I checked my bags in Philadelphia and headed to security. Security in Philly was a LOT tighter than it was in London*. In Philly I was required to remove my laptop from it’s protective case, remove my kindle from it’s case, and remove my shoes. Oh, and could I step to the side even though the metal detector didn’t ping for a personal pat down?

Yeah. Don’t wear a dress when travelling through Philly or they will have to give you a pat down. Fortunately, there wasn’t many people present and the woman doing my pat down was very apologetic and explained to me that it was required because a dress/skirt doesn’t show the contours of your body so they have to pat you down. Nice. Here I thought I was making it easier by not wearing trousers that might have bits of metal all over them. The agent patting me down did not touch me above the waist, did not pat down my rear, and did not pat higher than mid-thigh. I thought the whole idea of the pat down was to make sure I wasn’t hiding anything? Not that I’m complaining. It just all seemed pointless, especially considering my dress was fairly form fitting to begin with and the fabric was clinging to my tights. I wonder what happens to people who go through wearing baggy clothing. Soon we will have to fly wearing form-fitted bodysuits.

Funny enough, I went through security with my 1-QT bag of liquids and yet in the bottom of my carry-on I later discovered two items that had fallen out – a small container of hand sanitizer and a breath spray, neither of which were detected by their machines. I also had a packet of mustard my mom stuck in the bag with the lunch she packed for me and that didn’t get flagged, either.

First trauma over, I headed on my merry way to the gate, boarded my flight, and was soon landing in London (LHR). The UKBA was on the ball and I didn’t even have to answer any questions on my return to the UK, she just told me “welcome back” and stamped my passport on the page opposite my spousal visa (unlike when I landed in the US!**).

I noticed the “cleared by TSA” sticker on the outside of my suitcase and found the “Notice of Baggage Inspection” buried inside as soon as I got home. I didn’t really think anything of it and assumed the combination of the peppermint Hershey Kisses and the Buffalo wing spice caught the attention of the baggage inspector. But it wasn’t until this morning that I discovered something was wrong with my luggage.

As I mentioned above, my aunt sent me home with two small containers of homemade cookies. The first container was a square vintage Tupperware container that contained my beloved Pinwheels. No problems there. The second container was a small tin she was re-using that contained some peanut butter cookies. When I opened the tin this morning, I discovered HALF MY PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES WERE GONE, and the remaining cookies were broken and crumbled due to being shaken around the half empty tin.

I am NOTimpressed. Thank you, TSA agent for stealing my little bit of a homemade Christmas. I hope you were allergic to nuts.

~~*~~
*Security in London consisted of taking my laptop out of the bag but not the case, having my kindle out (but in it’s case), and I was able to keep my shoes and cardigan on.

**Oh, this is great, too. When I got up to the desk at US Immigration I was GRILLED by the agent. Excuse me, but isn’t it the right of an American Citizen to be able to freely leave and return to the US? No? I got asked when I was last in the US (I was vague and said “about two years ago”, why I moved to the UK, why I was returning to the US, who I was staying with in the US, and the best one? When was I leaving the US. Again, I thought American Citizens are allowed to stay in the US for as long as they’d like. Apparently not. I suppose I should consider myself lucky I didn’t get a time limit visa stamped in my passport!

~~*~~
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Feel free to pass this post on!!

I’m going solo because Tim just can’t ask for the time off this week as one of the other MOMs is currently on holiday and well, one ticket was enough!

I’m heading out on Friday and will arrive in Philly around 3PM and take the train to Lancaster so my mom doesn’t have to worry about picking me up at the airport. I’ll leave on Christmas Eve. Because it’s an overnight flight, I will arrive back in the UK on Christmas Morning. It was the only way to book things and still be able to afford anything reasonable that didn’t involve a lot of crazy transfers and layovers (seriously, one flight I looked at was Birmingham to Dublin, an 11-hour layover in Dublin, then flying to Miami, five hours in Miami, and then onto BWI). To make things easier on me, I’m not checking any bags. I’ve got toiletry type items still at Mom’s and if I need anything, she has a CVS and a Rite Aid around the corner from her house (within walking distance, even). I’m just going to toss a few changes of clothing into a carry-on. Mom has a washing machine, so I can always wash things.

This isn’t the way I had hoped to return to the US for a visit, but I am glad that I am able to. This truly IS the hardest part about being an ex-pat.

