So, this is how it went:
Wednesday, June 23rd ~ We took off at 6:00am from Seattle bound for Chicago. The flight went well and the kids had a good time on the plane. We brought our stroller with us and checked it at the gate so we would have it when we got off in Chicago. We also got some first class treatment because of JJ's grandma, GG, being with us and needing a wheelchair. We were the first ones on the plane because of GG.
When I got our tickets in April I bought them through Orbitz and they have a nifty thing called Trip Advisor or something like that. They send you text messages letting you know the status of your flight(s). I got a message before our flight in Seattle took off saying that all was good to go, so it was going to be a good day...
HA!! We landed in Chicago and as soon as we could turn our phones back on I did and instantly got a text message from Orbitz saying that our flight to Albany was cancelled!!! I thought, nah that must be a mistake, why would they cancel our flight?! Plus, I had this vacation all planned out, so nothing would go wrong right?!
Well, Orbitz was right. We got off the plane and GG's escort was there to take us to where we needed to go, but our stroller was not there!!! That was frustrating because the whole point of checking the stroller at the gate was so we would have it during our lay over in Chicago!! So, our escort, Lakesha, confirmed that our flight was indeed cancelled and took us to a special room for the people needing wheelchairs and for the kids that fly alone. There they looked to see if they could fit all seven of us on a flight to Albany sooner than later. They told us that they could get GG and ONE other person to Albany that day, but the earliest we could all go together would be Friday!!! Well that wouldn't work. I even looked on my phone to see how long it would take us to drive there - 16+hrs. Because they were not working with us to try and get us to somewhere NEAR Cooperstown, we decided to head over to Hertz to see about renting a car to drive...
Well, we struck out there too. We thought that maybe because we had a reservation in Albany, they would be able to switch it to Chicago for us, but no such luck. In the process of going to the rental car area we had to give up our escort Lakesha because we had to leave the terminal. Also, before we left the terminal they told us to go check in baggage claim to see if they could pull our luggage from going on to Albany. When we did that, the guy just said "Nope, it's going to Albany! Call this number to find out where it is. Next!" He was rude and my mother-in-law and I didn't like him very well!!!
After striking out with the rental car we headed back to the terminal to figure out what we were going to do. Now our whole goal was to get us to Silver Spring, MD by Friday. Back inside the terminal we went to the place where you can request a wheelchair and assistance and asked them if we could get back into that room again, but they told us no you have to stand in that line - pointing to a never ending line of furious travelers. So, into the line we went...
After standing there for the better part of an hour I looked over and who do I see?! LAKESHA!!! So, Sherri, my mother-in-law, goes over to see if she can take us back to that room again and she said yes and does so. Well, the new gal that helped us out this time was much nicer!! We told her we had given up on flying to Albany to see Cooperstown and just wanted to get to DC, how soon could she get us there. She said we could go to DC the next morning and so we took it!! She also gave us a voucher for help finding a hotel room - they (United) weren't going to pay for the room because the cancellation was weather related, but they would help us out by giving us a voucher for special rates. I called and got that set up while Sherri called to get the rental car transfered from Albany to DC. Two things that didn't happen were we still didn't have our stroller, but they gave us a loaner AND we still didn't have our luggage and there was no gaurentee that it would be in DC waiting for us when we got there the next morning...We arrived in Chicago around noon CST and didn't leave until 7 or 8pm CST!!! So that was a long day in the airport for all of us, especially a 2 year old and a 5 year old, but they were troopers!!!
We ended up staying at a hotel that was fairly cheap, but at that point we didn't really care, we just wanted to get some food and rest!! And the hotel I called using that voucher, their electricity went out, so we ended up going to another location!! Of course right?!
Thursday, June 24th ~ Our flight to DC went well. It was a short flight and left on time and everything. They told us when we got to DC to check on our luggage to see if it made it to DC or not. Well, it didn't. As soon as we got off the plane we checked to see if it was even there and the gal at the counter checked on all the bags, including the stroller, and she said they were back in CHICAGO!!! Are you kidding me?! She sent us downstairs and told us to talk to someone down there and they would get them sent to us in DC. I was starting to not feel well and Sherri thought it might be all the stress of the whole situation. Our plan was when we got to DC if our bags had indeed went to Albany we were going to drive and get them, but because I was starting to not feel well we decided to scrap that portion of our trip. I was really sad about scrapping Cooperstown because JJ had been so looking forward to it, but it just wasn't going to work out. :(
In the process of filing the claim about our luggage the gal helping us there told us because it was earlier in the morning - around 10am EST - we should be able to get our bags that day. She was a nice woman and I asked her if she recommended a place to stay and she referred us to the Holiday Inn. I called that hotel and luckily they had rooms available, so we grabbed them and off to the rental car area to pick up our van. That went without a hitch, for the most part, the price went up, but that was about all. I guess we really lucked out getting a mini van because those are apparently in high demand!! Off to the Holiday Inn!
