Right now I’m sitting in very loud, crowded sports bar killing a couple of hours…okay, that sounds bad let’s try again. I’m sipping a coke, eating a spinach salad and thinking through the days events in a hotel restaurant that happens to be broadcasting the Lakers vs. Spurs game. I’ve recently come from crashing a wedding reception at the same hotel (there’s a first time for everything I guess). This wasn’t my plan. I’m supposed to be camping at Lake Tahoe with friends right now, so how to did I get here? Let’s start from the beginning…
How hard can it be to reach Reno? That was my question as I waited for my first flight this morning to leave the Dallas Love Field airport. Well, let me tell you, it was much more difficult than I anticipated and filled with lots of adventures along the way.
As I was checking my luggage I received my first clue that this trip was going to be more than I expected. I’m standing at the baggage check-in counter waiting for the guy to hand me my luggage claim ticket when he starts talking to me. I didn’t mind the idle chat until it turned into a pick-up line, “I’ll make you a deal, I’ll give you your claim ticket if you give me your number.” I was so thrown off guard that I just started at him blankly for a beat before replying, “how about I make you a deal, you give me my claim ticket now and I won’t report you.” I know that was kinda direct, but oh well. His co-worker was holding back fits of laughter as I walked away (claim ticket in hand) and I could hear the harassing start.
I laughed as I made my way to the security screening thinking, what a way to start this trip. I’m waiting at the back of a long line when another airline worker makes eye contact with me and waves me over to the express passenger check (a line I wasn’t supposed to be in), “you didn’t think I was going to let a pretty thing like you stand in that long line now did you?” I wanted to laugh. There was obviously something in the water at Love Field airport making men go crazy. I did, however, make a mental note of my appearance in case I ever need a self-confidence boost. ☺
I finally make it to my gate, got on the plane and flew to out first stop, El Paso after an hour delay due to weather. Nothing too extreme happened on that leg of the journey. Talked to the guy next to me, but that wasn’t a big deal, it was actually a really good conversation about life.
With no delays in El Paso, we continued onto Phoenix where I encountered another delay, this one lasted 1.5 hours due traffic control in San Francisco not having space for our plane to land. Luckily, they let us get off the plane and walk around the terminal, get food, etc.
Finally everyone gets on the plane and we start to pull out from the gate then the plane suddenly jerks forward and we stop. The captain comes on, “folks we seem to have an engine problem here, we’re going to pull back in the gate and let the mechanics take a look at it.” What passenger wants to be told the plane they’re on has an engine problem?!? Despite the engine troubles, I’m starting to get worried about making my airport transition from San Francisco to Oakland. See, San Francisco doesn’t fly to Reno, but Oakland does. I researched public transport to see if it was possible to get from the San Francisco airport to the Oakland airport. Thanks to the BART it was. The route normally takes 1 hour, 1.5 hours in rush hour. I’m an overly cautious person though, so I decided it would take me a full 2 hours to reach the Oakland airport. Perfect, my plane was scheduled to land at 1:55 pm and my flight from Oakland let at 6:05 pm. So during the planning stage of this adventure I thought that was PLENTY of time, even if my flight got delayed. Boy was I wrong. It took 44 minutes to “check” the engine. People started to get irritated, the AC wasn’t working and the plane was getting HOT. The lady sitting next to me was supposed to catch an international flight to London from San Francisco, but her window was growing very slim. She got off the plane to work something out with the airline, I hope she made it. Looking back, I kinda wish I had done something similar.
So let me update you, I’m now running over 3 hours late, my leisurely time window for traveling from SFO to OAK is getting slimmer by the minute. I could feel my heart rate speed up when I thought about it. I’d never been to San Francisco before! I was thinking it’d been a fun, safe adventure to take public transport, now it was turning into a high stress moment. Another lady next to me, grew up in San Francisco and gave me very clear directions on how to use the BART system. I was feeling a little more confident as I got off the plane and went to collect my luggage. I had 2 hours until my flight left, I was thinking I could dump the liquids that wouldn’t fit in my little plastic sack and just carry my suitcase on so I wouldn’t have to mess with baggage check. I knew I’d be pressed for time, but I also knew if I could just get to a Southwest desk at the Oakland airport, they’d hold the flight for me.
I’m waiting by the conveyer belt to get my suitcase, praying it’s one of the first ones off. Guess what happened? The belt malfunctioned, “something happened to the luggage belt?” I thought…at that point I honestly felt like crying, nothing seemed to be going right, all I could focus on was that it was another delay. Finally I took a deep breath and just decided I wasn’t going to worry about it. The way I decided to look at it was that if God wanted me to make it to Reno Saturday night, then I’d make it onto my flight. If not, then I’d soak up whatever He had in mind for me in the San Francisco area. After waiting for my suitcase to finally come. I made my way to the BART system, knowing full well I wasn’t going to make it, but thinking maybe God could work it all out. I successfully navigated my way around San Francisco using public transport and arrived at the Oakland airport just in time to see what I assume was my flight take-off.
I’ve been talking with my Dad this whole time who tried to contact the airport to let them know I was on my way, to no avail. He continually assured me that I was doing my best and that he and the rest of my family were glad I was the one on the adventure because none of them would have handled it as well. After another deep breath I approach the ticket counter and explain my situation. Thankfully, the man was very understanding and offered to book me on the first flight to Reno and gave me two options: 1, somehow get to the San Jose airport by 8:30 Sunday morning, or 2, stay in Oakland and wait to leave on the next flight to Reno at 1:30 Sunday afternoon.
I called my friend Hope and explained the situation. The most upsetting part of this whole adventure was the thought that I was messing up Hope’s weekend plans. She’d been working hard all week and deserved a relaxing camping rather than having to wait on me to arrive. I told her she could go camping and I’d just stay the night in Oakland, she laughed at me, told me there was NO WAY she was letting me in Oakland alone, and with no hesitation informed me she would make the 4 hour drive down the San Francisco to pick me up. Yea, she’s pretty much the world’s greatest friend!!
So, now I have 4 hours to kill in Oakland. What does a single white girl do in Oakland? She calls the nearest airport hotel that offers free shuttles to the airport ☺. That’s how I made my way to the hotel. I explained my situation to the gal behind the counter. She told me I was more than welcome to stay and then, with a wink, informed me there was a wedding reception taking place in the ball room. She pointed me to where I could change. How funny is that? So, that’s what I did. I had brought a dress, so I put it on, let my luggage behind the counter with my new found hotel friend and walked over to the reception. I’d seen movies where people did that, but NEVER did I think I would be the one to crash a wedding reception. I ate some food, danced a little and then left the reception. Wish I had taken pictures.
That brings us to now. Hope’s on her way to get me, it’ll be a late night for us, but the adventure will continue.