*sigh*

I’ve even checked BWI and IAD for departures and Birmingham and Manchester for arrivals. This sucks.

Anyone know any other sites I should be checking or ways we can get a super good deal?

~~*~~
The contents of this post, including images are © Rebecca J Lockley and Tim Lockley unless otherwise stated and should not be reproduced without permission. If you are not reading this on http://blog.beccajanestclair.com, my facebook page, or the RSS feed(s), please notify me.

[the contents of this post, including images are @copy; Rebecca J Lockley and Tim Lockley and should not be reproduced without permission.]

Of course, we are enjoying the extra time together and managed to do a few more touristy things on her visit. We went to Stratford-upon-Avon on Tuesday since Tim already had the day off, and this weekend plan on going to Woodhall Spa. We were concerned about how we’d get her to the airport on Monday, but Tim’s bosses managed to let him take off Monday on short notice (after he explained why he needed it off).

But still, such a pain. Thankfully, Mom was visiting me and so has a free room to stay in. I can’t imagine what would happen if she was staying in a hotel somewhere!

Even worse is the predictions that the ash might move over the weekend and could disrupt flight again. If her Monday flight gets cancelled, I don’t know what we will do (well, have a longer visit, I suppose!). On the other hand, I’d rather her flight be grounded over the plane going through potential engine damaging ash!

Also, fortunately for Mom, her passport was stamped with the generic 6-month visitor stamp, so we have time if she is stuck longer. Also, the UKBA is allowing anyone who has an expired visa as a result of the volcanic ash stay with no penalties, they are just advising people to hold onto proof that they were originally leaving. See http://blog.us2uk.net for details.

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Fortunately, luggage carts are free at LHR, and I piled it high with my bags and managed to get myself through Customs (nothing to declare) and out into the arrivals hall….to no Tim. Granted, it was 6AM, and my plane was supposed to land at 5:55, so I wasn’t upset. Instead I called Mom to tell her I had arrived and then called Tim. Turned out he was just leaving the hotel (since we live about 3 hours away from London by car, we figured a hotel was the best idea).

We were soon reunited and loaded the car…and we almost took the bags of someone parked next to us (who was even on my flight!) who had a purple bag, because Tim is programmed that all things purple must belong to me. heh. We had breakfast at the hotel, then went to our room and crashed for a few hours.

I woke up around 11, and after a shower we decided to head into the nearest town (though not into London proper) to find some Lunch and pick up a few things at Boots (Pharmacy), and tehn it was mostly hanging around in our hotel room until our pre-paid dinner at the hotel restaurant. Unfortunately, my stomach hadn’t figured out the time change yet, so I spent most of my afternoon being sick, but I felt well-enough to go down to dinner and nibbled a bit. Again, we didn’t do much after dinner (partially due to me not feeling well).

The following morning we decided to stop at IKEA in Essex on our “way home”. It wasn’t entirely on the way, but closer than any of the IKEAs in our area, and we wanted to go window shopping for new bedroom furniture.

We wound up spending 5 hours in IKEA! But it was worth it. We now know what we want and have a plan for renovating our bedroom.

We returned to Lincoln….and then the errands started. Oh, the errands.

Monday we went over to the GP (Doctor) so I could register. The receptionist had a little trouble with registering me, as she thought I needed to call the NHS to get a NHS number, but after calling the helpline from the lobby we got it straightened out and I should have my NHS card in a few days. We also headed into town, thinking that we’d be able to add me to Tim’s bank account. Unfortunately, that didn’t quite work out and we had to make an appointment for Tuesday. We also stopped at the Library though, and I got a library card and then to the Co-Op to sign up for a membership there. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get my NI number (It’s similar to an SSN), but I have the number to call to get that, too.

Tuesday we had our bank appointment and after a two-hour meeting overviewing our finances, I was added to the account, we paid off the credit card mostly (we used it for my visa & moving fees), and we have a plan for a new savings account once I have my NI number. I should have my bank card in a few days!

We’ve also been doing a lot just to get the house in order. We plan on celebrating our Christmas on Sunday, complete with putting presents under the tree. At IKEA we purchased a new laundry hamper that ought to handle a week’s worth of two people’s clothing (and it even has a divider), and a cute side table for under the living room window. We’ve also been opening the wedding presents and started to use them – yesterday I made bread in the bread machine and it turned out really good.

