You may have heard of my luck with flying. I have been delayed for bad weather, a medical emergency, a plane leaking fuel, a pilot that didn't show up. Just to name a few. Maya and I flew home-home (where the grandparents are) on May 27. We booked last minute so we went with a different airline than we have flown recently. The two flights were uneventful and on time. Maya was a sweetie on the plane and enjoyed running around during our layover.
We left to come home on June 7. I was joking with my brother on the way to the airport that our trip out went too well so our return trip would probably be eventful. Turns out the jokes on me. We got through security quickly, we boarded early, and got settled in. Shortly after takeoff, the plane started shaking. Then the flight attendants started whispering amongst themselves. Minutes later the pilot announced that he was having hydraulic issues and we would be making an emergency landing in St Louis. Maybe ten minutes later we were landing. We unboarded the airplane and waited. And waited. They announced that a plane was coming from Denver to get us. So we waited. And waited. By this point it was obvious that no one was going to make their connecting flights. I think there were about 80 of us with connections. Then they announced that the plane would be about 2 hours later than the originally thought because they had to wait for mechanics to board in Denver. Then we waited some more. Unfortunately, since the flight was a late one all the restaurants and stores in St Louis were closed and I was hungry. I brought Maya plenty of food and snacks so she was happy. And the airport had a number of rocking chairs sitting around. I hit up a vending machine then rocked her to sleep. After she fell asleep, I stood in line to get a new flight home from Denver and a hotel voucher for the night. Sometime after 11 we finally boarded. We got to Denver just in time for a storm. We circled Denver for an hour waiting for it to pass. The pilot said in 26 years he'd never had a flight like that one. Fortunately, Maya slept the entire time and I watched the complimentary tv.
We finally landed. Maya woke up when we unboarded. As we were waiting for our luggage, someone called the hotel for which the airline had issued our vouchers. Turned out they were already full. We had to wait in line for another voucher. This time we were the 3rd person in line.This position proved important. Since it was so late, all the hotel shuttles were not running. And there was only one cab waiting. The first four of us in line got the cab. I didn't have a carseat for Maya so I just held her in my lap. The drive was around 20 minutes. It was still storming. This was probably the most stressful part of the trip for me.
We get to the hotel, check in, wait for a crib, and get settled in. By this time, it's 3:30 am local time. Remember Maya slept the entire flight. She woke up nice and rested at 6:30. I was not so rested. We had breakfast the hotel. One of us drank some coffee. Then we headed back to the airport for day two.
I will say that the security at Denver wins the least helpful and downright rude award of all the airports I've been in. Picture me, a tired me, dealing with my shoes, luggage, etc. while holding Maya. One employee was rushing me but then didn't offer to help lift the stroller as they have other place. I retorted that I only have two hands among other things.
Everyone survived. Maya was wonderful. We finally made it home. I feel more confident about traveling alone with her after our adventure.
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