The departure.
2005-03-11

It didn't start well. The folks who were going to travel with us were late and we were getting antsy. I was ready to go on vacation even if it killed me. So when they finally showed up, it was a major relief.
We weren't supposed to get into Philly until fairly late so we agreed to have dinner at a place right near the airport before we left. It was Friday night and the place was crowded. They didn't have any seats open so we grabbed drinks at the bar and of course as soon as mine came, seats opened up and we were on the move.
Have a nice trip? Yes, I did. The guy in front me me managed to kick up the carpet and I gracefully tripped over it spilling a full glass of merlot on my only long sleeve shirt. The judges gave me a 9.4 Now having a red wine staind shirt might not be a big problem in warmer climes, but here in the northeast, my options were look like a victom of a slasher movie or freeze. I chose option A.
The waitress saw what happened and gave me a free glass of grapes and one of the waiters showed up with club soda and I headed for the mens room. 10 minutes and lots of hand soap later most of the red was gone. All that remained was a huge wet spot the size of New Jersey. Sweet... First time eating with a spoon?
We finished dinner and they dropped us off at the gate so we could try and get out missing seat situation cleared up. The airline was absolutely no help. The plane was supposedly full and we could only get new assignments on the day of the flight in the airport of the flight departure. Blahhh
We topped that off by finding out our flight was delayed, and delayed and delayed. I found the only open bar and drank. When the going gets tough, drink is a motto that has served me well in travelling. Instead of arriving at 9:30 we got into Philly sometime around 11:00, sweet.
The hotel we were staying at was just three minutes from the airport. We called for a shuttle, stood where they told us and sure enough one showed up right on time... and drove right by. We called back, they appologized and said another was on the way, same guy, same result. It seems they had taught him most of the basics of picking up passengers, but ommited to mention, that to be completely sucessful at it, they actuially had to get in the bus.
The third time around I stepped right out in fron of the damn bus as he was about to circle a third time. This was potentially deadly but effective.
The hotel was absolutely beautiful once we got there. We put our stuff away and resorted to plan A and hit the bar. Two drinks and we were ready to crash on a beautiful, comfy king sized bed. ZZZZZzzzzz.......
M.E. and I left early to try and get our flights straightened out. The lines weren't so long, and we managed to get seats in the exit row for the flight to San Juan. They could not fix our seats on the way back. That would be left for another tale.
Again, we were late taking off, but this time only a half hour. They fed us breakfast, M.E. watched the movie and I read. No alcohol was required. We got into San Juan early enough that there was an earlier flight to Tortola with four seats open. We took it. This was to be a major mistake.
They boarded us right on time and the pilot came on to appologize for the 100 degree temps inside this prop driven somewhat vintage aircraft with (seriously) bald tires. I tried to take a picture but was told by the crew that it was illegal. I guess if we crashed, they didn't want any evidence that could make them look bad.
The problem was a baggage issue. The handlers were apparently on some kind of tranqulizers and were moving at a speed that would make slugs proud. We sat, and sat and sat. After 45 minutes, they took the air hose used to start the engines and put it in the main cabin to try to cool us down. This was less than sucessful. After and hour we watched the flight we were suppose to be on board. I never was sure what flight came in first.
The 35 minute flight to Beef Island Airport was uneventful. They dropped us off in the middle of the runway very tired and dehydrated in a major way. We finally claimed our bags and headed to customsand immagration. It took an hour to clear. We had arrived for our first day in paradise.

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