Sadly, last night the washing machine decided that this was teh PERFECT time for it to crap out. So today we went off to Comet’s and picked out an inexpensive washer dryer combo. We figured since we knew we needed a new dryer eventually, we might as well spend the money now to get the combo, because buying them separate would have been twice as much. Plus, this gets rid of one of the units in the kitchen, so more space for other things.

Hopefully we’ll have a quiet weekend (other than Christmas on Sunday) and start to get things in order. My shipment got to Felixtowe on the 25th, so hopefully it won’t sit in customs for too long….but hopefully long enough for us to make room for the boxes.

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We had no problems getting there, other than a surely woman at the SEPTA ticket booth, but I ran into a problem on the way home…

Because of the time of Tim’s flight (9PM), and the time of the last train back to Lancaster (8:55PM), I knew I’d wind up spending some time at 30th street waiting for the train. Tim needed to be at his gate no later than 8, so we parted around 7:15 (and it was sad, but it’s how things go when you’re LD!). SEPTA had no problems getting me back up to 30th, and I prepared myself to wait out the hour until my train. Around 8PM, the message board flipped my train to “Delayed”. The person at the information booth didn’t have any further information, he only knew that the train attempted to leave NY-Penn and had engine trouble, so it went BACK to NY-Penn to wait for a fix or different engine. *sigh*. So, I sat down, got out my N810, and started IMing people. Meanwhile, I checked the status of Tim’s flight and found out he was leaving at 9:15 instead of 9. He and I were in the same city, but separated by more miles than we had been for the past three weeks of his visit! I don’t think we were ever more than 30 or so feet apart his whole visit.

But it really can’t be helped, and it’s not Amtrak’s fault they had a faulty engine. The problem, however, is the way Amtrak handled the issue. When the train got back into NY-Penn, I am told passengers had been advised to take other NY-Penn to 30th Street trains, since the NY-DC trains, and the Boston-DC trains all pass through Philadelphia as they did not expect to get the Keystone running. But….here’s the problem. They had 50 or so people waiting in Philadelphia for this train as it was the LAST TRAIN OF THE DAY between Philadelphia and Harrisburg.

Since dating a railway man, I’ve tried to be a little more understanding about delays and problems because I know what Tim has to deal with sometimes, but it’s still upsetting to find out that one set of passengers had one piece of information, while another set was told something else entirely! As far as those of us waiting in Philly were concerned, we were still going to have a train out to Harrisburg that night.

They didn’t cancel the train. They got a different engine, and our train was listed as “40 minutes late”. I calculated it out, and the train was traveling an average of 90 mph to get to Philadelphia from NY-Penn in an hour!

Another problem Tim and I encountered yesterday is how ridiculous the Philadelphia International Airport is set up. When you get off SEPTA, you have to go upstairs to a breezeway that connects you to either arrivals or departures. However, it does not connect you to several of the European airlines (BA, KLM, Air France, etc.). It connects you to USA 3000, Air Jamaica, and Frontier. The two check-in areas are NOT connected on the inside, so Tim and I had to exit the terminal at Air Jamaica and walk along side the car loop around the airport dragging his bags (there was a sidewalk, but it still would be loads safer to have people walk inside!) to enter at British Airways. When we first entered, the information monitors said “BA Flight 68 is now departing at 1:15AM”. This caused a minor panic. Firstly, Tim didn’t have a mobile on him to call anyone to update about the time. Secondly, a 1:15AM EST departure time meant he wouldn’t land at LHR until almost noon BST and he still had to get a train up to Lincoln. Not to mention being stuck past the boarding gate for over 6 hours. And I had to leave no later than 8 to catch the train back.

Fortunately, the woman checking in Tim’s bags told us there were no delays and it was on time. We mentioned the sign we saw on the other side of the terminal and the woman said that they “have nothing to do with that side”. So then, why was there a random message board listing one of their flights as being delayed so badly? I hastily scribbled more phone numbers onto a piece of paper for Tim (since he didn’t have his phone, I needed to give him my US numbers) in case it really was delayed so he could call me from a payphone or use my Skype-to-Go to call his parents.

In the end, everything was fine. Tim’s plane took off at 9PM as scheduled (though it landed in LHR 40 minutes late and didn’t have a gate so people had to be bussed to the terminal), and I made it back to Lancaster. That’s all that really matters.

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The food was alright, but I wound up having to have the steak wrapped in bacon, which as a vegetarian was a no-no. So I ate the salad, the veggies, and potatoes. Fortunately, I had planned ahead for this and packed a bento so I had plenty of food.

