Thwarted

We set out today for our trip across the pond to visit family. Mick and I decided we should leave home at 1:00 in order to give us time to drive to the airport, park in the off-site economy lot, and get checked in with time for Jack to run around before boarding. I knew our travel was going to go well when we pulled out of the driveway at exactly 1:00.

The morning had been pleasant, with me tuning in to the Big 10 Network to watch President Obama deliver the commencement address at U of M. (I used to think that having Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the UN, as my commencement speaker was cool... now I'm jealous of today's graduates.) On our way on the shuttle bus from the economy parking to the airport terminal, we were bypassed by the President's motorcade as Air Force One was awaiting his return. While it was old-hat to see the motorcade in DC, we were completely enamored by seeing it today in Michigan!

We were in the airport and through security by 2:15 - plenty of time to grab some lunch and board our first flight. Everything was going so well!

Alas, it was not to be...

Long story short, our flight to JFK (which is where we were going to connect to our flight taking us to Manchester) ended up having mechanical problems that were so severe that we had to be towed in from the tarmac. The plane was hot and we sat on board for a half hour before even leaving the gate (it was a full flight and took them forever to load luggage). Then, when we finally pulled away from the gate, we made it a few hundred yards before stopping again. I thought we were waiting for flight traffic to clear so we could get on the runway and takeoff but I was sadly wrong. The pilot announced that we had "steering issues" and he'd placed a call to Atlanta (we were on a Delta flight - Atlanta is the HQ) and was waiting to hear what to do. About 15 minutes later, the pilot announced that we needed to return to the gate so a mechanic could fix the problem. We moved... about 100 feet... and then stopped again. This time, the pilot notified us that he'd heard a strange popping noise and "didn't want to take any chances" so we needed to be towed back to the gate. We waited. And waited. And then the pilot announced that it was taking so long because we didn't just need a tow but we also needed an airport services escort to lead us in. UGH!

Although there was eventually another plane arranged to take everyone to JFK, we knew we'd miss our connection to Manchester and didn't want to be stuck in NYC overnight without luggage. It pains me to write that. Pre-Jack, I think Mick and I would have jumped at the chance for free day in New York. But with toddler in tow - and no way to get our luggage - we decided the best decision was to return home and just try the same itinerary tomorrow.

The struggle wasn't over though. We needed to wait in line for about 45 minutes to request that our luggage NOT be moved from one plane to another but that it be off-loaded so we could take it home tonight. Then, I insisted that Mick (who was his usual calm and level-headed self throughout this fiasco) go to another desk to find out if we'd get some sort of compensation for our messed up schedule. (We received $50 each toward a future flight. Not spectacular, but it is what it is.)

While Mick was managing all of this, Jack ran through the airport - and I chased him. (He's lightning fast, no kidding.) He came upon a Mrs Field's cookie shop and spotted, not the cookies, brownies, and muffins, but the fruit. He asked me repeatedly for an apple. So of course I got one for him. It was a proud moment for me.
Once we finally had the luggage, it was back on the shuttle bus to the economy lot and then back on expressway for the 30 minute drive home. Grand total was 7 hours spent traveling today to officially make it nowhere.

We'll try again tomorrow though and hopefully Jack will be as well-behaved as he was this afternoon. I had multiple struggles with him this week (one of which resulted in tears -- mine!) which I think were due to his age and the whole gaining independence stage. It was a very difficult week, to say the least. I was kind of dreading the flights today. But thankfully Jack put all my fears to rest as he was really such a gem... I hope he can manage this for two days in a row.