It was a nice hotel and we thought it was a little ironic that the actual city it was in was Arlington, VA. By the time we reached the hotel, without our luggage, the kids had fallen asleep, so we decided to drive around DC a little and see some sites from the car. We saw the Capital Building, several of the Smithsonian buildings, caught a glimpse of the White House and of course we saw the Washington Monument (kind of hard to miss that one!!) Once the kids woke up, we headed back to the hotel and had a bite to eat because the rooms weren't available yet.
Just after lunch I called the United baggage people to find out how soon we would be seeing our bags. The man I spoke to had a strong accent, but assured me that we would be getting our bags soon and not to worry!!! I felt good after that thinking that maybe we would be seeing our bags soon!!! Guess again Jenny!!!
We got our rooms and headed up to them and rested a bit and then I decided to call again to find out where our bags were...well, another strong accent and then they told me that they were not sure when they would be arriving blah blah blah. I got the same story over and over again and then I found out that my father-in-laws heart medication was in the bags, so again I called to let them know this bit of information and to tell them that my 2 year old didn't have any clean pants because he just pooped through them!!! Their response to that is, well we can reimburse you the money... That wasn't the point!!! We wanted our bags!!! I probably called 5 or 6 times and not one of those calls was under 15 minutes. Finally, Sherri got a call saying that our bags would be arriving at 7:30pm in DC and we could expect to see them between 7:30pm and 3:00am!!!! Guess what time they showed up??!! Yep, 3am!!!
Friday, June 25th ~ It was a new day and we were hoping a new start to our vacation!!! We all put on clean clothes etc and ventured out into the city. We were able to visit the National Museum of Natural History, walked across the area between the Washington Monument and the Capital building, and went into the Smithsonian Castle building. We got a late start, so we didn't have a lot of time to do much, but that just means we will have to come back again someday!!
Then we drove to Silver Spring, MD to the National Labor College. It was so nice there. We were able to relax!! We enjoyed the BBQ they provided and Lizzie got to see lightning bugs or fireflies, whatever you like to call them!!
Saturday, June 26th ~ GRADUATION DAY!!! JJ graduated!! It was a nice short ceremony - only an hour and a half!! It was great to see JJ accomplish his dream!! SO proud of him!
After graduation we headed to Virginia to Massanutten Resort, where my in-laws have a timeshare. Before we left Seattle I printed out instructions from Google so we were all prepared when we drove from location to location. Well, that proved to lead to another adventure... The directions we had led us down some random dirt road and then to a dead end, so we turned around and got different instructions and found our way.
Sunday, June 27th ~ The place we stayed at was amazing!! We ventured out a bit to see the town close by, but other than that, we were enjoying our vacation just relaxing!!
Later that evening we took the kids to the water park that had all kinds of slides, a lazy river and a little kiddie area. Both of the kids clung to us for the first bit, but once we went down the lazy river in the intertubes a couple of times they were good to go!! We didn't find the little kiddie area until close to when we were getting ready to leave, but we stayed a little bit in there and both of them loved it!!
Monday, June 28th ~ We decided to try fishing this day. Lizzie has been asking to go fishing for quite some time and so finally we went. Only one fish was caught and it fit in the palm of JJ's hand. We got a good chuckle out of that one. We got to see some turtles swimming in the lake too.
Later, while Dylan was napping, we went miniature golfing - Lizzie, JJ, Dale and I. Then later we went again with Dylan, Sherri, Lizzie, JJ and I. It was good fun. We weren't sure how Dylan was going to do, but he did pretty well. He had more fun cheering us on then he did actually golfing. Lizzie didn't do too bad either!!
Tuesday, June 29th ~ This was our last day and we travelled home later in the evening. We were a little delayed on our flight, but I blame that on Grandma because she was thinking negative thoughts!! ;) Just kidding. We were teasing her about this though. We also thought for a few minutes that the kids weren't going to have seats from Dallas/Fort Worth to Seattle, but I think they were feeling the evil eye from the two Mrs. Durfees standing there ready to pounce...
All in all it ended up being a great trip, even if we didn't get to see everything we wanted to and had to wear stinky smelly clothes for a day or two, but we made it to JJ's graduation which was the whole point of the trip.
We are already working on next summers trip!!
1 comment:
Oh my gosh! Well, I'm so glad you all made it safely :)
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