Our Camping Trip

March the first was our day to return home. We finished packing in the morning and took a taxi to the ferry terminal just before noon. Debby's white cane allowed us to bypass the long line and to get first choice of seats on the upper level. A guitarist played as we headed across to Cancun.

Many Different Blues

Our taxi ride to the airport was long and involved. An accident on the main route forced the driver to try several alternatives before finding a route that worked.

There were no further complications at the airport, but we did discover that we would be catching a connecting flight in Charlotte, North Carolina, not Philadelphia as we had thought. We were expected to arrive in Toronto at 12:17 AM on March the second, a fairly long trip, but bearable.

Once in the air on the way to Charlotte, the pilot began by telling us that the winds at our destination were very strong, so he was expecting a rough ride. At about the time we should have been landing he again got on the PA to explain that Charlotte was not accepting any flights and that he was circling over South Carolina waiting for further instructions.

The next time we heard from the pilot, it was to discover that we were flying to Jacksonville Florida where we would have to deplane and clear American customs. Once on the ground we were told that the Charlotte airport was now accepting planes, so we would merely refuel and then head to North Carolina.

We arrived in the airport in Charlotte shortly after midnight (Now March 2), about the same time our connecting flight was landing in Toronto. Oops.

We were able to rebook for 10:15 PM (Mar 2), but we were stuck overnight. The agent who rebooked us gave us a phone number to call to obtain a cheap hotel room. The number answered with a message that simply said there were no rooms available. A direct line to nearby hotels provided exactly the same information many times over.

Another agent told us that they were providing cots for people who were stuck in one of the departures lounges.To get there, though, we would have to pass through a security check. In the process, the security agents were very polite, but a lady behind us objected when Deb explained that her pump could not go through the x-ray. She grumbled that everything had to go through and Deb almost bit her head off. Her pump did not go through the x-ray.

Deb Enjoying Her Camping Trip

Once inside, we went to find Departure Lounge D, but we delayed too long before getting in line for our cots. We were handed a package with a blanket and a pillow just before we were told that there were no more cots available. Of course we grumbled, but there was nothing to be done.

Now begins the story of two young men we met. As we were turning away without a cot, one young man asked what was wrong and then offered us his cot. Of course we did not accept his offer, but we thanked him profusely and moved on.

We found a space where we could settle in, Deb on a chair with her feet on her carryon bag and me on the floor. Opposite us, another young man sat on a chair with his feet resting on a cot. Beside this young man, an elderly man with white hair settled to sleep on the floor. Deb put on her eyepatch and I put on a sleep mask. I managed to get some sleep, but Deb did not. She explained in the morning the the young man opposite us had never slept on his cot, merely used it as a footrest.

One young man offered us his cot. One young man used his cot as a footrest. One was a black man and one was a white man. I'll leave it to you to guess which was which.

In the morning we went to a ticket agent and were able to change to an earlier flight. By travelling first to Orlando and then to Toronto, we moved our arrival forward by seven hours. The flight to Toronto was on Westjet and we were upgraded to Plus (First Class). The seats were bigger with more legroom. They fed us a full meal and they gave us alcohol. It was a good way to end our trip, arriving about 5:30 in the evening (March 2).

One last ride on a Century van brought us home and Lily had food on the stove ready to turn on.