All our bags were packed and were ready to go. My husband loaded them into the car and away we went. We soon arrived at the airport and checked those bags. When it came time to go through Security, that is when our fun began.
You see, my husband has the habit of traveling with something in his pockets or on his person that is bound to set off the airports metal detectors. Without fail. Today was no exception.
As he approached the entrance to the metal detector, my husband decided to use his head. Into a plastic bin he placed the keys from his pockets, the coins from his pockets, and the lint from his pockets. He was taking no chances that he was going to set off any alarms today. And before he attempted to step through that metal detector, he remembered to remove one last item from his person his belt. Into the plastic bin it went.
As my husband stepped through the metal detector, wouldnt you know it, he set off the alarms. Surprise. Surprise. I snickered and under my breath told him that it was time for his strip-search. He didnt appreciate my comment, but, hey, paybacks a b%#@&. [In my best Snidely Whiplash voice:] Hee, hee, hee!
Two years ago, my underwire brassiere had set off the airport's metal detector as my daughter and I began our first Walt Disney World Mother & Daughter Vacation. As my little escapade was happening, my daughter pretty much just about peed her pants with laughter as she watched Mommy get felt-up in public by a Security person. I must admit that it was quite a sight to see me standing there, spread-eagled, as a stranger got more personal with me than any stranger had been since my wild & crazy days as a college sorority girl. Needless to say, I passed my little test with flying colors and was allowed to proceed to my airplane. My daughter and I laughed about the incident our entire vacation.
Since that was strictly a Mother & Daughter Vacation, my husband wasnt with us, but he did hear all about my little run-in with Security upon my return home. Its been a running joke for us ever since: Hey, Janet, do you have your lethal weapon strapped to your chest? Or, Hey, Janet, you better be licensed to wear that thing. Husbands, sheesh.
But now it was my turn to pay him back, Hey, dear, since youve just set off the airport security alarms, get ready for the strip search! Oh, yeah. I could tell this was going to be a fun start to our vacation.
My husband looked at the Security Guard and shrugged his shoulders. He honestly didnt know what was setting off the alarm. The Guard asked him to step into the area where he could be scanned by a handheld metal detector.
It was at that point that I realized that I shouldnt have been laughing so hard at my husbands plight. I had a metal plate, various screws, and a wire in my leg. If my husband had set off the metal detector with some unknown amount of metal on his person, what was my bionic leg going to make that metal detector do play the Star-Spangled Banner? Yikes!
As my husband was being scanned in the secure area, I alerted the metal detector operator that I was probably going to set it off too since I had metal hardware in my leg. The Security Guard nodded at me asked me to step through the metal detector. I waited for the national anthem to be played.
What was that I heard? The sound of silence? The machine surely must be broken. But my husband had just set it off so I knew it was working. I could not believe that my leg had not set it off. Or, for that matter, my bra. Happy days were here again!
I gathered my items from the X-ray machine and walked over to where my husband was secured. He looked at me in amazement since he had just seen that I did not set off the alarm. I laughed. And then laughed some more. The Security Guard told my husband to remove his shoes. Those shoes were taken to the X-ray machine and x-rayed not once but twice. My husband sat there in silence and waited. When Security was finally satisfied that his shoes contained no dangerous materials, my husband was allowed to put them back on. He was free to go. As we walked towards our gate, my daughter and I chuckled about our guy with the lethal shoes. My husband wasnt going to live that one down, no sir-ee.
When we arrived at our gate, we saw that its departure had been pushed back by 15 minutes. No big deal. Or so we thought.
As the minutes ticked by on the clock, so did the minutes that our departure was being pushed back. It was pushed back by 30 minutes. Then 60 minutes. An announcement came over the P.A. speakers that no flights heading to Chicago were being allowed to depart any airport within the United States. The Chicago area airports were shut down due to severe thunderstorm activity.
Whenever I book a flight to Florida, I make sure that its not routed through an area of the country where the possibility of a missed connection is high. For example, when were flying in the wintertime, I make sure were not routed through Denver, Salt Lake City, Chicago, and any number of other cities where snowstorms are likely. Since we were traveling in late spring this time, I only gave a passing thought to our connecting city. I thought wed have a decent shot of making that flight no matter where we were routed, so when Chicago came up as our connecting city, I didnt pay much attention. In hindsight, that was a big mistake.
