What A Day .....

Rarely do days like the two that just past happen. A series of events so unfortunate that all you can do is laugh .... until the humor at the situation goes from funny to downright insanity.

Yesterday morning found us just outside beautiful Palm Springs in Indio, CA. The plan was to get a late check out from our hotel, drive 2.5 hours to LAX and get on a plane that would take us first to Seattle, change planes then onto Victoria, British Columbia (Canada). Sounds simple enough right? Listen to this...
We got to LAX about 5PM, checked our 24 pieces of luggage and proceeded to the gate. Arriving at the gate in plenty of time to have a coffee, get some reading material and find a choice seat in the waiting area until.... Flight delayed an hour. Ok, no problem. Not too bad. We still had more than enough time to make our connection in Seattle for the Victoria, BC flight. After about 45 minutes it's becoming apparent that the 'one hour' was going to be more like a two hour delay. Then, 2 hours turned into 3 hours and our window of opportunity to make the connection in Seattle was rapidly vanishing. Our courageous Tour Manager Bill was being told not to worry, the flight to Victoria was going to wait for us! Cool, ok. So it was safe to get on this first flight instead of waiting it out in LAX overnight and traveling the next day. Unfortunately, Bill got some erroneous information. By the time we took off at 10PM! there would be no plane 'waiting for us' in Seattle. We arrived in Seattle at midnight and were told not to worry, we would be put on the first flight out the next morning at 7:15AM. Ummm, this is a rock band your dealing with. That hour doesn't exist on the road unless you're just calling it a day about then. The next flight was at 10:17 so we opted for that one. Now ... do they keep all our bags in the airport or do we ask to have them pulled and tote them back over in the morning from the Hotel at the Airport? Pull the bags please. There is no 'leaving bags' anywhere on the road if it can be helped.
We were all re booked on the 10:17 flight except for Meat and Bill who choose to take the flight after that at 2PM.
By the time we got our bags off the carousel and out to where the Marriott shuttle would pick us up from it was 2AM. We got to the Hotel by 2:45.
Only now we have to get up by 7:30 to go back over to the Airport and recheck the bags on to the flight to Victoria at 10:17.
Made it. Got there, got boarding passes, checked luggage and proceeded to the gate in Seattle.
An hour later .... Flight Cancelled. OH WHAT A DAY ALREADY. Now ... this was supposed to be a nice relaxing day off. OK, they could get us all on an Air Canada flight to Vancouver then onto Victoria. We decided to take it. BACK down to Baggage Claim, get our bags and check them onto the Air Canada flight. I was beginning to question if we were supposed to go to Canada at all.
We got our bags, struggled over to the Air Canada ticketing desk and hoped for the best.
No problem. About an hour and a half later we were boarding the flight to Vancouver.
The story doesn't end here .....
We arrive in Vancouver only to find that 14 out of 18 pieces of luggage didn't make it. Mine included. @@@@##$$%%*****!!!!!!!!
We went through Immigration and Customs in Vancouver with no luggage, onto Victoria with no luggage, checked into the hotel with no luggage. I treasure the little things I take with me on the road. My tea, my boil pot, my honey, a toothbrush, my Mug, and it was somewhere other than where I was. UGH!
Well, the story has a happy ending...
Late tonight, all the missing luggage was delivered to the hotel here in Victoria.
I just had to share this nutty story.

K