Ireland Trip

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Things did not go well for us on Saturday. Our plane out of ATL was delayed, which caused us to get to Philly just in time to walk right on to the plane for BOS. Unfortunately, our luggage (all 3 of us) went elsewhere. Meanwhile, daughter Lisa flew out of LAX to meet us in BOS. Her flight had a stop over in Minneapolis where the remainder of her flight was canceled!! She was re-routed to Detroit. HER luggage went AWOL (it was checked through to SNN). Back in BOS, we reported our luggage issue to Delta; the Delta rep tracked all 4 pieces and said it would "probably show up in Shannon a day late". Hmmmm, no clothing, no makeup, no scarves or gloves, no meds for Eric. Not good. Oh well!

The plane for Shannon left BOS just as Lisa's flight from Detroit landed in BOS. She literally got to the gate in time to SEE our plane back away from the gate. Yes, she missed the flight. Now she's really unhappy, as are we. Two hours into the flight, we began to descend. ??????. The Captain announces that we "blew out a windscreen (windshield in USA), but only one layer". Holy Cow!! He informs us we will make an emergency landing in St John's, Newfoundland. But we've BEEN to St John's; we want to go some place NEW! We landed without incident in St. John's and sat on the tarmac for a few minutes. We were then told we would be deplaning, going through Canadian immigrations, and taken to a hotel for the night. Picture this: more than 300 passengers, waiting in line for a TAXI to a hotel; no luggage allowed (it remains on the plane... can you say "frozen shampoo"?). Air Canada personnel jumped in and made the process smooth and quick. These guys were really good! I was in a taxi with a couple from Galway, Ireland who said a similar incident happened to them on an Aer Lingus flight as they were returning from Jamaica, about 3 years ago. They were here for 4 days, in January, with "island wear".


Oh well, we are warm, safe and dry, right?

The hotel is nice, their staff have been super, and the buffet meals are very decent. We are now told we will have a substitute plane tonight at 9pm, as we continue to Shannon. Meanwhile, Lisa hopes to get on the Aer Lingus flight out of BOS tonight, where there was a severe snow storm after we left last night. The snow has turned to sleet and rain in BOS, so we hope she gets out at 7p. We are assured our rental car and townhouse reservations are being held for us in Shannon. What more could we ask.

Wish us luck; meanwhile, we wait in St John's where the temp is currently -8C !!! I took the Nikon out on the street earlier to snap some photos. I was back inside the hotel lobby within 2 minutes! BRRRRRRRRR!

Finding fun in Newfoundland,
K Ray

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Comments

[Rachael Paden]

WHOA!
This story beats any child birth stories that I've heard over the last fifty years. You will, without a doubt, have the best stories to tell in the old folks home (oops, I mean cruise ship). It's -8C in St. John's and it's 24F in the Ham. This global warming is out of hand! Once you all get to Shannon the gathering will be all the sweeter having endured the difficulty of travel. Stay safe and warm, and best wishes for a happier return trip. But in the meanwhile enjoy your holiday! I will close with the words of the late John Denver. May peace on earth fill up your time May brotherhood surround you May you know the warmth of love And wrap it all around you. Much love, Ray Pay