Grand Canyon Family Trip 2016, Part Eight in Travels with ConnieK

I’m usually not in pictures. I’m usually taking them and selfies horrify me. Eldest son’s girlfriend snapped this one of the two of us and I think it captures us perfectly:

Our final day on our trip nearly did me in. We arrived at the Flagstaff airport at 10 am on the dot, two hours ahead of schedule. Flagstaff is a very small airport. When the American Airlines (I think it is the ONLY commercial carrier there) finally opened their counter, they informed us that our flight to Phoenix was delayed until 1:30. Since we booked through Travelocity, they had to tell us about the change and they did. On my home phone. You know, the one we were taking a vacation from? Yeah, that one, they leave a message on. The cell phones? Not a word.

So we knew we’d miss the connecting flight to Tampa, but things don’t always go as planned. We sat in the observation deck and the kids walked over to the air show. We returned to the airline counter at 1 PM, only to be told that the airplane was just about to land when the landing gear malfunctioned, so they flew back to Phoenix.
Which begs a question. Actually, two. Don’t they have to land in Phoenix with the SAME MALFUNCTIONING LANDING GEAR? And if they only carry enough fuel to get from Phoenix to Flagstaff, as they said when we were flying in, how come they have enough fuel for a round trip now?

After 20 minutes, they decide to bus our group of 11 people to Phoenix. They promise the bus will be there “any minute now”. An hour later, they were right! By that time, I’d taken a Xanax, so I slept the entire drive, avoiding the non-stop talker sitting next to my son. Rebooking was a nightmare. At first they wanted to take us to Miami, then Orlando, and then finally Tampa, arriving at noon. Instead, the kids searched around and found a more direct flight, arriving at ten am. We took that one.

American Airlines agreed to refund the Flagstaff to Phoenix portion of our ticket but they reneged on this later, claiming they DID get us to our Phoenix destination, even though it wasn’t by airline. So next time they can send us by donkey cart? They comped us a $60 food voucher (for our group of 5…we were missing dinner AND breakfast the next day). They refunded us $1000 (total cost was $3K). I thought it should have been $1400 to $1600 since the delay was mechanical. They wouldn’t even comp us the $60 entry for the Admiral’s Club, expecting us to wait 6+ hours in the terminal. We bought it anyway. Seats were more comfortable, the drinks and snacks were free, and the bathrooms were luxury. We sat in there until they kicked us out at 12:30 am.

After starting on Saturday morning, we were home by noon on Sunday, which is when I caught my second wind. I believe by this time, I’d been up for 24 hours, with cat naps here and there. I pulled out an easy supper I’d planned on before leaving, did a load of laundry, put away the packing, sifted through mail & prioritizing, cleared out e-mail, attacked the sugar ants that invaded in my absence, and showered (Lord, did THAT feel good!). We ate dinner and I was in bed by 7. I think I got up around 9 the next morning, so jet lag adjustment was a calk walk.

Despite the grueling return trip, I’m SO glad I did not miss seeing this area! I now have the kids pictures, so expect a few photo-heavy entries to follow.