Well, it’s 11:45pm and we are sitting in San Francisco airport’s baggage claim waiting to retrieve our luggage. Yeah, I know. We’re supposed to be on our way to Johannesburg, South Africa.
We arrived at SFO promptly at 4:15 for our 6:45 flight because Lisa likes to be prompt when we travel. I, on the other hand, like to get to the airport just in time to board. But, after 34 years of marriage, one learns to compromise — which means Lisa gets to decide.
We were entertained in the waiting area by a mother with a toddler and a 3-year old. They were running around the waiting area saying “aah, aah”. Constantly. Really loudly. That made us happy. Not because we like kids that are yelling really loud. We were happy because we weren’t the ones chasing the kids around the waiting area.
After about a 30-minute delay, we boarded our United flight to Frankfurt. Then we sat. And sat. Apparently a light in the cockpit suggested one of the doors wasn’t closing. The crew knew the door was closing, but, clearly that little light in the cockpit didn’t. So, we sat some more.
After about 3 hours the pilot glumly announced that the flight was cancelled and we all needed to get off. Lisa and I didn’t want to get off because we had to get to Johannesburg. The flight attendant politely nudged us out of our seats and off the plane.
Travel, like life, can throw you unexpected curveballs. It happens to all of us. Success and happiness don’t depend on things going as planned. They depend on how you respond. For Lisa and I it meant waiting in line to reschedule our flight for tomorrow, calling the house sitter to send her home, grabbing bad Asian food and a beer while we waited for our luggage to be retrieved, and then riding home in an Uber where I sit writing this blog entry.
We are feeling pretty fortunate even though we’d rather be on our way. After all, we’re not the mom chasing around two toddlers.
Lisa and Brad's Travels 