flight for Heathrow is loading at another gate. We scramble over to the gate, pile on and

June 18
… sit on the plane until 1:45AM when they tell us the flight is canceled and march us back off the plane(the flight crew became “illegal” at midnight so they had to go back to Mexico, I guess).

The terminal is like an embassy take-over now. Packed to the gills with crazed, weary passengers. A United employee says it could take days to clear up the mess and the backed up flights.

We drag ourselves down to the domestic terminal, bed down for the night,

and starting at 5:00AM stand in lines for the next 3 hours to book a flight home.

The girls catch a standby flight at 9:30 AM. I dink around for the next 13 hours…

Burlingame house of Mirrors of some sort-

Corner of same:

Me pointing at yet another plane we're not on:

At least good beer was on hand:

Self porttrait in Hell's waiting room:

Another sunset from SFO. That trickle of water under the plane's tail is a man-made water feature. They use the tears of United passengers to keep it flowing day and night:

And catch the next flight at 10:40PM,

June 19
arriving home at 1:30AM

If the Redmond Oregon folks had notified Gate 98 on thursday, I'd be sitting at a pub in Kenmare Ireland right now instead of writting angry emails to United and re-booking accomidations in Ireland. Thanks United. Where's our luggage?

This is going to drag on a long, long time.