We actually got to London around 5:30, but because planes aren’t allowed to land until 6, we had to circle around. 6 was still early for our flight, and we were the only international flight heading to immigrations/customs.

Going through Immigration/Customs was a breeze! Tim wrote a letter stating he had invited me for the length of time I was staying, and that *really* helped.

Of course, this meant I was ready to go by 6:30, and Tim wasn’t coming to get me until 7:30!

Tim and I decided we would make afew stops on the way back, and after trying to stop at two different manor houses that were both closed for the season, and being unable to locate the castle he wanted to take me to, we headed to Stamford for a few hours. We walked the town and the shops – a lady in a store selling hair clips convinced Tim to buy my clips (75p), and we went in a few used bookstores.

I loved Stamford. Such a lovely old beautiful town with even prettier buildings.

A sneak peek of some photos:

Part of this entry I wrote yesterday while waiting in Winnipeg, the rest I wrote this morning.

12:07CST
I’ve made it as far as the “holding pen” for US bound persons. There’s wireless, but neither Captain Jack nor Gwen can seem to gain access to it. Jack will connect, but never bring up the access page, and Gwen brings up an access page that wants me to log in with my Telus account….something I don’t have. Ah well.

My day started out on a VERY bad note. Actually, let me backtrack to last night. I’m not sure if I’ve spoken of my immense arachnophobia on this blog yet, but suffice it to say – I have it in the worst possible way. Anything other than daddy long legs completely freak me out to the point where I sometimes even cry.

Last night I went to carry up the dirty litter and got the bag stuck on a loose nail, so after I got the bag out of the house, I decided to grab the swiffer to sweep all the litter into the basement, where I planned on then using their basement vacuum to get it all up. Except that while I was sweeping off the steps…TWO large black spiders (the size of a US nickel including legs) popped out of a hole and terrified me to the point where I lost my balance and fell down the steps. Not a good thing when I still had some cleaning to do. I emailed Sarah and Joe to let them know what happened, and Sarah told me not to worry about cleaning the rest up.

Anyway, so cue this morning.

My flight out of Dauphin (on a 12-seater prop plane!) was at 7:50. The airline confirmation said to arrive an hour ahead, which made it 6:50, and I decided I was going to call for a cab around 6, figuring on it arriving to pick me up at 6:15 and I’d get to the airport between 6:30 and 6:50.

I was ready to go by 5:45 and had everything packed including my laptop, so I decided to just start giving the cats some good-bye love (which Quincy ignored, Casper was indifferent to and meowed, and Hobbes climbed onto my shoulder), and call the cab company. Sarah told me to use Parkland Taxi, as they were on the other side of the highway. I called around 5:50 and got a recorded message that told me the hours were 6AM til whatever time at night. Wow, glad I didn’t need a ride earlier after all. So, I chatted with my mom on Skype for a bit and tried again at 6 on the nose. Same message. I tried at least three more times and STILL got the recorded message. I was sort of starting to panic. Fortunately, I was able to load the dauphin website on Captain Jack and got the number for Dauphin Taxi. Located a bit into town from Sarah and Joe’s, but they answered the phone and I had a cab by 6:20. My taxi ride was $13 though, so I’m not sure if I had to pay for him to come GET me too or what as the airport wasn’t that far away!

Anyway, we arrived at the airport before the counter person was even there to unlock the door. I think the cab driver wanted me to stay in the cab and let the meter run, but I saw a picnic bench so I told the driver I’d wait there for it to open. As I was paying the driver, the person with the keys pulled up, so I didn’t have to wait outside after all.

While waiting for the flight to leave, I met someone who is some type of Government person. He was pleasant, and we had a nice chat. Soon, it was time to barod the plane and about a half hour later we were landing in Winnipeg.

Two other women on the flight with me who needed to go to the International part of the airport offered to share a cab with me, which was really nice. One of the women was headed to South Africa to visit her family and it was going to take her 2 days and an 11 hour layover in London to get there! (and I complained about my 18 hours?)

