I need to document our 26 hour (or 35 hour, depending how you look at it) trip back home from Kauai (YES! We were in Kauai! It was amazing!).
We were scheduled to fly home leaving at 9pm Saturday night. After requesting all week to have a late check out, we were denied, meaning we were kicked out of our condo at 10am that morning (!!!). So we had a little time to kill (9 hours specifically) before we even needed to be at the airport. We got lunch, returned to the resort to a semi-private TV room for Tessa to nap (she got in 1 hour before someone walked in and turned on the lights... thanks random lady!) So from there we decided to hit some sights that we had yet to see on the island (more on that to come). All was well. We were all happy. We ate right before we got to the airport. We hit up skycap and checked our bags, breezed through security and found our gate. Our plane arrived and Tessa and I popped some benadryl in preparation for our overnight flight. It was 8pm.
900 pm rolls around. We have not boarded yet. Everyone is become restless. An airport employee comes on the intercom and tells us they are just checking some things over, specifically code 94556 (What the hell does that mean!?!)
930 She comes back, telling us that they need to fix something on the plane before we can take off. Tessa is getting restless. I walk her around like she was an infant (you know, THAT walk) She falls asleep, and we lay her on the floor.
1000 The pilot comes on, telling us an engine used for backup power is not turning on. We can fly short distances, but not across the ocean. He is thinking of taking us to Honolulu to fix the engine, since we don't have any parts here. Assures us this is safe.
1030 Informs us that they need to dump 70,000 pounds of fuel before we can go to Honolulu... and it will take some time.
1100 During pre-flight check, one of our main engines is also not working properly. A part is also broken (didn't this plane just arrive from the mainland! yikes!) We cannot fly without fixing it, they are looking for more parts.
1130 Our flight is cancelled. Everyone runs to the nearest airport worker to stand in line to rebook.
1200am (Sunday) We are booked on a flight leaving at 230 in the morning, taking us to LAX. We have a connecting flight on Qantas that will take us to Phoenix. We'll be home by 2.
1230 Tessa wakes up. Scott asks me why I woke her up. I stare at him in disbelief. I tell him (paraphrased... some words were left out) that I did not wake our sleeping child up. It might have been the fact that she is sleeping on a hard airport floor, with all the lights on, with Hawaiian music blaring overhead... and every thirty minutes, a voice tells us the current time! Back to the Mommy walk.
200 We board our flight. We're finally on our way home. Everything is going to be okay!
930 Land in LAX. Get everyone off the plane. We're excited to find out next flight. Our "tickets" appear to show us in first class on the way back to Phoenix. We have just over an hour before that plane leaves. Easy Street.
935 Not easy street. After searching for friendly airport personnel to help us, we track down a security guard to help us find out flight. Qantas leaves out of a different terminal. We have to go out, get on a bus, check back into security, and then board. I panic a little.
1000 We're on a bus. We're off the bus. We check with Qantas to get actual tickets (we had no seat assignment yet). Qantas informs us this is not their flight, but actually an American Airlines flight. Which is a 7 minute walk down the terminal
1010 Try to do the kiosk @ AA to check into our flight and get seats. Scott is at the computer screen. I am greeted by
Freddie Prinze Jr, and we strike up a conversation about our daughters, who are roughly the same age. I try to play it cool... but I am already thinking we are going to be sitting first class with Freddie on our way back to Phoenix.
1011 Unable to check in. We need to see an attendant. PANIC MODE! There are tons of people around and LAX staff is less than helpful. We get passed from one person to the next. We finally find someone at a counter, who tells us that we are not going to make our flight... and we don't even have seats on this flights... and she can't really help us at all. She informs us that we need to stand in the long line to rebook. Scott asks specifically if we should go back to United (our original airline). She says no, we need to stand in this long line.
11:50 Scott stands in line for 1.5 hours, while I try to entertain our very tired and hungry 2 year old. We haven't eaten in 14 hours and there is no access to food or water. I give her our last remaining applesauce cup. We finally get to talk with the person at the desk. We hand her our paperwork. She informs us there is nothing she can do, we need to go back to United. I am furious. I ask her why we were told by her co-worker to stand in this line. She is offended that I am upset and almost walks away (seriously... this is your job to deal with upset people... deal with it!) I want to punch her in the face, but restrain myself. She tells us to get on a bus and go to the United counter.
1230pm Finally talk with a United employee. She books us for standby on a flight at 530, and actual tickets at a flight at 930pm. I ask her is there is a water fountain around since Tessa is crying for water. She offers a bottle of water for $1.50. Thanks for nothing.
100 We pass through security (only to be greeted by more unfriendly LAX workers) and finally get some food and drinks (It has been 16 hours since we ate last) Then we wait and hope and wait some more.
530 All 50 people arrive for the flight to Phoenix, and we don't make standby. I get Tessa to sleep for about 30 minutes while they board. When she wakes up, we head out of the terminal to ride another bus to head for our flight home on yet another airline.
930 We find out we got the last 3 seats on the flight and board (something finally went our way). We make the 1.5 hour flight to Phoenix. Tessa finally crashes.
1100 We land. Instead of unstrapping Tessa from the car seat, muscle man Scott carries her in it all the way through the airport to the curb, where my Dad picks us up. We get her strapped into the car without her waking up. We don't even attempt to look for our luggage because #1 United is at a different terminal and #2 the last we checked, it hadn't made it back to the mainland yet.
1200am (Monday) We are finally home. And set our alarms for 6am to get up and go to work.
