Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Return to America
Our flight from Budapest was to leave at 10:30 am. It was delayed until 1:30. It is a direct flight to NY JFK. Just as we were beginning to descend, we stayed in a decent pattern for over an hour - we learned that NY is snowed under and we can't land. We also can't wait because the plan needs fuel. We are diverted to Boston Logan. For some reason it takes over an hour to get to Boston. We land, but there is no gate for us. After another hour we arrive at a gate. There is no ground crew for us. We wait another interminable period of time for them. Good thing we had those massages and spa soaks, we are chill.
We learn that there are no flights leaving and that we have to stay in the airport over night. We go through customs and to baggage claim. Our baggage is not there, and won't be for another hour. I charge my phone, play more solitaire. The luggage finally arrives and we cram ourselves along with hundreds of fellow Hungarian passengers onto a tram to take us through wind and rain and cold to the American Airlines ticket counter. We are given a flight that leaves at 7:30 am the next morning. It is now 11:00 pm (we would have been home in Thousand Oaks in our own beds by now). We decide it is unrealistic to get to a hotel at this point, so we take the cots and skimpy blankets the airline gave us and try to sleep until the ticket counter opens. We got maybe 2 ½ hours rest and go up to check our luggage and wait for the flight.
The flight boards on time, it is crowded. But it is snowing in Boston now. We have to de-ice the plane. So more waiting. A guy is in a cherry picker with a fire hose trying to spray the anti-freeze stuff all over the plane. Not a very efficient process, he can barely control the hose and the stuff is flying everywhere except on the wing. We finally are in the air at 9:30 am. Land in LA, and they change our gate while we are taxi-ing. Ok, I'm sick of airplanes and waiting. It's been a very long 24 plus hours.
Our shuttle is there for us, though, and we make it home in time for the afternoon football games. It is good to be home.
- comments