The Chicago-O'Hare International Airport is the second busiest passenger airport in the world. (It held the Number One title until Atlanta's Hartsfield International Airport became the world's busiest passenger airport in 1998.) I had been flying in, out, and through OHare International Airport since I first began traveling as a young girl (yes, airports did exist when dinosaurs were roaming the Earth, I dont care what my husband says). I was familiar with OHare and its many travel delays due to weather. But I had been living on the West Coast for centuries now, where thunder and lightning storms are so rare that they usually make the newspapers front page when they do occur. I sadly had forgotten to consider the possibility of an airport being shut down due to severe thunderstorms. Believe me, if I can help it, I wont make that same mistake again.
And so we sat there. On the West Coast. In the gate area. As the minutes turned into hours. It was excruciating painful to my daughter, my husband, and myself. We were very anxious for our vacation to begin. We didnt want to spend one more minute at home, but there was nothing that we could do except to keep our eyes fixated on the departure monitor. Arg!
Since we were going to miss our connecting flight once we arrived in Chicago, I asked the ticket agent if she could put us on a latter flight. She told me that there was one more flight out of OHare that night that was heading to Orlando, but we didnt need to change our flight because our connecting flight was being held up on the West Coast too. That plane, as well as our plane, could not leave our airports until the FAA had re-opened OHare airport. Her explanation sounded plausible to me and so I did not push the issue of booking the later flight out of Chicago.
After waiting approximately three hours, we were allowed to board our plane. Yahoo! We were on our way. Finally.
Our flight to Chicago was uneventful. I had expected a lot of turbulence as we approached the Midwest but there was none. What a pleasant surprise. Our landing was smooth, and as our plane taxied to our gate, I noticed that the ground was completely dry and the sun was shining. Was this the same airport that had been shut down earlier today due to severe thunder and lightning storms? If I hadnt seen notice of the airports closure on the national news that morning, I wouldnt have believed it. It was a gorgeous day in Chicago.
As you have obviously figured out by now, due to our late arrival, we had missed our connecting flight. I found out that it actually had departed only 30 minutes late. The airline had substituted another plane to take its place. I tried not to let the missed connection worry me.
As I approached the first ticket counter that I found, I produced my familys tickets and IDs. I asked the ticket agent to please book us on the last flight to Orlando. When she checked her computer, she found that we had automatically been re-booked on that flight. I was relieved to learn that. I had been afraid that if that flight were too full, we would have to wait until the next morning for a flight to Orlando. That would have meant that we would have missed the Family Magic Tour with Floridafams family. Luckily, I didnt have to worry about that because my family had seats on the last flight out that night. ~Phew!~
We were hungry, so we purchased some sandwiches and drinks as we waited for our connecting flight. We had about a 90-minute wait and it passed quickly. Soon we were boarding our plane. Our excitement grew as we found our seats.
Within 20 minutes, everyone had boarded. The cabin doors were secured, and we waited for pushback. 5 minutes passed. Then 10. Then 15. Then 20. We finally were given permission to pushback.
Our plane taxied towards the runway. At OHare, that takes a long time. Its one busy place. After approximately 20 minutes, we were at the end of the runway. And so we sat. And sat. And sat. I noticed that the weather outside had turned slightly ominous. It wasnt raining, but the clouds had moved in and were darkening. It looked like another storm was on its way. I wondered what was going to happen to us. Would we be allowed to leave? Would we be told to return to the terminal?
After 20 minutes had passed, my worrying came to an end. The pilot announced over the speakers that we were just given permission to takeoff. I let out a huge ~sigh~ as our plane made its way down the runway. As soon as the nose cone was in the air, I relaxed. I had begun to think that this moment would never arrive. I quickly realized that within a few hours, we would be in Orlando. All was good. I didnt know how good until another 20 minutes had passed. The pilot came back on the speakers and stated that OHare International Airport had been shut down again shortly after we had departed. I silently thanked the Lord Above for the small window of opportunity that he had granted to our plane only twenty minutes prior. Yes, all was right with the world, we were finally on our way.
