So, I was frantic. Trying to get everything done. I think I did.
Mom came in to keep the kids. They got a little freaked out when they came running in the house and found Mom in my chair and Chuck in another – Rhett settled pretty quick, but Brandi was still quirky when we left. But they did do this:
Are they not just adorable?
So anyway, Thursday morning we had this:
And we went to the airport all stoked to head off to Maui via Dallas. This trip has been scheduled and paid for since February. It’s a combination Christmas/40th Birthday Present for me. To say I’ve been looking forward to it is an understatement.
So our American Eagle (aka Most Unreliable Airline Ever) flight was supposed to leave at 8:50. When they changed it to 9:30, we weren’t worried. After all, our Maui flight didn’t leave until 12:10. Then they put up 10:00. THEN at 10, the guy (only human) at the gate announces at 10 that anyone on our flight had to go back to the ticket counter because the flight was cancelled. Took all of about 3 minutes before the lady at the counter announces the flight ISN’T cancelled, if your connection was noon or later you’d make it and we all had to go back to the gate.
I should have checked on another airline to DFW right then. Instead, I made the mistake of trusting the American Eagle assholes. Before you say I’m jumping the gun, let me tell you this is the second time this has happened to me. And I don’t fly that much. I hear stories about them all the time.
In the end – no flight to Dallas. The earliest they could get us to Maui on ANY airline was Saturday. My rental car company couldn’t change my reservations, so I had no car. My trip was shortened by 2 days. My condo is a private contract, no cancellations or refunds. To say I was upset would be a tremendous understatement.
So I called Mom and she came back to the airport and picked us up. In the mean time, we started making phone calls. Joan, who we rented the condo from, had just got word the guy who was supposed to come in after us couldn’t make it, so we could extend if we wanted. I called Hertz – they had cars. I called the office – they said go ahead and stay extra. Then I called American Airlines. They couldn’t get us home on the 3rd, but could on the 4th. So I wound up getting one more day in Hawaii, even if we did leave two days late.
We rented a car and drove to Dallas. I wasn’t about to give American Eagle a chance to do it again. If you have an important connection to make, may I suggest you avoid them.
Oh – and even though I changed my reservation and didn’t use the Crappy American Eagle service, they wouldn’t give me my money back. I’m still mentally composing my customer service email, but it will get there.
Feel free – link to this post if you’ve had problems with them before. For that matter, link if you just hate big companies that don’t give a flying flip about customer service. They had ONE employee working the gate with four flights stacked up. Yes, we weren’t the only “mechanical” issue they had in OKC that morning.
BUT – This is dawn over the mountain just to the west of Kihei, Maui, this morning.
And this is the ocean – it’s really not as far as it looks. A block down to the street (long skinny lot this condo sits on) then cross the street, and you’re there. The photo is actually taken at an angle. I had my toes in the warm Pacific before I had breakfast this morning. I could hear the surf as I lay in bed last night.
Sorry for the fuzzy pic – it was actually still quite dark, so it was a long exposure. That camera is amazing, it did all that by itself. That was as still as I could be.
And finally, with apologies to Stephanie for using her schtick. When I got to the airport on Thursday morning I had one sock that was just up to the heel flap (toe up). After that morning at the airport, a bit of knitting that night, the drive to Dallas, and the flight to Maui, I have these. Remember – they’re 2×2 rib so they draw up a whole bunch, and they’re not blocked. They also look terrible against this green carpet, but they’re actually a pleasant Grey/Raspberry blend.
And yes, they’re slightly different sizes, although not as pronounced as it looks. When I tried on the first one after it was done I dropped the foot back about 4 stitches on the second. They’re the same length though. I think one had been on my foot (the bottom one) and one on the top hadn’t.
I also swatched and started a sweater from SWT Oasis, a narrow soy silk ribbon. I’ll photo it later. Got the yarn from SWAK a couple of years ago. If you’ve hesitated to buy this yarn because it feels a little coarse, go ahead. I blocked the swatch (just a soak in warm water then flattened to dry, with a little help from a blow dryer the next morning because it needed to go in my bag) and it softened considerably.
So, ALOHA!! 10 days of fun. Got a bike ride down the volcano on the 26th, and an all day horseback ride on the 29th – my 40th birthday. Knitting with Lisa from KnitU on the 30th. Jim has 4 tee times, including at the Dunes where the PGA plays the Skins Game. He’s excited, and I’m excited for him.
I’ll take pictures. And I’ll post them. One of the things Joan didn’t mention about the condo is it comes with wireless on a cable modem.
Last March I flew out of OKC via Dallas to San Francisco. While waiting for my flight there was an American Eagle gate right next to us. I lost count of how many changes they had just the 40 minutes or so I sat there. Another lady next to me commented she was very glad we weren’t on that flight. When I returned a week later, that same gate, same airlines was having another mechanical issue. Fast forward a few months and my boss had to fly out to Georgia and he took American Eagle. He had the same thing happen to him but he managed to catch a flight on another airlines. Just observing that mess is all it took for me.