Or so I thought.
My itinerary had a planned 2.5 hour layover in DFW prior to my 16 hour direct flight to BNE. With my bags already checked thru to my final destination, it would be a pretty relaxed trip to the gate with enough time to grab snacks and magazines before boarding. But when I checked in for my flights in LEX, I noticed there was already a 15 minute delay. "Oh well, that's no big deal," I thought. But by the time I got thru security and to my gate, it was already extended to a 50 minute delay. Ash and I checked the DFW terminal maps. My arriving and departing gates weren't a huge distance apart, so I remained calm. Finally, our plane arrived and we boarded. While sitting on the Tarmac, the pilot announced that we were over our max take off weight so it would take another 5-10 minutes to burn off excess fuel and get into the air. I looked at the time. "Still ok," I thought, noticing there would be about 45 minutes until my next flight began boarding once we landed. It will be just enough time to make it. But then... A couple to the front of the plane decided in an angry huff that they wanted off the plane, expecting that they would probably miss their connectingm flight. (Which it turned out was the same flight to BNE as myself. In hindsight, if the couple had remained on the plane, we would have all made it, easily.)
Really... ? They can do that? When we've already closed the cabin door and pulled away from the gate? I can't use my cell phone, but we can turn it back around and then make everyone else, including the Texas A&M Tennis Team on board possibly miss their outgoing flights?? I was flabbergasted. But sure enough, the plane pulled back around to the gate, and the couple was allowed off the plane and their checked luggage even removed for them. It took another 25 minutes. At this point I was quite frustrated but unwilling to give up hope. I overheard the crew telling others on board that their flights would be held for them so I still believed I might make it. I even managed to send off a few Tweets to @AmericanAir in hopes that it would get their attention.
Two and a half hours later, we landed and I moved my way to the front of the plane. My bag that was valet-checked came off right away so I began to run. Upon leaving the jetway, I saw an agent holding a sign with my name on it. Still more than 15 minutes until take-off. I thought, "Maybe they sent a cart after me so that I can make it!"
But no such luck. The gentleman explained to me that I wouldn't be able to make the flight and vouchers had already been issued to me for a hotel and meals for the night & my flights rebooked for the following day through LAX, although that flight information had not been included with the info he gave to me. (I had to spend hours chasing it all down myself through customer service later that night.) Seeing my utter disappointment at losing an entire day or more of my trip, the agent kindly helped me find my way out and called the hotel for me to order the shuttle... Which is how we discovered that the hotel was already overbooked and they had no room for me. (Whomp, whomp....)
So we then made our way around to the customer service office where a woman met me with a new voucher and said the shuttle had already been called. She directed me where to wait outside and as the chilling breeze hit me, I realized I was definitely NOT dressed appropriately for the weather in Dallas which was only a few degrees above freezing. Planning on landing in sunny Australia, I had no coat and was wearing only flip flops and a light cardigan over my summery tank top and skirt.
"It should only be about 15 minutes, she assured me," so I waited and shivered, hoping that I might be able to grab some food near the hotel since I had not eaten the entire day in trying to shift my body for the 15 hour time change in Queensland.
After an HOUR, two calls to the hotel's service desk, and a dozen disappointing shuttles passing me by that were NOT for my hotel, a large bus finally pulled up for the Ramada Inn North in Irving. A party bus. With strobe lights and all. Apparently the Ramada Inn's usual shuttle had broken down, but by this point, in my condition of disappointed, freezing, exhausted, and starving I wasn't really amused. Even less so when I got to my hotel room and found peeling paint; a rickety elevator that didn't actually come all the way to the ground floor, but left about a 6 inch step-up when the doors opened; a shower with what appeared to have Black-Mold growing around the edges; and blood spots (that didn't belong to me) on the bath mat.
It was already near midnight by this time. American Airlines had provided me with meal vouchers but with no way to get to any nearby late-night restaurants without walking alone in the dark and cold, I decided to just pay to have a Gluten-free pizza delivered from Dominos. Which turned out to be closed... Murphy's Law was clearly traveling with me at this point, so I decided the best plan would be to drink some hotel-room decaf coffee and try to sleep through the hunger pains. Anticipating other things that "could go wrong" I checked the mattress thoroughly for bed bugs, popped a few Benedryl's and nodded off for a few hours.
Not typically a morning person, I was a bit surprised when I awoke again at 5am. Even though my flights to LA didn't leave until 1:30 in the afternoon, I couldn't stand to be in the roach-motel any longer, so I did my best to shower without touching anything; washed my only pair of undies in the sink, drying them with the hair dryer; and went down stairs to wait on the party bus to take me back to the terminal.
Things did finally start to improve that morning, thankfully. I discovered a Fuddrucker's burger-joint in the terminal that offered Gluten-free buns so after a total of 36 hours, I finally got to break my unintentional fast. My flight to LAX was pleasant enough, and since I was able to walk outside to get to the international terminal, I enjoyed a good dose of Vitamin D-producing California sunshine. Because flights to Australia only leave out late in the evenings, I had 7 hours to kill in a completely empty terminal. Some would have been board to tears, but the peace and quiet was exactly what I needed. I spread out, propped my feet up comfortably and watched several episodes of Doctor Who on Netflix.
With as miserable as the trip had been up to this point, American Airlines did me one solid by upgrading my seat to Premium Economy for the 15 hour Qantas Flight to Sydney where I'd been re-routed. I will say that the extra leg room really made all the difference and it was the most pleasant long haul flight I have been on. I was sat next to a girl from Sydney that I had some great conversation with, watched "The Perks of Being a Wallflower," and I actually managed to get a few hours of sleep.
When I woke up at one point, I looked out my window to see the most idyllic thing possible... Directly in my view, burning bright and beautiful, was the Southern Cross constellation. My miserable journey was almost compete and it was like Australia was sending me a welcome-sign.
We landed in Sydney and I made it through customs easily after finding that my luggage had already beat me to Brisbane. I transferred to the domestic terminal where my flight to BNE had just begun boarding.
When I stepped off the jet way after FIFTY FOUR HOURS of travel, to find Ash waiting there for me, I had to hold back tears of relief. It was one heck of a trip. But, you know, he's worth every bit of the effort...