You see, my husband has the habit of traveling with something in his pockets or on his person that is bound to set off the airports metal detectors. Without fail. Today was no exception.
As he approached the entrance to the metal detector, my husband decided to use his head. Into a plastic bin he placed the keys from his pockets, the coins from his pockets, and the lint from his pockets. He was taking no chances that he was going to set off any alarms today. And before he attempted to step through that metal detector, he remembered to remove one last item from his person his belt. Into the plastic bin it went.
As my husband stepped through the metal detector, wouldnt you know it, he set off the alarms. Surprise. Surprise. I snickered and under my breath told him that it was time for his strip-search. He didnt appreciate my comment, but, hey, paybacks a b%#@&. [In my best Snidely Whiplash voice:] Hee, hee, hee!
Two years ago, my underwire brassiere had set off the airport's metal detector as my daughter and I began our first Walt Disney World Mother & Daughter Vacation. As my little escapade was happening, my daughter pretty much just about peed her pants with laughter as she watched Mommy get felt-up in public by a Security person. I must admit that it was quite a sight to see me standing there, spread-eagled, as a stranger got more personal with me than any stranger had been since my wild & crazy days as a college sorority girl. Needless to say, I passed my little test with flying colors and was allowed to proceed to my airplane. My daughter and I laughed about the incident our entire vacation.
Since that was strictly a Mother & Daughter Vacation, my husband wasnt with us, but he did hear all about my little run-in with Security upon my return home. Its been a running joke for us ever since: Hey, Janet, do you have your lethal weapon strapped to your chest? Or, Hey, Janet, you better be licensed to wear that thing. Husbands, sheesh.
But now it was my turn to pay him back, Hey, dear, since youve just set off the airport security alarms, get ready for the strip search! Oh, yeah. I could tell this was going to be a fun start to our vacation.
My husband looked at the Security Guard and shrugged his shoulders. He honestly didnt know what was setting off the alarm. The Guard asked him to step into the area where he could be scanned by a handheld metal detector.
It was at that point that I realized that I shouldnt have been laughing so hard at my husbands plight. I had a metal plate, various screws, and a wire in my leg. If my husband had set off the metal detector with some unknown amount of metal on his person, what was my bionic leg going to make that metal detector do play the Star-Spangled Banner? Yikes!
As my husband was being scanned in the secure area, I alerted the metal detector operator that I was probably going to set it off too since I had metal hardware in my leg. The Security Guard nodded at me asked me to step through the metal detector. I waited for the national anthem to be played.
What was that I heard? The sound of silence? The machine surely must be broken. But my husband had just set it off so I knew it was working. I could not believe that my leg had not set it off. Or, for that matter, my bra. Happy days were here again!
I gathered my items from the X-ray machine and walked over to where my husband was secured. He looked at me in amazement since he had just seen that I did not set off the alarm. I laughed. And then laughed some more. The Security Guard told my husband to remove his shoes. Those shoes were taken to the X-ray machine and x-rayed not once but twice. My husband sat there in silence and waited. When Security was finally satisfied that his shoes contained no dangerous materials, my husband was allowed to put them back on. He was free to go. As we walked towards our gate, my daughter and I chuckled about our guy with the lethal shoes. My husband wasnt going to live that one down, no sir-ee.
When we arrived at our gate, we saw that its departure had been pushed back by 15 minutes. No big deal. Or so we thought.
As the minutes ticked by on the clock, so did the minutes that our departure was being pushed back. It was pushed back by 30 minutes. Then 60 minutes. An announcement came over the P.A. speakers that no flights heading to Chicago were being allowed to depart any airport within the United States. The Chicago area airports were shut down due to severe thunderstorm activity.
Whenever I book a flight to Florida, I make sure that its not routed through an area of the country where the possibility of a missed connection is high. For example, when were flying in the wintertime, I make sure were not routed through Denver, Salt Lake City, Chicago, and any number of other cities where snowstorms are likely. Since we were traveling in late spring this time, I only gave a passing thought to our connecting city. I thought wed have a decent shot of making that flight no matter where we were routed, so when Chicago came up as our connecting city, I didnt pay much attention. In hindsight, that was a big mistake.
