Texas Bound!

What a fun trip to Texas we had…after the airport dilemma.  You see, here’s how it went, from the beginning.  Wesley and I spent the night in Billings Wednesday (the 26^th of December) because it was snowing lightly and we didn’t want to make the 2 hour drive the next day on slick roads (if they ended up slick).  So, we decided we’d make a night of it & stay in Billings before catching our flight out to Texas the next day (the 27^th).  We had a nice dinner, went to Target & bought a cool new suitcase (unplanned, but our other one broke, so it ended up being a sweet deal) and settled in to our cozy hotel room.  

Thursday came & we were both so excited!  We got to the airport about an hour & a half before our flight left so we had time to check our bags, get thru security, and walk the 25 feet to our terminal gate (yes, the Billings airport is THAT small, although my measurements might be a slight exaggeration).  We were on an express jet flight to Denver, Colorado where we had an hour layover until our flight took off from Denver to Houston.  Of course I kept checking my United (airline) app on my phone to make sure our flight was on time, and it was, until about 20 minutes before we were supposed to board.  The United attendants at the gate came over the intercom & informed us that our flight to Denver was being delayed 20 minutes because they were waiting on our plane to come in.  Fine, no big deal.  We still have time in Denver to catch our connection.  20 minutes passed & they then informed us that our flight was going to be delayed another HOUR because they were waiting on our plane.  However, they checked ALL passengers who had connections in Denver, and all of us were OK on time to get to our connections.  *Whew*…we breathed a sigh of relief.  Our plane landed (as they said it would…an hour late) and I then realized that we were not on a JET plane, we were boarding a bombardier PROP plane.  A PROP PLANE!  I had no idea they even made those damn things anymore!  Mental note – check what plane we’re going to be flying on before booking all future flights.  I couldn’t figure out why it was so loud when it landed, until my sweet husband informed me that it had physical propellers on it & not a jet engine.  Great…just when I thought I’d have a patience pill in my purse somewhere I seem to have misplaced it.  Damn. Oh well, suck it up & get on the damn plane.  We boarded fine & were pushing back from the gate when the Pilot comes on & says he’ll get us to Denver as soon as he can (except we’re in a PROP PLANE…they can’t go as fast as a jet engine!).  As things stood, we were set to land at the exact time our next flight was going to be taking off.  We both discussed our plan of attack on the hour & 15 minute flight to Denver so each party knew what was expected of them.   I was going to run like hell thru the Denver airport to our next gate, and Wesley was going to grab our carryon bags & be in hot pursuit after me. 

As soon as we landed in Denver I had my phone on & checking the flight status of our connection.  At that time it showed it was taking off 20 minutes late.  We still had time!  It was going to be close, but we had time!  All hopes were lost when we sat on the runway waiting to taxi to a gate for 17 minutes…count them.  17.  17 minutes for them to move 25 feet forward, open the door, and we had to exit using the STAIRS of the damn plane door!  And that’s when the rat race began.  I left my husband to grab our bags, and I ran like hell up the ramp, climbed 2 flights of stairs, and RAN to the first United desk I found.  As I’m approaching I’m yelling “Can you please tell me if Flight 1234 to Houston is still here?!”  The guy looks at his computer, hits a few buttons, and states “I show that the plane is still here”.  GREAT!  Can you please tell them that we are on our way & we will be right there?!  He looks square at me & states “I cannot talk to another terminal. I suggest you start running”.  Umm…what did you just say to me?  Don’t tell me y’all don’t communicate with one another because when we are in mid-flight we got flight updates for connections.  If I had the time, I would have stopped, walked around his podium, and punched him in the bal face.  But I didn’t.  So I ran.  At this point Wesley had caught up to me (poor guy…he was dragging 4 carryon bags with him) and we ran together.  We had to go from gate B60 to B29.  For anyone who has ever flown, that’s about 45 miles thru the airport.  And, running thru Denver, makes it about 45,392,847 miles.  We finally made it to our gate on the complete opposite side of the airport only to be told that we missed the flight by 7 minutes.  Excuse me?  We taxied for over 15 MINUTES when we got here & we only missed our connection by 7 minutes?  As we walk sulk to the next available United Customer Service desk to figure out what to do next (since neither of us have ever missed a connecting flight), we are told that we have to go to the representative desk at gate B39.  Great…back halfway down the airport.  Upon arrival at the customer service desk, a nice long winding line was awaiting us, along with half the flight from Billings to Denver because we ALL missed our connection to Houston.  After Wesley stood in line for an HOUR, I finally decided I’d pick up one of those red phones attached to the wall that read “Direct Line to United Reservations”.  I waited, and waited, and waited.  FINALLY someone picked up.  I politely told the guy our entire story about missing our connection, then proceeded to tell him that I didn’t care if we had to pay first class rates but I wanted on a flight from Denver to either Houston or Austin, and I wanted on a flight tonight.  I can hear him typing away on his computer at this point when he comes over & says “ma’am…you have got to be the luckiest person today.  I have 2 seats on the next and last flight out of Denver to Houston and it leaves tonight at 9:59 PM”.  BOOK THOSE TICKETS!  It is approximately 9:15 PM now.  Then he says “Oh wait, I see that the flight has been delayed 2 hours.  But, it does leave at 11:59 PM from Denver to Houston”.  At this point I didn’t care.  We were leaving Denver tonight & we would be in Texas in a few hours!  Texas bound once again!

After telling Wesley the good news, we went and had a drink (or two) at a bar in the airport.  We were exhausted and relieved at the same time.  Had we not got on that flight we would have had to spend the night in the Denver airport and wait for the next flight out to Houston (which was sometime the next morning…putting us to Houston the next day & to Brenham that next afternoon.  We lucked out).  At 11:30 we were boarding our express jet (this time, it DID have a jet engine, although I wouldn’t have cared as long as it was taking us to Houston).  We taxied down the runway to take off at midnight, and neither Wesley nor myself made it to take off; we were out.  We both slept for almost the entire flight.  We had about 40 minutes to spare after waking up & before landing in Houston.  We landed in Houston at 3:15 AM (and I’ve never seen Bush IAH so empty) and everyone on the plane clapped!  We got to baggage claim, and were so thankful we were in Texas.  During this fiasco we told my parents we’d just catch a cab to a nearby hotel & they could come get us the next day (it was, after all, 3 AM!).  But they insisted they come get us. 

As we walk out of baggage claim and thru the doors into the humid Texas air we stand looking for our ride.  2 seconds later I see my sister FLY out of the door of their excursion & run toward us.  MY SISTER CAME!  What a surprise!!!!  I hadn’t seen her in one year.  It was a LONG year without her, but she was there to pick us up!  She came with my parents and her husband Tanner.  We were so surprised!  It was the best surprise for me/us!  After a long embrace, we loaded up our luggage (2 checked suitcases, and 4 carryon bags…yes, it was necessary) and headed to Brenham.  We pulled in my parents driveway at about 5 AM…and were in bed by 5:30 AM.  I didn’t care…we were there!  And we didn’t have to spend the night in the Denver airport.  Although we didn’t get much sleep, it was much needed.  We had a long weekend and upcoming week ahead of us, and we were going to need the sleep!

To be continued……………...............