Day 1, cont.
There was, of course, a HUGE line at the customer service desk. All the while, we were watching the B group board, then the C group line up...
Luckily (?) for us we weren't the only ones in our situation. Another couple from the Newark flight was also trying to board the same flight to Sacramento and rushed up to the desk, skipping the line. The desk agent asked them to wait in line but they quickly explained the situation and the agent understood the urgency of the situation. She type-type-typed on her computer, and handed the passengers new boarding passes for...the original flight! The agent then asked if anyone else was trying to get on this flight and we said we were! We gave her our old boarding passes and waited for what felt like forever as she continued to type-type-type. She handed us new passes and told us to run! We were in the C group but we made it on the flight!!!
We got two aisle seats in the very back of the plane one in front of the other. Obviously I would have preferred to have sat NEXT to my wife instead of in front of her but at least we were close and weren't stuck in middle seats.
Above the clouds!
The flight attendants brought around big boxes of snacks. Since this flight was about four hours long, they offered a wider variety of snacks including Ritz cream cheese sandwiches, Fritos, cookies, and the usual peanuts and pretzels. Obviously with the stress of nearly missing our flight it was time for an adult beverage! I had a tequila and orange juice and M had a Baileys and coffee. No photos as I was still quite frazzled at this point.
After my tequila and OJ I, surprisingly, slept for a bit. I usually can't fall asleep on planes so it was nice to wake up and realize I had just fallen asleep! I brought my
Humidiflyer on this trip, which is a really cool filtering mask that helps keep you from drying out on planes.
After awhile the flight attendants brought around cups of coffee and water, which I gladly accepted! I also played BallZ on my iPad (don't laugh, it's a fun game! I should add that I was introduced to this game on the opera gig I just did as a way to pass the time quietly while waiting backstage between entrances). Another "device" I used on the flight was Earplanes. I usually get terrible pain in my ears from the descent into lower altitudes and it can last all day, but with my Earplanes I had only brief, mild discomfort that subsided as soon as we landed. I highly recommend them to my fellow ear pain sufferers!
Somehow, we landed a few minutes early in Sacramento. Now for the next little bit of dramma. I'd had to place my backpack in a bin about twenty rows in front of me so there was no easy way to get it until almost everyone else had left the plane. The FAs had announced that there were exits in the front AND back of the plane, so after I retrieved my bag we walked back to the back exit. But apparently someone from the ground crew was now doing work in the back and now the exit was blocked. No worries, we had been delayed and slowed down all day so what was a walk all the way to the front?
When we got to the front an airport employee was helping a disabled passenger into a wheelchair and blocking the entire aisle. We're not about to get upset with a disabled person and a person just trying to do their job so we waited patiently. But then a FA noticed we were waiting and got a little snippy with us and said, "You know, you can exit in the back." We politely explained that the FA in the back had sent us up front and she called her colleague via intercom and was MORE than a little snippy with her.
But nothing could get us down! We had made it to our destination and would soon be on our way to our rental car and first hotel!
Unless, of course...our luggage had been sent with the later Sacramento flight instead of the original one??
Next up: Will we ever get our suitcase? Will anything go right on this day?? ARE WE CURSED???