Before I continue, I want to add in my little rant about this airport business in Winnipeg. The airport we flew into and the International airport are in the same compound yet if I had taken a cab alone, I’d have had to have shelled out $10-12 for a cab plus tip/baggage handling. To essentially GO AROUND THE BLOCK. Why don’t they offer a free shuttle between the two? Or even a shuttle for a $5 fee or something like that? All they’d need is a 15-passenger van or something. Just seemed ridiculous. In the end I only paid $5 anyway because of sharing the cab (he got $5 from me because I wanted to give him $4 and hold onto my loonie, but I accidentally handed him a toonie and a loonie and didn’t want to grab the loonie back out of his hand, but wanted to give him more than $3 for my share).

Anyway, back to my travel story.

NWA wouldn’t let me check in. Well, she said she could, but then I’d have had to have gone though to the Customs screening right away and been forced to wait in the “pen” all morning where there isn’t alot of food options…but yet if I didn’t check-in, I was able to go upstairs to the main airport….I didn’t quite understand why I couldn’t have checked in for the flight, gone upstairs and then come back downstairs to go through customs, but whatever. I had to drag my suitcase around with me upstairs. I went into a small souvenir shop and picked up a thimble for my neighbour and a few other items (and a really cute purse/bag for me that had pockets on the front the perfect size for my LG9900 and N810).

Then, I went back downstairs to check-in, and the people ahead of me were being a pain. THEIR flight wasn’t until 4, but they were checking guns (eek!) and obviously couldn’t carry those around the airport. So, the counter person had to spend some time trying to get them onto the earlier flight that I was on. (oh joy!)

Surprisingly, it was very easy to get through everything. Checked my bag, got through customs with a grand total of ONE question (“What did you buy in Canada?” “a bathing suit, some gifts for family, and some candy”), and even security was a breeze.

I’m typing this from the lounge though becuse I needed to make sure TSA didn’t do anything to FUBAR my laptop…they ran a freaky wand over the top, bottom, and then opened it to run it along the inside. I asked the woman what it was for and she explained it was to check for any chemical residue. I asked her if she needed me to power it on, and she said no. So, laptop owners can be re-assured that TSA is not out to get us with taking laptops internationally.

Okay, my second leg of my trip starts in about 20 minutes, so I’m going to save this and shut down. Perhaps Minneapoilis will have free wi-fi I can grab…at the very least, I know Philadelphia does!

***

I got so sick on that flight. I was seated at the back of the plane right next to the turbine (I think that’s what it’s called),and I guess the back of the plane is like the back of the bus and I got airsick for the first time in my life. When we got to Minneaplolis, I booked it over to the connecting gate and explained to the guy at the counter that I wasn’t feeling well, could he move me closer to the front of the plane. He said “If I have it, you got it” and moved me to row 5. Then, I spent about 20 minutes walking all over Minneapolis to try to find PLAIN bread/bagels to eat to try to calm my stomach, and finally settled on tea from Caribu Coffee.

The flight wasn’t bad. Row 5 happened to be the first row after first class, and I guess the counter person put a note that I was ill because I got lots of attention from the flight attendant. She brought me ginger ale while we were waiting to take off, and when they were serving first class their meal, brought me a dinner roll. She also told me if I wasn’t feeling well I could use the first class bathroom and could get up even if the seatbelt sign was on.

At Philadelphia, it was a mad dash to get my baggage and try to not have to wait for the R1. Fortunately, our bags came out in record time and I managed to make it onto the 8:39 R1….and then I had problems. See, apparently the Zone 5 ticket I purchased 2 months ago was no good on the R1 line because it didn’t say “CCP” on it, and the conductor wanted me to buy another ticket from her at $7. The problem was, I only had $4 in US Currency. The people who had been with me on the plane and made the mad dash with me didn’t even offer to make up the difference, which I thought was kind of rude, but typical for Philadelphia. Anyway, I explained to the conductor that I only had $4 and asked if I could give her my bad ticket AND the $4. She told me no, and said that she would take my not good ticket “this time”.

I had to wait at 30th street for about 2 hours for my Amtrak train. There were loads of creepy people around at that time of night, but the Cosi offered free wi-fi, so I was chatting to a few friends. Finally, we were able to board the train and I was headed home!

We arrived slightly early, and I think I walked in the door at home at exactly midnight. Mom and I stayed up until 3 in the morning talking!

I shouldn’t be awake right now, I sort of feel like a zombie. I have a lot to do today though. Will was acting a bit weird around my suitcase, so I want to empty it out and febreeze the whole thing because I’m sure he smells strange kitty.

I was going to add some photos from yesterday, but my camera is in the living room, so I will do a separate photo post later in the day.

