Day 1- Still in the USA

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As befits the theme of our pre-travel challenges, day one has not gone as planned. The government did not shut down. That was hurdle one. Flight to JFK, hurdle two...EPIC fail. I was to fly to JFK to meet Sharon and Dave. We boarded on time, then a required maintenance step delayed our push back until approval came from Atlanta. Finally, moving and out on the runway, I thought all was back on track. At the end of the runway, we pulled off and parked! The pilot said we had to wait another 30 minutes for a wheels up time from NY. He shut down an engine and turned off the seat belt sign and there we sat! Fortunately, my personal travel agent was working on the other end to hold our connection for as long as she could. When it became apparent I would miss that connection, she started working on rebooking. This seems like a simple enough task, except that for international travel, you cannot rebook until your luggage is with you. Hours later, we finally had our luggage, promises of flights the next evening, eCredits for the lost travel and a hotel voucher for the night.

Finally ready for a rest, we found another wrinkle. The hotel shuttle stopped running at 10pm. Uber came through and an hour later we arrived to a packed lobby. Dozens of guests, all probably in the same boat, were waiting for a room too. After another exhausting wait, we finally got rooms. Then, trying to check in for our flights tomorrow, I discovered, I STILL, have no seat. My reservation says standby because I am booked on TWO flights tomorrow. One through Amsterdam, and one through Paris. WHAT A MESS!

One thing is for sure, our very capable personal travel agent will make it all work out for us tomorrow. Now, to sleep...

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