Enjoy Your Flight

Some people like to consider traveling refreshing. After all, most people never leave their quaint little towns, never see the world or do anything that others might consider "interesting" or "exciting." I was once like them, thinking that going places in and of itself was an adventure. Oh, trust me, while it is an adventure, it's more an adventure in patience than anything else. I used to think flying was brilliant, when I first did it. And while I do like the idea of going to places I haven't been before, the idea of having to get from point A to point B being some kind of wondrous joy has long since worn off.

My travels started yesterday. But truly, they began when I got to the airport in Kelowna at just after 5:00 AM PST. I had been up since 4:30 AM PST. It was the start of my long day. I thought things would go well -- had how it was going to go down all planned out in my mind. My flight would get into Winnipeg sometime around 12:30 local, I'd catch the 2:00 PM local bus to Brandon. It would go well. And it did, in the beginning.

I got on the plane about a half hour before it was supposed to depart at 7:00 AM PST. I got a window seat...with no window. Didn't bother me. I knew I'd end up asleep. I had a tendency to sleep on flights. A learned habit, and useful. Only wasn't to be. I got a young couple sitting next to me with their son. I was polite, asked how old he was. 13 months, apparently. And when the plane took off, so did the babies little lungs. He could wail, much like any child that age. Wonderful. No sleeping, not now. Eventually, after about an hour of squalling, the pilot tells us we're making descent down into Calgary for a quick stop-off, drop off people, pick more up. I just sit on the plane as the couple leaves. I didn't know they'd be back...with a fervor I could've done without.

The plane took off, and there were more children this time around. And they all had such beautiful voices that screeched in the cabin air. Loved it. So, we flew toward Winnipeg, then a nice little announcement came over the intercom from the pilot. The airport in Winnipeg had just closed. Turned out a plane had stalled, blocking not one, but both runways. And it would take two hours to get this plane out from its current position. Back to Calgary, to land. Or so we thought. Nope, can't land in Calgary. Too much fuel on board the plane to make landing feasible, let alone safe, so we go into a holding pattern around Calgary. Eventually, the air control crew down at Calgary tells us that, no, we can't land, because our flight plan takes to Winnipeg, where we also can't land. Our alternative? Fly to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and land there. And that's exactly what the pilot does.

So we land in Saskatoon. And wait. And wait some more. Can't get fuel until we get a flight plan. Can't get a flight plan until Winnipeg re-opens. We're stuck, and not being let off the plane because who knows when we'll leave! So, I get to sit there for another few hours. But, as all things are eventualities, we become airborne once more and make our way mystically toward Winnipeg, where we land. And we touched down five hours after we should have. 5:30 PM local instead of the 12:30 PM local. Painful. Then comes the two hour wait at the bus depot for a bus that would be delayed a half hour. I got home after 10:00 PM. The day was long, tiring, and a real pain in the ass.

I hate traveling.