Last post from Dauphin. Farewell kitties, new friends, CBC, prairies, and labels half in French.

My next expected update will be tomorrow from home. I have a nearly 18-hour trip to get myself back home ahead of me:

6:50AM – Taxi from Sarah and Joe’s to Dauphin Airport
7:50 – Small plane Dauphin to Winnipeg
8:40 – Arrive Winnipeg (small airport), take Taxi to International Airport
1:21PM – Depart Winnipeg for Minneapolis Airport
2:42 – Arrive Minneapolis Airport
4:45 – Depart Minneapolis for Philadelphia Airport
8:30 – Arrive Philadelphia Airport
9:39 – R1 from Airport to 30th Street
10:00 – Arrive 30th Street Amtrak Station
10:45 – Amtrak Keystone Service
11:55 – Arrive Lancaster Train Station

I’m hoping since I get to Winnipeg so early that I’ll be able to get myself put on earlier flights – or at least that I can get an earlier flight to Minneapolis. If I have to wait there for 5 hours for the original connection I won’t mind so much because once I’m back in the US I have access to my mobile phone. I really don’t like it that I have to be in the Winnipeg airport without a working mobile.

This morning when I got up to use the bathroom I didn’t notice Hobbes sleeping next to me, and when I got back into bed, he was like this:

I made myself a HUGE travel bento so I hopefully won’t have to buy too much food on the trip:

When I thought I was flying AirIndia and was going to spend all day traveling on trains and shuttles to get to the airport, I was planning on packing bento for the flight and train, as the food offered on AirIndia was Indian food (curry, most likely) and I can’t eat pre-packaged Indian food. But now that I’ve switched over to United, I wanted to see if I could dig up what kind of food they offered. My friend Linz told me that you get complimentary drinks (wine with dinner, etc), but nothing about the food. I’m assuming since I’m technically stand by, I can’t actually request the vegetarian option, so I’m hoping I can just pick off meat or eat around it or something. I don’t like doing that, but if I have to, I will. I also might pack a snack bento just in case I don’t like the options, or I’m still hungry, or I get hungry in the airport.

I ran a google search,and all I could find was articles about United starting to charge for meals in Economy, and then people complained, so they decided against it. I can’t find anything with specifics on what’s offered, just if it’s “good” or “bad”, but this is directly from the United website:

United FirstSM and United BusinessSM
Enjoy multi-course meals graciously served. Settle in, relax and savor the flavor of warmed nuts served with your favorite premium spirit, a regional specialty beer or a glass of one of our award winning wines. Additional courses include fresh salads and appetizers, a choice of entrees, seasonal fruit, aged cheeses and decadent desserts. After dinner liqueurs, Port Wine and Starbucks coffee complete a memorable dining experience.

Later in the flight, we offer more options – hot sandwiches, chilled salads, light breakfasts, fresh fruits and savory snacks. The selection will vary but our commitment to your comfort and satisfaction is constant.

Now, compare that to how they word Economy service:
United EconomySM
We serve complimentary meals on most international flights between the US, South America, Europe, the South Pacific and Asia. Shortly after takeoff, customers will enjoy a beverage service with cocktail snacks, complimentary soft drinks and premium liquors, beer and wine. Alcoholic beverages are complimentary on trans and intra pacific flights and availabe for sale on other international flights. The main meal will consist of salad, appetizer, a choice of hot entrees and dessert. On longer flights we also offer a light pre-arrival meal. (copied word for word, the typos are there!)

So…business and first class get “fresh salads”, but economy just a “salad”…and it’s “decadent desserts” versus plain dessert. What? It almost sounds like the airline doesn’t even care about the economy passengers….which I’d think make up the bulk of their business.

I’d really like to find an actual list of what the food is, so if anyone knows where I could find that, I’d appreciate it.

Gratuitous cat photo:

Casper in the sink (where he’s not supposed to be!)

They called me today to tell me my flight was canceled and it will take two weeks to get my refund!

The exact conversation went like this:

cgf: Your flight’s been canceled
Me: can you put me on another flight?
cfg: Air India canceled all their flights for the next three months
Me: Can you put me on another airline?
cfg: We can’t apply money paid for one flight to another. We can rebook you using the same card
Me: I don’t have enough money to do that. Did the refund get credited back today?
cfg: It can take two weeks
Me: that’s not acceptable, I need to leave for London on October 16
cfg: We can try to expedite it
Me: Are there any other flights you could put me on after I get my refund and I rebook? Anything in the same price range?
cfg: I will look into it and call you back, but I can only hold a price for three days

…and then I went to their website and the best they have is $760..which I can’t afford right now, and it would even be tight to try to re-book after I get my refund, assuming flights are still that low.

