It had to happen sometime

I've flown Southwest exclusively for about 5 years now with never a delay and never a lost bag. Last night we departed from the gate in Detroit right on time, and about 100 feet out the plane took an odd turn and stopped very abruptly. Not a good sign. Some problem with the front wheels. We were towed back to the gate where we sat for about an hour, then sent back inside to wait for a spare part that had to be flown up from St. Louis.

Meanwhile, my connecting flight went on its merry way from Chicago, with no more flights to Seattle until this morning. The guy at the gate said we could best make new flight arrangements on the phone to Southwest, which turned out to be untrue, but by the time I realized that nearly everyone else had gotten in line. After a 2 hour wait in line, I drew the guy at the ticket counter who seemed to be operating beyond his level of competency, but at last I got new boarding passes for this morning, and a hotel voucher. A mob of about 30 of us waited for the hotel shuttle for close to 45 minutes, before I and another wise woman snuck off to hire a taxi instead. That at least saved me from waiting in another long line at the hotel, but even so I did not get to my room until well after midnite. With my flight this morning scheduled to leave at 6am, my sleeping pills in my bag which, I dearly hope, is already in Seattle, and not even a mini-bar to help out, I got maybe 20 minutes of sleep. They told us that security got very busy here in the mornings and to allow an hour and a half, so here I am as usual with an hour and a quarter to spare, and, It being not yet 5am, no coffee available. It's going to be a (second) long day.

If you are tired and have a long layover in Detroit, I highly recommend spending time in the "reflection room". It has only 4 chairs but they actually comfortable, it's quiet, and there's seldom anyone else in here.

As usual I have mixed feelings about leaving my midwest home Michigan. I know my dad gets very lonely, and probably pretty bored, too. And I do love being at his beautiful place. Great weather (well, for half the year), great biking, lazy floats down the river. But still, my life is in Washington, and I will be glad to get back to my west coast home. At any rate, I'll be back in Michigan in less that two months , for my 40 year high school reunion.

Not the most interesting post, I know, but I have to do something to stay awake...

Posted with Blogsy