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Monday, August 13, 2007

Speed Bump

So I'm NOT in Peru.

I am in Fort Lauderdale. At the Days Inn. I think technically I'm in Hollywood or something, but I thought that was in California. Anyway, I'm in Florida, not Peru.

I was having amazing luck yesterday. I made it on the flight from Toronto to Orlando by the skin on my teeth... Three people got stuff in customs so I got one of their seats. Had they made it (they were travelling together as well) I would have been stuck for a day in Toronto.

I get to Orlando where I'm supposed to sleep in the airport because the flights were full going from Orlando to Fort Lauderdale to Lima, but I decided to meander to the Spirit Airlines desk and see if there was space. And lo, there was. I handed in my pass, got a boarding pass for Fort Lauderdale AND Lima, paid the fare, checked my bag, went through security and waited to board. The rest of the people board, I am in the midst of being handed my boarding pass for the flight and someone says "HEY WAIT! You can't fly to Lima. There is a restriction for standby passengers until August 27th". I almost threw up, punched the guy and swore really loudly all at the same time. Luckily I did none of those, and calmly asked "WHAT????"

I won't get into the whole next bit of the story and all the details, but yes, apparently 10 people overlooked this teensy tiny travel embargo, messed up my entire trip, and I was stuck in Orlando with nowhere to go.

Blah blah blah I cried a bunch and then figured out what to do. I would fly standby to Fort Lauderdale and then buy a ticket to Lima from there because there was a seat sale. But wait, that flight already left today, and Monday's flight is sold out so I had to buy for Tuesday.

So I'm in Fort Lauderdale. At the Days Inn. (Thanks Papa and Kevin and Mum). Until Tomorrow at 5, when my flight leaves for Lima. On Spirit Airlines, aka the spawn of the Devil. (I don't really mean that. But right now I do.)

(And yes, I made sure I could get HOME on Spirit travelling stand by, and I was guaranteed that it would be possible, and if for some reason it's not, I'm calling the President of Spirit Airlines or even of the United States and telling him to GET ME HOME. And give me more room in my seat because man, they're uncomfortable. And free snacks. Yeah, snacks)

But hey, I'll have a great story to tell. Cause wow that's funny. Can you see how hard I'm laughing. So hard. Oh wait. I'm not laughing. Not at all.

I guess things can only get better. Right? RIGHT???

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Why would you want to get out of Fort Lauderdale? According to the Fort Lauderdale Travel site:
"It's a wealthy city on the cutting edge of fashion and the arts. It's a beachside community cluttered with sunscreen and souvenirs. Well, actually, it's both, and it is connected by Las Olas Boulevard and the New River, which makes up the city's "streets-by-water." In addition to the beautiful surroundings, numerous historic sights, museums, chic sidewalk cafés and a 22-block long waterfront walkway all contribute to this city's captivating appeal. Fort Lauderdale, commonly referred to as "The Venice of America," is the yachting capital of the East Coast and the home of The International Swimming Hall of Fame. From shopping to deep-sea fishing, this city truly has it all."
It's cutting edge Heather...CUTTING EDGE. Not to mention the "venice of america" part. Seriously, spend the rest of your time of there. The international swimming hall of fame will likely take at least 3 days to go through in detail.

Sorry about your misfortunes. Now we both have a good story. Yours seems like a much better story than mine though...at least it was at the end for me.

lu said...

i think i have actually seen the international swimming hall of fame. i hope your flights work out this next time, nothing more furstrating than being upset and not being able to do anything about it to get out of that situation.

Heather said...

All I've seen is a lot of people wearing all the same colour clothes (ie: Green pants, shirt, sweater, socks, or white skirt, tanktop, t-shirt, cardigan, sandals). So if that's cutting edge, well I'm SO not cutting edge.

Anonymous said...

just in case anyone is worried, h-mo made it to peru but was not harmed by the earthquake.
oh, and today is her birthday...so happy birthday!

Chrissy and Brian said...

Yay. I just heard about the earthquake on the news and came to check right away! Glad you are OK Heather, and Happy Birthday!

Dee said...

Thanks for posting that K. I've been worring about her all day. Good luck Heather!