The Chicago-O'Hare International Airport is the second busiest passenger airport in the world. (It held the Number One title until Atlanta's Hartsfield International Airport became the world's busiest passenger airport in 1998.) I had been flying in, out, and through OHare International Airport since I first began traveling as a young girl (yes, airports did exist when dinosaurs were roaming the Earth, I dont care what my husband says). I was familiar with OHare and its many travel delays due to weather. But I had been living on the West Coast for centuries now, where thunder and lightning storms are so rare that they usually make the newspapers front page when they do occur. I sadly had forgotten to consider the possibility of an airport being shut down due to severe thunderstorms. Believe me, if I can help it, I wont make that same mistake again.
And so we sat there. On the West Coast. In the gate area. As the minutes turned into hours. It was excruciating painful to my daughter, my husband, and myself. We were very anxious for our vacation to begin. We didnt want to spend one more minute at home, but there was nothing that we could do except to keep our eyes fixated on the departure monitor. Arg!
Since we were going to miss our connecting flight once we arrived in Chicago, I asked the ticket agent if she could put us on a latter flight. She told me that there was one more flight out of OHare that night that was heading to Orlando, but we didnt need to change our flight because our connecting flight was being held up on the West Coast too. That plane, as well as our plane, could not leave our airports until the FAA had re-opened OHare airport. Her explanation sounded plausible to me and so I did not push the issue of booking the later flight out of Chicago.
After waiting approximately three hours, we were allowed to board our plane. Yahoo! We were on our way. Finally.
Our flight to Chicago was uneventful. I had expected a lot of turbulence as we approached the Midwest but there was none. What a pleasant surprise. Our landing was smooth, and as our plane taxied to our gate, I noticed that the ground was completely dry and the sun was shining. Was this the same airport that had been shut down earlier today due to severe thunder and lightning storms? If I hadnt seen notice of the airports closure on the national news that morning, I wouldnt have believed it. It was a gorgeous day in Chicago.
As you have obviously figured out by now, due to our late arrival, we had missed our connecting flight. I found out that it actually had departed only 30 minutes late. The airline had substituted another plane to take its place. I tried not to let the missed connection worry me.
As I approached the first ticket counter that I found, I produced my familys tickets and IDs. I asked the ticket agent to please book us on the last flight to Orlando. When she checked her computer, she found that we had automatically been re-booked on that flight. I was relieved to learn that. I had been afraid that if that flight were too full, we would have to wait until the next morning for a flight to Orlando. That would have meant that we would have missed the Family Magic Tour with Floridafams family. Luckily, I didnt have to worry about that because my family had seats on the last flight out that night. ~Phew!~
We were hungry, so we purchased some sandwiches and drinks as we waited for our connecting flight. We had about a 90-minute wait and it passed quickly. Soon we were boarding our plane. Our excitement grew as we found our seats.
Within 20 minutes, everyone had boarded. The cabin doors were secured, and we waited for pushback. 5 minutes passed. Then 10. Then 15. Then 20. We finally were given permission to pushback.
Our plane taxied towards the runway. At OHare, that takes a long time. Its one busy place. After approximately 20 minutes, we were at the end of the runway. And so we sat. And sat. And sat. I noticed that the weather outside had turned slightly ominous. It wasnt raining, but the clouds had moved in and were darkening. It looked like another storm was on its way. I wondered what was going to happen to us. Would we be allowed to leave? Would we be told to return to the terminal?
After 20 minutes had passed, my worrying came to an end. The pilot announced over the speakers that we were just given permission to takeoff. I let out a huge ~sigh~ as our plane made its way down the runway. As soon as the nose cone was in the air, I relaxed. I had begun to think that this moment would never arrive. I quickly realized that within a few hours, we would be in Orlando. All was good. I didnt know how good until another 20 minutes had passed. The pilot came back on the speakers and stated that OHare International Airport had been shut down again shortly after we had departed. I silently thanked the Lord Above for the small window of opportunity that he had granted to our plane only twenty minutes prior. Yes, all was right with the world, we were finally on our way.
And it's not even finished yet! When I saw the posting date of June 14, I thought I'd missed it all, but not so! I'm looking forward to what remains, and it looks like it will be a lot.