My mom has agreed to letting me stay over through Christmas, so if I can find a cheaper flight that’s longer, that’ll work, but Tim and I have tickets to a show on Oct 21, so I need to be there at least by then. And Tim took leave Oct 17-31 so we could travel, so if I go later, we wouldn’t have that leave available and I wouldn’t actually get to see much of the UK because Tim would be working.

But I can’t book anything until I get my refund. because I don’t have any extra money hanging around to book with.

But the saga gets deeper.

I called cfg back to find out if there were any options. Sam (the guy I talked to) told me I needed to call Air India directly, and gave me their 800 number.

Cue two hours of getting no where. The 800# goes to Bombay, btw, and they have no connection with the New York office. They give me a 212 number, and I call it and get nothing but piano music. So, I call the 800# back. I get another number, but this one goes to a law office in NYC. I call back, get another number that no one answers. I call again, and get another number that goes to the law office. I call the 800# again and ask for a supervisor right away.

Supervisor (which I swear I kept being bounced around. I’d abruptly get told to hold on and then I’d have to re-explain everything) told me that this was all my travel agent (cgf)’s fault, and they couldn’t re-book me because a refund has been issued. I said I hadn’t gotten the refund, so why couldn’t they cancel the refund and re-book me through EWR (which a friend of mine on another message board told me they had been doing to everyone booked with a JFK flight that was cancelled). They told me they couldn’t because of something with cfg. Oh, and this person told me the refund could take two months!

So….I called Sam back and told him what happened. He told me it wouldn’t take two months, and he was trying to get me my refund faster so I could rebook something. He’s calling AirIndia to see what he can do, since all AirIndia would tell me to do was “call your travel agent”.

Tim and I also did some flight hunting before he had to leave for work, and I found a BA flight for $722. The problem is that without the refund, I don’t have $722 to book anything, and if I have to wait 2 weeks? I’m sure the flight will be way more than $722. I mean, I’m supposed to leave in 28 days! 2 weeks for now leaves me with…two weeks to get a flight.

So, I’m at my wits end. I need a way to re-book a flight before the refund comes through and I just don’t have it.

I can’t completely cancel this trip. Tim and I have been looking forward to this and we have tickets to Shakespeare in October and we have loads of plans.

*sigh*

Flights:

Northwest Flt 1765 PHL -> DTW Departed 9:25 Arrived 11:12 at Gate A-40 (or some insanely high number)
Northwest Flt 4739 DTW -> YWG Departed 12:15 at Gate C-29!!!

YIKES! I had to travel across pretty much the entire MacNamara terminal to grab my connection…but I still had time to grab a gardenburger from Fudruckers. It wasn’t a bad burger, and surprisingly only $5.79. And other than a bagel I scarfed down in the car, and a peanut butter and jelly uncrustable, the only food I ate today so far. Oh, and I get to add “tram” to my list of transportation devices I’ve taken on this trip. IF I go to the mall, I’d also add a bus, but I just walked around one mall,and I’m not sure I have the energy to walk around another.

Types of transportation today: Car, Plane, Tram, Cab (do the people mover things in the airports count?)

Probably the most nerve-wracking thing for me was going to be going through Customs once in Canada, but surprisingly? No problems at all.

here’s my passport stamp!

Thank you, Canada for hiring competent customs agents who are BNL fans and who just stamp my passport while babbling about BNL instead of asking me all the required questions!

After breezing through customs, it was a short (albeit pricey – CDN$12.30) taxi ride over to the holiday Inn, where Sarah had booked me for the night. The hotel is really nice, here’s a view from my window:

After settling in, I took a walk down to the Shoppers Drug Mart and a mini mall, then I headed to The Bay to do some browsing. Now, I’m back in my room, drinking the horrible excuse for tea the hotel offers for free.

Oh, and I turned the sink in the bathroom into a wet bar:

To see more photos from today, check out my album for today: http://photos.beccajanestclair.com/winnipeg-manitoba-august-2008

I’ve published an article about this on Associated Content. Please click here to read it: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/879175/is_the_tsa_too_power_hungry.html