Welcome to the Chronicles of
~ the Second Noordam Adventure ~ the 15th Anniversary Cruise ~
12/06/2008 - 12/17/2008
12/21 - Orlando, Florida
8:01am - Getting Ready for Departure (Again!)
I cannot believe I am writing a December 21st entry!
So, here we are again. getting ready to depart for the snowy northeast. Here it is 60F, with a low lying fog. The high today is going to be 79F. Will we be able to take advantage of it? Who knows, but here is the morning view:
Yesterday, Carol decided that dessert was in order later in the evening, so we went to check out what the airport had to offer. On the way down, we had a great view of the Christmas tree and people in the terminal, so I took this shot:
As I mentioned yesterday, there are tons of shops and a whole food court. We had a choice of a few places we could have gotten something for dessert, but the winner was the Carvel shop. I haven't had a Carvel sundae in I don't know how long, so we did that, taking them back to the hotel (why hang out with the throngs, right?). We took them onto the outdoor pool deck. It is a really nice little pool area - lots of chairs, palm trees, pergolas, and a great view of the planes coming and going.
So we hung out there for a while, watching the planes come in and fly out. It is a busy airport!
We were told that the reason our flight was cancelled was due to the weather in Hartford. But last night Delta flew another flight (that left at about the same time ours would have after the delay) directly to Hartford, so that story doesn't hold much water. And people wonder why I try to cruise out of NYC!!! lol!
Anyway, I'll let you know how we make out. Maybe we'll never get off vacation (not the worse thing in the world!). We'll see!
11:40am - At Gate 77
In greek tragedies, things never are what they seem to be, and the situation, no matter how dire, can always be worse. And typically, the situation does get worse, until right before the climatic conclusion of the story.
Now, while I really don't think we are in a true tragedy, things are headed along the formula for one!
Okay, we head down to the Delta check-in to check our luggage. Still not being entirely convinced that we are going to get off, we leave our carry-on stuff in the room. We get to the self check-in, and see that they are going to charge us (again) for our checked luggage. They say that the computer won't recognize the fact that we did that yesterday, and that we have to wait in this huge line to get it fixed.
After 10 minutes of going nowhere, we decide to check in the bags via self-check, pay for the bags, and then contest the charge with the credit card company later. We go to self-check, and I notice that we still have our bags checked from yesterday! So I get the girl to finally come over, and tell her I need to get the bags re-tagged. She wants to see the receipts from yesterday (the fact that I have the bags checked already is not proof enough for her that I must have paid for them already). She never looks at the reciepts (I had brought them not trusting they would just believe me). They finally get the bags checked, but now we are running a bit behind. Boarding starts in 15 minutes, and we have to get our stuff from the hotel, and get thru security.
We grab our stuff, and head thru security - its a zoo.
Orlando is divived into a main terminal, and two gate terminals, which you get to by tram. We grab the first tram we see in front of us, and take it to the gate terminal, only to discover that we are in the terminal for gates 100-195 (or something like that), and our gate is #77 - close, but no cigar. My bad.
So we grab the next tram back to the main terminal, and then catch the tram to our gate terminal. As we are walking up to the gate, the announcement is made for us by name (along with a couple of other people) to report to the terminal, because the plane leaves in 1 minute. We get to the gate, and the girl says "29 seconds - not bad." We board a 70% full plane, and there is a woman sitting in our exit row with us. The exit row ahead of ours is empty, so Carol & I sit there, and let the lady have a row to herself. After all, we are the last ones on the plane.
So we are all set to go, the airlock door at the end of the ramp is closed (they shut it behind us), and then that greek thing kicks in. "This is the pilot speaking, and unfortunately, there is a mechanical problem with the batteries and the charging system. so we'll need to deplane because to fix it, they need to kill power to the aircraft. Don't know how long it will take, but hopefully no more than an hour or two."
So, off the plane we go. At this point Carol is saying, "Hey, I've got vacation time - let''s just stay." We go over to the Burger King (we didn't hve breakfsat this morning) for lunch, and come up with a plan.
In the course of all failed endeavours, there is a point when you decide to take a different path. We decided that if the flight is cancelled, we're just going to have them rebook us for a Friday flight, and go see the animals at Animal Kingdom.
Have I mentioned I would really like to go see the animals at Animal Kingdom?
So, with a revised plan in hand, back to the gate we go. When we get there, there are 2 mechanic types at a truck next to the plane, one mechanic buried in the plane (you could see his feet), the plane's captain, and a couple of pieces of equipment sitting on the floor.
No one looks particularly happy.
After a bit, they report that yes, it was the charger module that was bad, that the old one was out, and the new one was being installed, but that it would be another half hour or so. We reboard the plane about 15 minutes later to coincide with the end of the repair, and hold our breath as they start the engines up.
The engine fires to life, and we push back from the gate, only to sit there.
Most people don't realize it, but the FAA likes to know that you have a slot to land in when you reach your destination. In that effort, they make sure, when you are ready to fly, that there is a clear path all the way to your next landing point, and figure that if they need to delay or divert you, it is better to hold you on the ground at your point of origin than try to slow you down in flight. So, with the greek tragedy rules in mind, I am envisioning a lengthy wait on the ground before they decide that we won't be able to land, and scrap the flight, regardless of the fact that while sitting in the terminal building, I caught an unsecure internet connection, and saw that the weather radar didn't look too bad for us.
Five long minutes later, we begin moving toward the taxi-way. We are #3 to takeoff. The takeoff is flawless, and we are now on our way to a snowy homecoming.
So, that is where I type to you from at the moment, on our way to 35,000 feet (or so) witha solid overcast beneath us. The drink cart is rolled out, but it does not have pina coladas, so I guess I am stuck with a diet coke. Could be worse.
Bet if we didn't have a Plan B, the flight would have been cancelled. Any takers?
I'll update you all later after we land!
Til then....
Keep Smiling!!!
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Your Intrepid Servant, the Timethief Beachbum |
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